Sound Folleying: Gunshot

As I plan to have a mixture of gunshots within the opening of my film, I decided to attempt to folley some impact/gunshot sounds to add to the soundtrack. Using a ruler I experimented on a mixture of materials ranging from soft material to wood. I found that this factor had a large influence on the sound. Below are two of the sounds I recorded. One on wood the other on a soft material:

Against Wood

Against soft fabric material

As expected the sound recorded by hitting wood sounded much more realistic and therefore I decided to take that recording further. Despite sounding better, it did not sound as effective as the one I had in place already so I began editing the audio in Audacity. By adjusting the compression levels and inverting the audio I was able to create a realistic gunshot effect. Below is a screenshot of myself editing the audio:

Please find below the final edited audio file:



Conclusively, I believe that the sound I have created is realistic and I will potentially use it within the opening of my film. However, despite altering the recording and trying to add a echo effect, it still remains tinny and compressed. I may be able to alter the bass levels to confront this problem however I am limited.

Editing Update 1

At the time of writing I have imported all of the required media into my editing software except my flashback scenes which are going to be captured very soon. Recently I have been syncing my audio with the live action scenes, regulating volume and presence within my film. I have found that in some areas the digetic sound, recorded through the camera, is unsuitable and therefore I am cutting various pieces of ambiance from other tracks and layering them up. Below is a screenshot of the opening few seconds of my film, which is fully edited together:

Experimenting with Music

Now that my sound track is being developed I wanted to trial a music track within my primary product. As I have always previously used music within my projects I wanted to see if it conformed with my visuals. To do this I used 'Garage Band’, a audio sampling and editing platform. Despite its reputation of being heavily relied upon by amateurs, it is a simple programme and comes with a wide variety of sample loops and beats, critical to me as I have not original content of my own. Below is a screenshot of myself working within the programme and a copy of the music:

Audio Processing DRAFT

After listening to all of the audio I recorded I found that some of the tracks were unsuitable in their previous form. In particular the narration I recorded for the introduction to my primary product had a moderate issue. The bass levels on the track were too low, making the track sound shallow. Furthermore pieces of background noise can be heard in between each word which, when heard repeated, gains attention. To counter this I imported my tracks into 'Audacity', a audio editing software, and began targeting the key problems. Below is screenshot of one of the imported files:

Once this was accomplished, I began adjusting the bass levels. This involved experimenting with various figures until I was happy with the outcome. Below is a screenshot of this:

Below is a video, presenting one audio file as it was created and the final result after exportation:

VIDEO

Through this activity I have realised that the bass levels of a track can largely effect the way audio is used. Without editing my audio would have sounded shallow and therefore would not have conveyed emotion well. In addition, I have gained experience with 'Audacity', becoming fully aware of the tools it has on offer which will be very useful as I continue with the project. 

Temporary Sound Effects

In order to begin finalising the soundtrack to my primary product I have downloaded a series of royalty free sound effects to act as place holders in the editing process. Below is a picture of the website I have used to source the sound effects:

As I plan to start folioing my sound effects very soon these audio files will not be present long. They are essential however to my product's second exhibition which will be happening within the next few weeks.

Recording of the Voice Over

After briefly reviewing the various times me and my actor could record, we arranged a period we could record the voice over for my primary product. Before we began recording I copied across the lines I needed from the script ready to be read aloud. I also added a few additional lines which, after producing a rough cut of the film, may suit some of the shots I have previously recorded. Below is a video containing all of the unedited audio files: