Evaluation of Tom & Jerry SFX

For this assignment we had to take an episode of Tom & Jerry and pick 2-3minutes worth of footage from it and re-create the sound effects in it. After completing my video I feel that my sound effects are well synchronised with the moving images. I spent a lot of time cutting down my sound effects and putting them in place on the Premiere Pro editing timeline to the nearest millisecond so it matched up perfectly with what was on screen. Although this was quite a tricky and time consuming task, I felt I pulled it off once it was finished.

I tried my hardest to stick to sound effects that sounded quite cartoonish and almost over the top as I felt it would compliment the moving images best because it was a cartoon and those are the kind of sounds you hear in cartoons. So overall I do feel my sound effects compliment and work well with the moving images on screen as they suit the genre/theme of the video.

I recorded a lot of sound effects myself with Amy and Lucy using a Dictaphone. To create some of these sound effects we had to use props, and the sound effects we needed to create using props were:

ü  Peeling/Ripping

ü  Glass Put on Table

ü  Pouring

ü  Patting

For our ripping/peeling sound effect we took a piece of paper and ripped at different speeds for lengths of time to give us a good variety to choose from when matching up with our moving image which was where Spike peels/rips of the lid to the milk bottle. Another moving image is where Spike lays the glasses on the table. To create the sound effect to match up to this we literally took a glass and recorded it being out on a table. Then in Tom & Jerry we see Spike pouring the milk into the glasses. For this we also only had to do a simple recording of liquid being poured into a glass. Then there was our patting sound effect for when we see Tom tuck in Jerry and pat him on the back several times. For this we took a chair with a cushioned back and lightly patted it for a bit to create a soft patting sound. The rest of my sound effects I recorded myself were:

ü  Licking

ü  Snoring

ü  Sniffing

ü  Footsteps

For these sound effects we did not require props to create them. All we had to do was create the sounds ourselves for example in Tom & Jerry we see all three characters lick the lid from the milk bottle, so for this we made a licking sound with our mouths. This also applied to the sniffing and snoring which we also created using our mouths and noses. As for our footsteps we created it by walking on the spot on a hard floor.

However I did not record all of my sound effects, I did get a lot of them online to which were:

ü  Alarm Clock

ü  Ringing Bell

ü  Birds Chirping

ü  Cartoon Running

ü  Gulping

ü  Slide Whistle

ü  Squeaking

ü  Teeth Brushing

ü  Lid Slamming

For these sound effects I got them online because I felt I could not create them as easily if I recorded them myself and I would get a better version of them on the internet. For the alarm clock and bell ringing I could have easily done myself but I didn’t have a bell and my alarm clock plays radio when it goes off which didn’t suit the moving image on the Tom & Jerry episode as you can see it’s a ringing sound alarm. So I felt it was better to get these sounds online. For my birds chirping, cartoon running, gulping, slide whistle and squeaking, I decided to get these online because I wanted them to sound more cartoon like and I felt I could not create these myself and better off getting them online. And finally my lid slamming and teeth brushing I got online because I wanted to have a relatively even split of recorded and downloaded sound effects so I chose to get these two sound effects online.

Overall I’m pleased with the finished result. I feel that my sound effects match up well to the moving images and are complimentary to them and overall works well as a whole.

If I could do this assignment again I would aim to have created or downloaded every sound effect that would have happened in the clip instead of missing some out so that it would have looked better.

Production Schedule

Date	SFX	Equipment	Props
7/3/12	ü  Alarm Clock ü  Ringing Bell ü  Birds Chirping ü  Cartoon Running ü  Gulping ü  Slide Whistle ü  Squeaking ü  Teeth Brushing ü  Lid Slamming	Computer (Computer SFX)	Not Needed
14/3/12	ü  Licking ü  Snoring ü  Sniffing ü  Rummaging through rubbish ü  Glass put on table ü  Footsteps ü  Patting ü  Peeling/Ripping ü  Pouring ü  Slapping	Dictaphone (Recorded SFX)	ü  Bin full of rubbish ü  Glass ü  Paper ü  Book ü  Chair
21/3/12	Import Tom and Jerry Clip to Premiere Pro and cut down to 2-3mins long. Import all sound effects to Premiere Pro.	Computer	N/A
28/3/12	Edit sounds to Tom and Jerry Clip.	Computer	N/A
4/4/12	Finalize editing and export and hand-in completed project.	Computer	N/A

Evaluation of Filming on Location

In a group of me, Amy, Lucy and Amica, we worked together filming short news sketches on different locations around the college. We filmed in three different locations, one in a quiet indoor location, one in a busy indoor location and one in an outdoor location.

After filming in these three locations, we watched them over and evaluated them to see what the problems were and how we could correct them. Once we had detected the problems, we planned out when and where we wanted to film again.

Overall we found that all three locations came with their own set of problems. First of all our outdoor location had multiple problems which involved background noise caused by cars coming from the busy road near college, wind causing a rustling sound picked up by the microphone, and the sun which caused several problems which were the crews shadows being in shot, sun glare reflecting on the windows and also off of the presenters. So when it came to filming second time round, we addressed these problems and made modifications to how we planned to film in order to prevent these problems from happening again. What we did to make filming more successful was place ourselves in a shaded area to prevent sun glare, move to a slightly more sheltered area that would be more protected from the wind and change the microphone from boom mic to tie mic so that we could pick focus more on the sound of the presenters and not pick up on the background noise of the cars as easily. When watching our footage back after doing these changes we found that filming the second time was a lot more successful as we didn’t experience and issues with sound or visual.

Then we worked on our quiet indoor location. However the only issue we came across with our indoor location was that our sound from the presenters was a bit quiet. So when we filmed again we used tie mics instead so that we could get closer, louder and more direct sound from the presenters. When reviewing the filming we found that changing the mics worked very well and we could hear or presenters a lot more loudly and clearly.

And finally there’s our busy indoor location where we experienced issues with background noise coming from people talking and walking down the corridors. As well as this we also had people walking into camera shot while we were filming and so causing us to have to stop and re-film again. When we re-filmed we first of all changed our position in the hallway by putting ourselves in a corner by a wall so people wouldn’t walk past and get in the way, we also changed the microphone to tie mics so that our sound would focus on the directors and not pick up on as much background noise as the boom mic did. Again for re-filming we found it definitely went more successfully than first time round as we didn’t experience the problems from the first filming in the second filming.

However we did notice a continuous problem in our first filming that came up on all our clips when put into Adobe Premiere Pro and that was an echo sound coming from the presenters when they talked. So when we filmed again we decided to use a new camera, tie mic and tape to help us establish whether it was the editing software causing this issue or the equipment. After changing our equipment we did not experience the echoing sound again.

After working closely together as a team, looking at problems and thinking of ways on how we could prevent them from happening again, I am really pleased with how our filming went as we were able to correct all mistakes from the first filming in the second one and so making our filming go highly successful.

Recording SFX's

Foley is created in a recording studio by mimicking the actual sound source. It can be a very time consuming and tiring process to record. Foley art can be broken down into three main categories:

• Feet
• Props
• Cloth

Footsteps

To recreate this sound, a foley artist will watch the footage where the footstep sound effect is needed. For example the footage may show a man walking up a marble staircase. The foley artist will get a marble slab and start walking on it, matching it up in time with the actor walking up the stairs. They will use different types of shoes in an attempt to see which ones sound and go with best with what is on screen.

Rain

A common method that foley artists have used to create the sound of rain is to get a sheet of tin foil and to pour salt onto it, in order to create the sound of rain. Depending on what type of rain, they will try out different sources to be poured onto the tin foil in order to recreate different types of rain.

Being Punched

To create ths sound of someone being punched, a trick that has been used is hitting a taped-up heavy phonebook or a roasted chicken.

Revised Equipment List for News Sound on Location

Location One- Outside

• Change to tie mic to reduce wind, background noise and stop echoing.
• Change tape to stop echoing.

Location Two- Quiet Inside

• Change to tie mic to make the presenters voices louder and clearer.
• Change tape to stop echoing.

Location Three- Busy Inside

• Move away from doors and toilets to stop people getting in shot.
• Tie mic for same reasons.
• Different tape for same reasons.

News Sound on Location Analysis

Outdoor News Report

The first issue we noticed with our clip was the noise of the cars in the background. To resolve this, next time we will film in an area away from any busy roads to prevent picking up on cars driving nearby.
 Our second issue was the wind. It created a rustling noise to our sound and so causing us to struggle to hear the presenters. Next time we will film in a more sheltered area with less impact of wind, and preferably we would choose to film in a non-windy day.
When we uploaded this clip to premiere, we noticed the speech of our presenters would echo every so often. We do not know why this has happened, however our only solution to resolve this is to re-shoot with a different camera, upload it again and see whether it does the echo noise again. This will help us to find out whether it is the the camera or the editing software which is causing this problem.
Aswell as having sound issues, we pickup on a few visual issues that we weren't happy with.
Firstly there is sun glare reflecting off of the windows of the building and shining into the camera. It is also shining off of the presenters. When we next go filming, we'll film in a shaded area where thesun won't cause any glare.
The sun also caused a problem with producing shadows. You can see the film crews shadows on the presenters during the clip. This also gives us another reason to film in a more shaded area.
And finally we also noticed some of the casing for the equipment in the backround which looks a bit unprofessional so in the future we will remember to keep those out of shot.

Quiet Indoor News Report

We didn't have as many issues with this location as we did with the outside location. We found that the speech from the presenters was a bit quiet so next time we will use a tie mic instead of a boom to get clearer and louder sound from the presenters.
We also experienced the echo sound again which we will resolve the same way as we will for the outdoor scene.

Busy Indoor News Report

We experienced a lot of background noise from students in the busy location. Next time we will use tie mics so we can individually pick up on the presenters voices without picking up as much background noise as you do with a boom mic. We would also use a less busy location to reduce the background noise levels. We also found as it was a busy location, we had a lot of people in the background of our shot so this also gives us a reason to film in a less crowded location. And finally we also learnt not to film near toilets as there is a hazard of old women with zimmer frames going into them.

Location and Equipment List

Group: India, Amy, Lucy & Amica

Outside Location
Car Park

Equipment

• Camera
• Tripod
• Sound Kit

Busy Inside Location
Reception

Equipment

• Camera
• Tripod
• Sound Kit

Quiet Inside Location
Empty Classroom

Equipment

• Camera
• Tripod
• Sound Kit