Looking back at this whole module, I think
I actually really developed my ability to work with sound. At the very start I
had absolutely no clue how to even work with logic pro, and my attempts at
audio recording before this had always been mixed.
Getting to grips with the program took a
lot of trial and error. I’m a kinetic learner, and I always learn better by
doing rather than being told what to do. So for the most part, a lot of my
soundcloud files is I messing around with logic pro and experimenting with the
options available.
I actually really enjoyed creating these
audio tracks and seeing how they developed. The first we created was a track
that used foley sounds we recorded earlier on in the day, but apart from the
recording part I was slightly hands off the first track. I mostly observed it
being made while Caitlin fiddled with the program. Our next project though, I worked with
Caitlin and Tom to create a short comedy piece about a mock idea for world war 3.
I was the driving creative force behind it, writing up the script and helping
to direct the audio direction.
After this, I had to get stuck into logic
pro, and seeing Alex Sutcliffe create his own music in logic, I wanted to give
it a shot. It was mostly fiddling about at the start, see what each setting
does and I generally drifted over to the synthesis section with all of its
options. I’m a sucker for good ambient tracks, and they were relatively easy to
create in logic once you got the handle of it.
I went for very atmospheric, moody tracks
that could be easily placed in a number of different scenarios. I just started
to knock them out reasonably quickly, some I really like, some I would maybe go
back and alter, but in terms of creating my own audio I’m pretty chuffed.
After that though, I was determined to
create more audio drama like tracks. I wanted to work on something with more
narrative to it, and considering both Cait and Tom needed more tracks too, I
came up with an idea. We loved the Dragon Age series, and some of the most
notable scenes from the series are the character recruitment scenes. Together,
we each created an original character, put them in that world, and I wrote
scenarios for each of them to be recruited to the Inquisition.
It required me to balance audio, sound
effects and back tracks so the audience could visualize the scene play out.
Despite some stumbles in the recordings, I thought it went extremely well. The
post edit was very fun, putting all the pieces together like a puzzle and see
the adventure play out. I ended up doing this very idea for my final video as
well, adapting the opening scene from the Killing Joke and translating it to
audio form. We pretty much had the same up, but this time I had actual images
to follow along. I had to keep track of a specific sequence of events, and make
sure the audio matched.
In conclusion, I think I really developed
during this whole module. I managed to tangle with logic effectively, developed
my ability to record and develop audio, and overall I think it will really
effect my work positively to come.
