Basic Sound Design

As Arturo has made clear, successful sound design can make or break a student film. With our limited financial resources, taking the time to really nail the sound of a project can enhance the visuals and create production value almost out of thin air. Think about the student film about astronauts that we watched earlier in the semester; the sound of the film created a great sense of scale and offscreen space that is really difficult to achieve in student film. However, if you're like me, you might only have the (very basic) ProTools knowledge that you acquired in CP1, which might not be enough to take your sound to the next level. Luckily, NoFilmSchool just posted a nice little introduction to basic sound design and foley: sound-design.



The blog post links to a 15-minute introduction of foley and sound effects, emphasizing that very little of the sound that makes it into a completed film was captured on location during shooting. Take a look at some basic techniques for creating sound effects, and try to nail the sound of your film. But hurry!

Nofilmschool.com

Over the summer I bought my first DSLR and today I was in search of some in depth information on DSLRs and came across this popular website: nofilmschool.com

I guess it's slightly ironic, because technically I am in film school, but who says the learning has to stop at the end of class? That's pretty much the point of these blog posts too, right? To extend our learning outside of class? Anyways, while flipping through the website I noticed on the right hand side a link to a free pdf document called "The DSLR Cinematography Guide". Perfect. Sounds exactly like what I need. So I got the free download it's ridiculously helpful. It's over 100 pages from the very basics that I already understand to the more complex stuff that I've always wondered about but never been able to find the answers to (such as the great advantages of prime lenses).

If anyone is looking to kill a couple hours over fall break I highly recommend giving this a read. Especially if you are a DSLR user like myself.

Beyond this, there are many other great articles to find on this website. My favorite so far has been a comparison between the Sony FS-100 (Our class camera), Canon 5D Mark II (industry standard for DSLR shooting), and the Blackmagic Cinema Camera (unlike any other camera – and it looks friggin cool).

Read the full article here.

This website has pushed me forward on many objectives, first on the list is to get a prime 50mm lens. This is the least expensive of things I want to do, ranging all the way to getting a Canon 5D Mark II. That might be a little more expensive.... maybe I should wait until I get a job for that one.