Reflecting on Exercise 1

I learned a few things from presenting my work on Thursday. Having the opportunity to watch other people's projects and see how they compared with my own, it was very clear to me that I didn't mix loudly enough (although the air-con in the edit suite didn't help much).

This came up in the feedback I was given, and I was given a guide for levels to aim for when mixing for film:

- Dialogue should average somewhere between -20dB and -12dB (giving a lot of dynamic range, since voice is a very dynamic element)
- Atmoses, etc., should average a level below -20dB
- Anything below -30dB is generally too quiet, as it won't be heard during playback

Ron also explained how to 'calibrate' a mixer and recorder set-up. When using the Wendt mixer with a Marantz recorder, the '0dB' reference tone from the Wendt should measure at -18dB on the Marantz's meters. This is because of the difference between digital and analogue meters, which is a topic I plan to research in more depth.

The feedback given was helpful in giving an idea both of what worked and what else I could have done for this project. For example, Ron noted that there was an opportunity, and perhaps a need, to use a musical element at the point in the clip where the camera zooms into a close-up on the character's face, as this is a turning point within the context of the scene and film.

Aside from the issues with the mix, the feedback I was given told me that the mix itself, while too quiet, was well-balanced, and Neil said that sounds such as footsteps and props being placed down sounded as though they were recorded on the same type of surfaces as we see in the picture. I recorded thing such as footsteps and the case being put down on the floor on both carpet and on wood surfaces to make sure I had the right sounds in the edit.

Overall, I have taken into account the feedback I was given, and also feel that I could have included more detail in the soundtrack - in particular, I think I should have recorded more for the 'cloth' track, as this is an important and often overlooked detail of foley work. In my research, I've learned how important professional sound recordists consider this to be.