Before heading out and recording on location, me and Ed thought it’d be helpful to go out and do a sound reconnaissance on the relevant locations. We took the necessary equipment to full ensure we could judge the sonic environment in which we would be recording, this included the 633 and a boom microphone.

 

Firstly we would get a taxi to the our first location which was situated at Hartsholme country park. The first initial problem we noticed within the location was the vast amount of dog walkers, we would be filming throughout the day so this would be a problem we could possibly face. To combat this, we would ask the director about filming locations within the park and luckily for us we are going to be filming away from pathways meaning that we’d be able avoid dog walkers. The other possible issue would be the weather as even though we were within a forest, it was still quite windy. As precautions we decided it’d be of benefit to take a wind socks for the shotgun microphone. The last possible problem we had to troubleshoot before we left was a plane going over although, this only happened one time in the hour or so we were there so it should be fine to shoot, we will just have to have to listen out before clicking that record button.

 

We would then go to check out an abandoned building that we’d be filming in that was a 10 minute walk away from the university. As this was a sheltered building we wouldn’t be facing problems with weather such as rain. Wind however could be a problem due to the fact the building itself lacks any doors or windows so we’d have to be careful when recording to avoid a potential warp sound. We will be again be using a wind sock to neutralize the threat.

 

The final location we would be shooting in would be a local student house, similarly to the second location we’d be sheltered away from potentially disruptive weather so that wouldn’t be an issue. The only other issue we could potentially face within this house would be the space itself as it was filled of hard surfaces which could prove extremely reverberant, this would make boom placement an important factor. When we did test recordings in this location, we fount the audio to be clear and very much useable.

 

To conclude, each location offers varying problems that could arise however by taking the correct precautions we should in theory be able to get industry level recordings within the given locations.

 

 

 

 

This weeks lecture was with Lincoln university alumni Luke Pickering, who’s gone on to work under the tutelage of world renown producer Paul Epworth. This lecture had a massive focus on how to best position yourself post graduation and how to get on the first step on the producer ladder.

 

The lecture heavily focused around how you can get best position yourself to get chances in industry, including doing as much work experience as possible as when a place does open up, often the employers will discuss people they had in for work experience. This also means travelling as much as you can to do so, staying on friends floors and such. Th lecture also had a lot of vital information on studio etiquette that was critical to him making a good impression. This included not focusing on yourself as a producer when you’re first in the studio as the vast majority of employers aren’t looking for producers, they looking for people who willing to the mundane tasks such as tea making and cleaning. Luke also depicted the importance of maintaining a positive attitude within the studio environment, including not complaining about long hours or asking for time off on short notice as you can easily be replaced, you must be committed to the studio and producer you are shadowing/working for.

 

Overall, this lecture included vital information from Luke who was in a similar situation to me three years ago, these pointers were in conclusion, very vital to how I will depict myself when it comes to taking the next steps on the producer ladder.