Throughout the process of working on the drama, blog posts were made detailing extensive research into many aspects of radio production. A great deal of problems were encountered during the execution of the tasks which has led to the slow production times of the finalised product.
Sound effects and background ambiance was recorded by some of the team for use in the final production. These sounds would help to give a more in depth effect to the overall contents of the play. These were edit before inclusion into the final session to help maximise the workflow.
Research into mastering standards for the BBC was conducted in order to ensure the finalised drama met the requirements for broadcasting. The research also provided a better overall understanding on the process of mastering engineering and the tools in which are used in this art form.
The script for the play was adapted by the team to make it suitable for a slot in the BBC broadcast scheduled with a timescale to reach of 15 minutes in total. Therefore contents of the original works by Mary McIntosh had to be edited and expanded upon to reach this goal and to make it more suitable for a wider audience.
The recording and mixing of the drama was undertaken during the final weeks before submission which placed a great deal of pressure on the remaining members. This was undertaken over several days to complete before mixing could begin. The recorded audio was split into sections with each take, this was to ensure that each piece of recorded dialogue was of the highest standard possible for further editing in the mixing process.
Despite the mixing process being slow, due to complications with members of the group, the remainder of the team took on the extra duties in order to complete the process despite the remaining time available.
Friday, 10 May 2013
Monday, 6 May 2013
Research for Loudness Normalisation and permitted maximum level of audio signals.
Useful Link to a Pdf which details recommendations and guidelines for EBU standards.
http://tech.ebu.ch/docs/r/r128.pdf
Friday, 3 May 2013
Studio session 03/05/2013
Objective of today's session are:
During the placement we realised we had forgot to record the shop worker in scene 3, so I recorded the vocals for that. It is not ideal that I have 3 roles within the play, however they are very small (one is one line and my voice is heavily filtered, another is two very short lines) so hopefully this wouldn't be picked up on by anyone that didn't know.
The group worked well today, we now have all the dialogue, sound effects and ambiance required within the play, the only audio left to record is a brief piece of music for the intro and the credits at the end, which will get done over the weekend.
Hopefully the entire production will be fully mastered by Monday.
- Finalise selection of all audio to be used within production
- Record and edit any required sound effects
- Placement of all audio within the session
During the placement we realised we had forgot to record the shop worker in scene 3, so I recorded the vocals for that. It is not ideal that I have 3 roles within the play, however they are very small (one is one line and my voice is heavily filtered, another is two very short lines) so hopefully this wouldn't be picked up on by anyone that didn't know.
The group worked well today, we now have all the dialogue, sound effects and ambiance required within the play, the only audio left to record is a brief piece of music for the intro and the credits at the end, which will get done over the weekend.
Hopefully the entire production will be fully mastered by Monday.
Artwork
I sourced a photo online to use as the artwork. Obviously in a real life situation this artwork would need to be paid for or a photographer commissioned to take a photo for us. I was looking for a photo of a train crossing the Tay bridge with Dundee in the background on a sunny day. The closest to that I found was quite blurry and the weather was grim, so I chose a different one and used Photoshop to add a title.
References
Tug60044. 2012. Scotrail 170429 passing Invergowrie Bay on 1L77 to Dundee. [online image]. Available from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tug60044/8015994774/ [Accessed 3 May 2013].
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| Scotrail 170429 passing Invergowrie Bay on 1L77 to Dundee (Tug60044 2012). (Slow Train Title added by me). |
References
Tug60044. 2012. Scotrail 170429 passing Invergowrie Bay on 1L77 to Dundee. [online image]. Available from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tug60044/8015994774/ [Accessed 3 May 2013].
Sound Effect Recording 03/05/2013
Recording
Microphones Used:-
- Neumann U87 x 2
- Zoom H4n Built in Stereo Microphones
The objectives of this session were to record any left over sound effects which were not recorded on location. These effects would have been difficult to obtain in public areas or rooms which were not very well sound proofed as they were very subtle and required a high gain setting for them to be clearly audible.
Several Recordings were made for each sound effect in order to give more variations for editing and mixing.
Sounds Recorded.
- Cup being placed on table (Scene in Burger King).
- Water Being poured into plastic cup (Scene where train worker pours coffee).
- Trolley being pushed up carriage.
- Trolley contents rattling.
The trolley contents rattling effect was recorded separately from the trolley movement effect as it would allow for greater control of the overall effect when being played in the radio drama.
The sounds were recorded onto the Zoom H4n and transferred over to the main session for editing and mixing.
Thursday, 2 May 2013
Music Licensing
In order to use licensed music within our productions royalties must be paid to the relevant owners, within our production we are using Frank Sinatra's 'Come Fly With Me' (1958).
In order to use this music your must obtain an Independent Radio Production Company Licence from the PRS (Application can be obtained here: http://www.prsformusic.com/users/broadcastandonline/Radio/Documents/PRSforMusic_Independent%20Production%20Company%20Licence_Application%20Pack%202011.pdf)
The snapshot below taken from the PRS website (PRS for Music 2013) and gives detail of the licence, including fees required. Payment is calculated by dividing the amount of time the music is heard in the programme by the total length of the programme, this figure is then multiplied by 10% of the gross revenue of the production:
(Total duration of member music in programme X 10% of gross revenue).
Total duration of programme
In order to use this music your must obtain an Independent Radio Production Company Licence from the PRS (Application can be obtained here: http://www.prsformusic.com/users/broadcastandonline/Radio/Documents/PRSforMusic_Independent%20Production%20Company%20Licence_Application%20Pack%202011.pdf)
The snapshot below taken from the PRS website (PRS for Music 2013) and gives detail of the licence, including fees required. Payment is calculated by dividing the amount of time the music is heard in the programme by the total length of the programme, this figure is then multiplied by 10% of the gross revenue of the production:
(Total duration of member music in programme X 10% of gross revenue).
Total duration of programme
References
Frank Sinatra. 1958. Come Fly With Me. [sound recording]. Los Angeles: Capitol
PRS For Music. 2013. Independent Radio Production Company License. [online] Available from: http://www.prsformusic.com/users/broadcastandonline/Radio/ipcradio/Pages/ipcradio.aspx [Accessed 2 May 2013].
Studio Session 02/05/13
Objectives for this session:
- Place ambiance tracks
- Place character dialogue
- Record Alan, Carrie and the Train conductor
- Record, edit and place sound effects
- Begin Mixdown
- Create/source music for the end credits/trailer
The group began today's session going through the final takes of Archie's dialogue. There was issues with the final monologue; we had 3 full takes, the first two had paper turn's during them (which we should have picked up during recording) and the third sounded rushed and not as well acted. Thank fully the paper turns in the first two takes were in slightly different places and we were able to take a cut from the first take and add it to the second one. The cut itself was not noticeable, however there is a very slight difference in delivery. I think it would go unnoticed to someone who was not aware of it and will test it on someone tomorrow. Unfortunately we will need to use it as it is too late to get Ian back in to record.
Today we also recorded the parts of the conductor, Alan (the son) and Carrie (the daughter). We got Irvine to come in and record the conductor, it was a fairly short role and Irvine is good at voice acting so we were happy with the recordings after 3 or 4 takes.
Alan and Carrie's parts were performed by Campbell's friends Gary and Maggie. They were not professional actors (Gary has some acting experience) but they took direction well and after a few rehearsals seemed to pick up the parts quite well. Maggie is from Bristol and has a southern accent which is not ideal for the role, however due to time restraints we must go ahead. The script had to be amended slightly to suit her voice; replacing the Dundee dialect with more standardized English. One of Chrissie's lines in the play is that she lives "halfway across the country" so that could explain the difference in accent.
In the interest of keeping the play sounding consistent, I decided to record Alan and Carries parts with the actors stood up (the same as Archie and Chrissie) instead of sat down as planned. All performers were recorded using a Neumann U87 stood at arms length from the microphone.
I was also recorded as part of the introduction to the show (to meet delivery specs), the lines were:
"And now on Radio 4, an adaptation of Slow Train by Mary Macintosh. A dark comedy telling the tale of one mans struggle with his bitter wife."
The group spent the rest of the session listening through takes and selecting the best tracks to use in the production.
I was happy with the groups performance today however we are now well behind schedule, I think it may have been a bit naive to assume we could get everything done in a matter of 4 days. I now hope that tomorrow we can record the last of the SFX and finalise the placement of all audio within the production ready for the mixdown. We are now aiming to get the production mixed over the weekend ready for mastering early next week.
Today we also recorded the parts of the conductor, Alan (the son) and Carrie (the daughter). We got Irvine to come in and record the conductor, it was a fairly short role and Irvine is good at voice acting so we were happy with the recordings after 3 or 4 takes.
Alan and Carrie's parts were performed by Campbell's friends Gary and Maggie. They were not professional actors (Gary has some acting experience) but they took direction well and after a few rehearsals seemed to pick up the parts quite well. Maggie is from Bristol and has a southern accent which is not ideal for the role, however due to time restraints we must go ahead. The script had to be amended slightly to suit her voice; replacing the Dundee dialect with more standardized English. One of Chrissie's lines in the play is that she lives "halfway across the country" so that could explain the difference in accent.
In the interest of keeping the play sounding consistent, I decided to record Alan and Carries parts with the actors stood up (the same as Archie and Chrissie) instead of sat down as planned. All performers were recorded using a Neumann U87 stood at arms length from the microphone.
I was also recorded as part of the introduction to the show (to meet delivery specs), the lines were:
"And now on Radio 4, an adaptation of Slow Train by Mary Macintosh. A dark comedy telling the tale of one mans struggle with his bitter wife."
The group spent the rest of the session listening through takes and selecting the best tracks to use in the production.
I was happy with the groups performance today however we are now well behind schedule, I think it may have been a bit naive to assume we could get everything done in a matter of 4 days. I now hope that tomorrow we can record the last of the SFX and finalise the placement of all audio within the production ready for the mixdown. We are now aiming to get the production mixed over the weekend ready for mastering early next week.
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