Remembrance
I recently had the opportunity to do sound for a short film called "Remembrance," Directed by James Loveland, a Film major at UVU for his senior capstone project. The story follows Tyler, one who struggles with memory as he is interviewed by an unlikely friend/mentor about his feelings as he navigates/comes to term with his condition.
The film was produced by Wyatt Whittier. He and I had taken DAPR 2110 together, and a few weeks before shooting, he reached out, knowing I was proficient in the sound kits we learned how to use in class, and asked if I could take on being a mixer/boom op duo. I was happy to help out, and even happier to get some more time using the sound kit, as it had been some time since the last time I had checked one out.
In this case, the checking out of a sound kit had been previously arranged. To my surprise as I showed up on set for day 1 of shooting, the sound kit that was checked out was one from the film department, and not the one I was used to using up to that point. Luckily enough, it wasn't too difficult to figure out, and most of the proficiency I had previously attained toward the digital audio sound kit transferred pretty well to this new gear. The kit from the film department wasn't equipped with a dead wombat. Luckily enough, any shots that would be using a boom mic were captured indoors that day.
The only other issues I encountered that day were the AA batteries that powered the mixer, and the state of charge being relatively low at the beginning of a long day of shooting. Fortunate enough for me, the PA's on day 1 were phenomenal in how urgent they were in helping me to attain replacements before the batteries ran out. The only other thing that was more difficult with the provided gear was a lack of an Orca Mixing bag. Without one I just dragged the entire kit with me to each new shot. I wasn't the most mobile sound guy that day.
I favored very much day two of filming. You can tell by the smile on my face in the picture on the right how pleased I was to have checked out the sound kit I was used to; one equipped with a dead wombat for the outdoor shots, and a mixing bag to move around a bit more freely.
The Astronomer
Another short film I've worked on was "The Astronomer." Directed and produced by Wyatt Whittier, this 16 minute film follows a man who studies as an astronomer. When he receives a call informing him that his loves has died, his carefully measured world collapses. He must step away from the cold precision of number and equations, turn his gaze up to the vast night sky, and finally confront a grief that even light-years of distance cannot contain. I had the privilege to be a dual boom op and mixer this time around.
Everything went quite smoothly throughout shooting. The only thing I might have done differently was set up IFB's for the director on the outside shots that were closer to the freeway and contained a lot of background noise; and maybe I would have brought another jacket. Filming the scene this photo was taken at was quite cold.
DI Box
Look! I built a DI box! Reading instructions really works. I did have some trouble with the XLR socket bumping into the frame the first time around, and one of the pins for the XLR jack on the low-z out got twisted as I was positioning it while soldering. That was a joy to de-solder...
XLR Cable
Look! I built 2 XLR cables! I think my inability to tell my left from my right that was super prominent in my childhood is coming back to haunt me. I say this, because on both of these cables, I switched the ground and the positive the first time I tested each cable. Kind of frustrating, but a good learning experience. Doing two different lengths was a fun challenge as well.
Friends - Roz Harding
I recorded this one at home. Roz is an old friend, with an amazing voice. It was good to reconnect with her and help her hash out some ideas she had been carrying around for a while. After a while, the song felt like it was missing something, so I had the idea to enlist the help of another old friend named Hunter Gillette to help out with the sax solo. Came together quite nicely if I do say so myself. It's nowhere near done, but I did continue to edit/mix and start mastering as time went on.
Racecar Bed - Dog Paw
This was my first larger recording. I borrowed my dad's drum mic kit for percussive purposes. It didn't start out super big though. I originally messaged the lead singer, Garrett on instagram after seeing Dog paw perform in BYU's Battle of the Bands, and for the first few sessions it was just him and I at my home studio, laying down some guitar and vocal tracks. After we got those dialed in, we went to their practice space, and went about recording drums and bass simultaneously, then guitar came in for some sweet licks to tie everything together. I continued to edit/mix as time went on. After the semester is over, i'm hoping to get back in touch to polish everything for distribution.
September - Ali Rowley
Ali is fun. My first impression of her was a video she had posted on the UVU instagram story. She has a lovely voice, and I knew I would regret not reaching out. We ended up getting into studio B for a session. It was there we started tracking guitar and vocals. Because it was only going to be those two, Brandon Ard and I went all out with Mics. The clip below is composed of 3 vocal mics, 3 for the guitar, and one room mic. Ending up working out quite nicely. We ended up tracking 4 songs. September was my personal favorite. There's not much that's been done after our session, just a basic mix, and some vocal processing.
Turning - Kyra Jensen
Kyra reached out to me about recording this song for her husband for their anniversary. It is an original, by her, and it was a pleasure to give her the resources she needed to bring her vision to life. This was recorded at my home studio. We first laid down the piano, then she sang over that. And in a later session we brought in a friend to help out with harmonies. Very fun project to be a part of. Kyra has recently expressed interest in returning for some new projects, or to possibly add more instrumental elements to what we have here. There's a very basic mix going on, so I'd love the opportunity to delve in a little more.
This is Not The End - Creatively Bound
This was a fun recording session to record. We were able to rent out a studio. I was privileged enough to sit in on bass for this track as well. Mixing and mastering was done by our good friend Blair. May his knees ever be as strong as his skills in audio.
Spitting Image - Funnel Web
Funnel Web. Never been in a session when I felt like I could be more of myself. These guys rock. They were kind enough to let me practice my Core Recording knowledge on them. We were able to record 5 tracks for their upcoming EP. It was a fun challenge. Recording their style of music is something I'm not used to. It's definitely growing on me. Attached here are the raw stems of my personal favorite track from that session. The only thing I did was put a little bit of distortion on the vocals, and use subtractive EQ to make some of the low end rumble on the bass a little less harsh.
Let's Hit The Movies - Wildberry
These guys are so talented. I reached out to them over social media, and that led to me attending a show of theirs as an opening act at Velour Live Music Gallery. After getting to talk to them in person, we hashed out the details of getting them in the studio. I helped Brandon Ard run the session for his Core Recording final. The setup got hectic at times. We might have used a trombone case to hold sheet music after running out of music stands. Oh well. It made for a lot of growth in troubleshooting. Their instrumentation originally included: Vocals, Drums, Bass, an extensive brass section, and a guitar. After the original recording session, I had their frontman, and their friend Jackson over at my home studio to add some strings, piano, and organ tracks via his Nord. Lucky. Anyways, what you're hearing up there is everything comped, a basic mix by me, and some light vocal processing. It's been a super fun session to play around with.
League of Legends - Sound Re-Design
Final sound design project for Sound Design I. The majority of the sounds are from a library. I did however do the voicing for both characters. The best sound design choice was using the Fortnite chest sound to display the brilliance of the charged up card at the end.
Tron (Light Cycle) - Sound Re-Design
This project was difficult to say the least. A project for Sound Design II, which I am currently taking. Our task was to create the sound of the light cycle engine, and it was to be created exclusively using Subtractive synthesis, FM synthesis and/or vocoder techniques. When using the vocoder, I was free to use any sound I wanted as the modulator, but only synthesized sounds as the carrier. I opted for the Vocoder. Getting to balance the light cycle design with all of the environment sound effects was a fun challenge. The most difficult part was automating a combination of volume, pitch and panning to achieve a synthesized doppler effect.
