Problem Solving
Practical problems
One practical problem I encountered was the type of sounds I had to recreate for the Iron Man scene. A lot of the sounds were mechanical and it would have been tricky to recreate with Foley techniques because I didn’t have enough time or access to the right resources or props.
To solve this, I used online sound effects from the website https://freesound.org/ and then cut the recordings and edited them to fit with the scene. Although I still included Foley and sounds I had recorded, using online effects helped the process massively and enabled me to complete the scene on time and with realistic, appropriate audio.
As part of my Final Major Project I recorded one of Chris’s original songs. We experienced many problems throughout this process that we needed to solve, one of these was organising a time to use the studio. Many performers also wanted to use the studio to record songs and it is a popular place for the producers to use while they are working.
To solve this, we would communicate with people and discuss the times we would want the studio. Sometimes we would make compromises with each other and decide for one of us to have the studio in the morning and then we would swap in the afternoon. As well as this we would often leave our microphones and equipment set up once we had finished so if we needed to use the studio again the next day we wouldn’t waste time setting it all up again and we would waste less time of our own and also other peoples who needed to use the space.
I was collaborating with a few people for this project so arranging times to work with these people was a problem I faced.
This was solved by communicating with each person and finding out when they were available and then timetabling and planning a schedule of who I was going to work with each day. At the start of this project everyone completed a ‘Project Action Plan and Timetable’ stating the date, what we planned to complete and what resources we would need. Although things changed throughout the projects, having this as something to look back on when we needed to helped.
A practical problem I had to overcome on the day of our Arc Theatre Performance involved helping a student find her way to the venue after getting off at the wrong bus stop.
I had to resolve this problem by keeping contact with the lost student whilst also finding someone who could drive to her location and collect her. After speaking with multiple people and using calls and messages we were able to get everyone to the venue on time ready for the show to start.
A practical problem we had to consider and solve for the Arc Theatre performance was the fact that we had a left handed drummer. This means we had to have the drum kit set up left handed but then swapped for the right handed drummers.
To solve this we made the sure the left handed drummer played during the first half of the set amongst all the acts who weren’t using the drum kit. This way we could keep the drums left handed for the first half and then during the interval when the audience went to get drinks we could swap it round ready for all the right handed drummers in the second half.
The second problem we had with the drum kit was the amount of stands we had brought with us. Due to lack of communication we only had enough cymbal stands for the hi-hat, ride and crash, however some of the drummers wanted to use two crash cymbals which meant we needed another stand.
To resolve this problem we spoke to the venues engineer to ask if they had any spare cymbal stands we could borrow for the night. He wasn’t sure if there was any but had a look anyway, sure enough he managed to find one that worked perfectly for the second crash our drummers wanted.
Technical problems
Throughout the Arc Theatre Performance we had a technical problem with some of the Vocal mics cutting out. Lots of singers were very nervous to perform and would fiddle with the microphone causing the XLR to come out and lose connection.
To solve this we changed the loose cable for one of our spare XLR’s just in case it was a faulty cable, as well as this we communicated with the other acts to try and avoid touching the XLR whilst performing.
Something we could use in the future to decrease the chance of this happening further is finding a ‘guard’ or something to cover the connection of the XLR, so even if people do accidently touch it, they won’t be able to pull the cable out.
Another technical problem occurred when I was recording the clicking sound of a Torque Screwdriver for my Iron Man scene. When I listened back to the recordings, some of them had some faint drumming in the background, picked up from the room next door.
To amend this I took another recording in a quieter environment and made sure to communicate with everyone to keep quiet whilst I was recording. After this I used some EQ and the Marquee tool to cut any empty space either side of the recording and EQ out any unwanted frequencies or subtle background noises.
I faced various technical problems whilst doing some studio recording. First I tried to record Harvey playing drums over the top of a backing track for his band, however we weren’t getting any signal through Logic.
We went through many steps to try and solve the problem, to begin we spoke to the college’s technician Simon to see if he could look over our set up and spot the problem. After he inspected our set up we were still unsure what was causing the issue, so I messaged our lecturer Guy on Teams. I sent him pictures of the equipment, digital desk set up and Logic arrangement to see if he was able to identify the issue. Guy answered and stated that everything looked as if it was set up correctly so it was more likely to be a security setting on the computer log in.
We had solved the problem of finding the complication, so now we needed to work out how to fix it. We found out that Chris had had this issue before hand and was able to get it fixed on his login, so we decided to record Harvey’s drums on Chris’s login.
The second problem I encountered whilst studio recording, was when I recorded Chris playing the drums for his original song. Chris was unable to hear his backing track through the headphones, I tried to change multiple settings in Logic, changed wires and the headphones themselves but still no luck.
To solve the problem we waited until the next lesson so we could have Guy supervise our recording session to see if we made any mistakes in our set up. He watched us mic up the drums and set up the mixing desk, this is when he pointed out that I had forgotten to turn up the backing track in the ‘headphone mix’ which is on a separate mix to the ‘main mix’ where you are able to control all the levels of the drum microphones etc.
Theoretical problems
Not having enough audience members to watch the performances could be one theoretical problem we may come across. In previous shows we have experienced performer’s family members leaving once they have seen their child’s set, this then leaves a close to empty crowd for the acts performing last.
To solve both of these issues and prevent past mistakes repeating, we would need to make sure that we effectively communicate with the performers and their families. Communicating will not only make people more aware of the performance and increase the audience numbers but also make people aware of all the other acts performing and how important it is for people to stay and watch every act and respect the hard work each student has put in to their set.
Another theoretical problem is health and safety and any other risks that could occur. There is potential for people to trip on wires, drop equipment on feet etc. there is a lot of electrical equipment so this could increase the risk of a fire.
To prevent these things from happening we must cover wires either by taping them down so they are secure or even taping a mat or scrap piece of carpet/ material over the top of the loose cables. It is also important to keep all liquids away from electrical equipment and make sure that any movement of heavy equipment is supervised by a member of staff. At the start of the performance we must announce clearly to the audience, performers and staff in the venue where each fire exit is and the steps you must take to ensure everyone safely leaves the building and commutes to a safe area if a fire were to occur.
Theoretically, a problem we may face is timings and making sure everyone arrives on time for sound check and for their set in the performance.
To solve this we had a ‘time set list’ created prior to the day. This list clearly showed the order of the acts and the times they were due to be on stage, it also included the timings of when the doors opened for audience members and the interval in between. We communicated to everyone how important it was to turn up to sound check on time and to keep in mind who was performing before them so they could be backstage and ready to go on stage promptly.
Equipment breaking is another problem I could face throughout my Final Major Project. Since I am focussing on studio and live sound as well as Foley recording and ADR, I was relying on a lot of equipment to complete my work. There was potential for my work to be lost due to Logic files corrupting, software issues and recordings for my movie scene not saving properly.
To decrease the chances of this happening I made sure to save my work from logic multiple times by saving it to my documents and desktop. I made sure to have all my files organised neatly with dates in the titles so I was able to identify each project.
Another equipment issue I could encounter is monitors, microphones, amps, mixing desks etc. breaking either in sound check at the Arc Theatre or during the performance.
To solve this problem we would make sure to bring spare equipment so if something breaks we are able to replace it quickly and effectively.
Guy, Simon and I made a list of all the equipment we would need and thoroughly checked it over to ensure we had everything, including spare equipment.