SOUND IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN YOUR YOUR FILM!

PAY ATTENTION TO IT!!!

Sound quality is usually an after thought for most students who are creating a film for the first time. Sound is an extremely important element to the film making process. Your intended audience needs to hear the dialogue clearly!! iPads are great media devices and capture reasonable audio using the built in microphone but they also capture all the ambient background noise. We will also be watching the finalist films in a cinema so the audio will be amplified. Even the smallest background noise will be heard causing a distraction to the actors' dialogue. I suggest you follow these tips when filming;

  1. Use an external microphone such as the Rode MicMe-L and monitor audio with headphones when you are filming.

  2. Film in quiet locations or locations where you have some control over the ambient noise.

  3. When editing use headphones so you can hear the sound quality of the clips.

  4. When filming outside pay attention to background noise such as birds, wind, cars, other people


Garage Band Sound Effects

Garage Band iPad

Apple have made available for download a fantastic suite of sound effects that can be used in Garage Band iPad to assist with the audio for your film. All the sound packs combined require approximately 1GB of storage.

Garage Band Mac

Apple also has a suite of sound effects available as a free download for MAC. It is several GB when completely downloaded. I rarely see this downloaded on students devices when I am in schools. Please note Apple Sound libraries could take sometime for students to download so plan ahead and do this before your lesson starts.

FOLEY SOUND EFFECTS

FOLEY is the art of making sound using objects that replicate real life sounds. Watch the following stimulus videos with your students to develop an appreciation and understanding of the importance of sound in film. Creating your own foley sound effects would definitely be "NEXT LEVEL" film making. Think of the fun you and your students would have thinking of new sounds to create.

AUDIO EQUIPMENT

The media kits supplied are a great starting point for your film making but depending on the scale of students you plan on involving in the festival, you may need to explore purchasing some additional equipment at the schools own cost. Please see below other types of microphone you might like to explore further or purchase. If you have any questions around additional equipment to purchase, please contact David Williams or Grant Fitzgerald for further advice.

Lapel Mics

Lapel mics are a great way to get audio onto your talent for improved audio. These lapel mics from RODE are relatively inexpensive and provide great sound especially if you are doing interviews or scenes with dual speaking roles.

RODE SMART LAV+

This is a fantastic sounding lapel mic for iOS devices. It does have a short 1.0m cable so you may need to also get the SC1 TRRS extension cable.

RODE SC6-L

The Rode SC6-L allows you to connect two lapel mics and monitor the audio using headphones on any iOS device. This is a great adapter to use with the RODE Wireless GO Mics or the corder Smart LAV+.

RODE SC6-L Interview Kit

This kit includes two Smart Lav+ lapel mics and the SC6-L. This is usually cheaper than buying these components separately.

RODE SC1

This is a an extension cable for the use with any TRRS microphone or cable.

iOS COMPATIBLE MICROPHONES

RODE Reporter & iXLR Adapter

The Reporter mic is a great interview mic as it has a long handle but it also sounds amazing!! The iXLR adapter allows any mic with a traditional XLR mic output to connect to an iOS device. You can also monitor the audio using headphones with the iXLR.

RODE MicMe-L

The Rode MicMe-L is the cheapest and easiest way to improve the audio quality captured from your device. It is a directional mic, meaning it will block out a lot of background ambient noise. In most cases this will be your go to mic for the film festival.

RODE MicMe-C

The RODE MicMe-C is essentially the same as the MicMe-L however it has a USB C connection.

RODE Wireless Go

The RODE VideoMiC NTG is a fantastic shotgun mic to use when creating video content. The NTG is a multipurpose mic with a lot of practical applications within school life. Such as creating chroma key video, instructional videos, film making and school assemblies to name a few. You will need to use an adapter to connect this mic to an iPad. Either of the Stereo to Lighting Adapter or Rode SC7 or Rode SC4

The Rode VideoMic NTG can also be used with a laptop or any USBC device. Great for creating podcasts, video conferencing, instructional videos etc. You can also attach a Rode WirelessGo to the VideoMic NTG and create a wireless boom mic. No more cables or OHS tripping risk.

RODE Wireless Go

The Wireless Go mic system is a new product from Rode. The Wireless Go is a quick easy to setup lapel/mic system that works with IOS and video cameras. It has excellent audio properties and is an affordable option for schools to use.

RODE Wireless Go 2

The Wireless Go 2 is the next generation of the Wireless Go Mics. The kit comes with two wireless mics that can be paired with the receiver. The Wireless go also has USB C output, so it can be used with a Macbook, iPad Pro or any device with USB C. This is the base kit you should be looking at to improve the audio in your student films.

RODE Wireless Go + RODE Video NTG

The combination of the WirelessGo and the RODE Video NTG highlights the ideal setup for capturing excellent sound when in a studio or on location. The audio is wirelessly transmitted back to the recording device for hassle and cable free recording. This setup is also great for recording groups.