The biggest takeback I feel I have gotten from this project and the process of completing it is that of workflow. I've found that when I sit down to do a mix, whether it be in Pro Tools or Ableton, I'm always a bit confused on what to do first. Post Production in particular has a lot of parts to it. This project highlighted the need of optimising the most important parts of a post production mix for screen. That is:

Dialogue Levelling

When it comes to mixing for the screen, the dialogue within holds an important and essential role. Because of this, you have to make sure it's the best version it can be. Audible and nice to listen to. My pursuit of this led me to the first basic step in Post Production mixing, in which you take Avid's Loudness Analyzer and ensure that each audio clip of dialogue is is gained at the right level. That level being -25Db. Before adding any EQ, compression, reverb or other processing. Before changing or adding any of the music, I went through each of the dialogue tracks, and gained them. However, this is only one half of the constructive whole. The other is:

Music

The musical side of the mix is pretty important, and fills out a lot of the sound of a post production mix. This corner of the post world should underline everything else that's built on top of it. With the music and dialogue working to form that cohesive foundation that most would listen when watching a short film or theatrical picture, I'm able to fill out the rest of the sound with everything else. That little movements, and sounds.

Before moving on to the general mix, and trying to get all of the sounds to fit in with each other and sound cohesive. I began processing both compression and noise reduction, usually on the dialogue files that were recorded from a boom mic as opposed to a lapel mic. I think this was a really good exercise on trying to roll with the situation you're dealt with. If you can't get a better take of something, you don't wish for a better version, you try and clean it up yourself. It was also very lucky that Blue Lab has all of their plugins for free on their website so I nabbed their Denoiser while I could. It was nice trying to sort all this out.

I never really intended it, but my previous work has usually always been something within post production. I also like displaying these ones because they display my growing capability within the audio industry and my competency within the field.

The one on the left is a short logo I wrote music for back in AUD173, and the one on the right is a TV Show Intro I made for the exhibition back in AUD210. These are important stepping stones in what I have created this trimester, and will continue to create into the future. Each one a little more complicated, each one a little more interesting.

This trimester has been a whirlwind for me as sometimes I felt like I know what I was doing, and others I seemed completely hopeless. Looking back, it's safe to say that I've learnt a lot. Even though I may not put it all into practice very easily, I've been made aware of what I will need to do if I am to have a career in the creative industries.

Firstly, you need to get into the groove of the process. Knowing that there's always obstacles and little mistakes made along the way. The fact that these obstacles are never not there, and will always be lurking around the corner. Instead of trying to avoid them, which is impossible, you get into the process of dealing with them, and creating something new when trying to deal with it. Some mishaps can happen completely on their own, however. I remember with this project, halfway through the video wasn't showing in my Pro Tools session for no reason. A couple of days later, it was working again. Others were treatable. Such as the fact that the dialogue within this project didn't always come from the same microphone, and so I needed to change the EQ of those channels, and the level that they had within their mix. With this, I've begun to know that process that people within the industry feel on a common basis when trying to get their projects done. Once completing it, it's a great feeling knowing that you managed to create something, even though so many things might have been working against you. It's a process, and you need to ride along with it.

As well as that, I've also really gotten to know exactly what my skills are within audio itself. I'm not exactly the boastful and egotistical type, and so I do find it difficult when trying to think of positive traits that I display. However, I feel that when I did get around to doing work during the trimester, the work that I do has always been acceptable. I might disregard the skills needed to record a plethora of sounds for a post production project, but I had one of those this trimester and I did it and completed it. I think I also disregard just how impressive it is to work a large analogue desk within Studio Production. I've shown this trimester that I'm capable of running full sessions recording musicians, and that's worth something. An achievement. These are base skills that I'm finally actualising throughout these trimesters and I'm happy that I'm at the stage that I am currently. I think part of the reason that I enjoy Post Production and have enjoyed it quite a bit this trimester is because there's so much to learn in order to complete it. You need to learn the different parts of the DAW, how to transform real life objects into sounds to fit a video, how to organise a session that can easily have over 80 different audio tracks. It's overwhelming at first, but if I don't sit on it for too long, you start to see the connecting tissue throughout the whole process. It's exciting getting the upper hand of a busy project like this.

Finally, the biggest learning curve I’ve started to strengthen this trimester is that of my personable skills within the industry. I’ve been frankly told by those around me that in order to have a job in not just the audio industry, but in a collaborative framework like what is commonly seen in the creative industries. I need to ask if anyone needs help, and I need to speak up by myself a lot more. It’s the most essential point of what all of these trimesters are about, and I think this is the part that’s hardest for me to learn personally. However, I’m always trying to be better with those around me. An example of me learning how to do this would be the project I had in Studio Production, in which I was able to hold the second studio session mostly by myself whilst also keeping in contact with the musician that I was recording. Such activities are commonplace, and I’m only now just fledging those skills. In the future, I hope to really exercise these skills and become better as a creative individual, one that can better those around him, and through all of those setbacks, have the necessary skills to make something great.