12.05.2025-19.05.2025 / Week 4
Chika Clarissa Widjaja / 0378636
Video & Sound Production / Bachelors of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
Project 1
- INSTRUCTIONS
- LECTURES
- EXERCISES
- REFLECTION
Week 4:
The Five Phases of Film Development
Development:
This is the initial phase, where everything begins with a basic concept or story idea. During this stage, the producer starts assembling the core elements of the project — such as the script, possible cast members, and a director. They also begin exploring ways to finance the film, which could involve pre-sales, private backers, or securing loans to cover production costs.
Pre-Production:
This phase focuses on preparing everything needed before filming begins. It includes tasks like finalizing the budget, hiring the crew, and designing how each scene will be shot. The team creates tools like storyboards and shot lists to help visualize the film in advance and make sure everyone is on the same page.
Production:
This is the stage where actual filming takes place. Each day, a schedule called a call sheet is distributed so the cast and crew know what scenes are being filmed and who is required. Equipment like lights and cameras are set up, and departments like makeup and costume work to get actors ready. Once all preparations are done, the scenes are recorded.
Post-Production:
After all the footage is captured, it moves into editing. This stage includes trimming and arranging the clips, fine-tuning the audio, and adding elements like visual effects or CGI if necessary. Editors work to ensure everything flows well and the movie looks and sounds professional.
Distribution:
With the film fully completed, the final step is getting it out to viewers. This involves marketing and releasing the movie to the public. While major studios often collaborate with distribution companies, indie filmmakers might rely on film festivals or alternative platforms to showcase their work.
To create a subtle alien or sci-fi room effect, I used Studio Reverb in Adobe Audition with specific settings to make the voice sound like it’s coming from a modern, empty space or spacecraft. I set the Reverb Time to 2500 ms to give it a medium echo tail that’s noticeable but not overwhelming. The Early Reflections were set to 50% to add a slight bounce effect, simulating sound hitting nearby surfaces. I kept the Width at 100% to give a wide stereo feel, making it sound more spacious. To avoid harshness and muddiness, I used a High Frequency Cut at 3000 Hz and a Low Frequency Cut at 150 Hz. I set the Damping to 30% to smooth out any ringing, and Diffusion to 80% so the echoes blend naturally. Finally, I adjusted the Dry level to 70% to keep the original voice clear, and Wet to 30% to lightly layer the echo underneath.
To create the creepy alien voice effect, I applied a combination of three audio effects in Adobe Audition. First, I used the Pitch Shifter and set the semitones to -10 to make the voice sound much deeper and more unnatural. Then, I added the Flanger effect with a slow modulation rate of 0.15 Hz, a final delay time of 15 ms, and 80% feedback to create a wobbly, otherworldly vibration in the voice. I also enabled the Sinusoidal mode and increased the wet mix to make the effect more prominent. Finally, I applied Studio Reverb with a large room size (90%), long decay time (4000 ms), and wide stereo width to simulate the voice echoing inside a futuristic or sci-fi environment.
To make the audio sound extremely muffled—like it’s coming from behind a wall or under a blanket—I used the Parametric Equalizer in Adobe Audition and drastically reduced the higher frequencies. I enabled all the bands (L, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, H) and set Band 4 (3000 Hz) to -20 dB, Band 5 (8000 Hz) to -30 dB, and the High (16000 Hz) band to -30 dB to cut out the clarity and brightness. I also slightly boosted the low frequencies: 80 Hz and 150 Hz were both set to +3 dB, while 500 Hz and 1000 Hz were lowered to keep the mids dull.
Gdrive Link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13oVKxPJ1tukn7xmwn3-7q2HgtrXReGBW
During the audio shaping exercise, I got to experiment with a lot of different sound effects in Adobe Audition, and it was honestly both frustrating and fun. At first, I had no idea where anything was because I just downloaded the app and had zero experience. The Parametric Equalizer was confusing at first, especially with all the bands and numbers, but once I understood what each one controlled, it started to make sense. My favorite part was creating the creepy alien voice—I used pitch shifting, flanger, and reverb to make it sound deep, wobbly, and echoey like something out of a horror movie. It was so satisfying to hear the final result actually sound like what I imagined. I also learned how to make audio sound muffled by cutting the high frequencies, which was a cool trick for making sounds feel far away or hidden. One struggle I had was figuring out how to export individual tracks because the option was greyed out, and it took me a while to realize I had to select the tracks properly in the multitrack session. Overall, this project helped me understand sound design better, and it made me more confident using Adobe Audition. I used to feel super overwhelmed opening the app, but now it feels kind of fun to play around with effects and make weird sounds on purpose.
Comments
Post a Comment