The latest assessment is in from Audio master class, thanks Andy Davis and Sam Davis This is what they said - Technical quality These technical notes apply to all of your practical assignment work. If you are in doubt on any points, you are recommended to look back at the practical assignment notes for Module 1, and your assessment for Module 1. Your grading for technical quality will take into account all of the following... Your recording should be of correct level and be topped and tailed neatly. Background noise from both acoustic and electronic sources should be hardly perceptible. The ambience should preferably be quite dry, unless it was part of the assignment to record ambience or reverberation. There should be minimal popping from microphones and no blasting. There should be no noticeable faults in the sound achieved from microphones. There should be no perceptible distortion unless warmth has been used deliberately, or unless the assignment calls for experimentation in this regard. Your grade: 5 Correct fulfillment of the assignment brief Every sound engineer should carry out this project at least once in their career, to get a strong feeling for the way microphones behave in a stereo pair. The brief is not unduly complex, but it does have to be carried out fully and correctly. Your grade will reflect how well you have accomplished this. Grading on this point includes the (intellectual) clarity of your audio descriptions as you walk around the microphones. Your grade: 5 Level With very few exceptions, work submitted to a client should peak somewhere above -2 dBFS. This can be achieved by correct gain setting during recording, or by correctly setting the level in mixing or bouncing. Audio that is at an unnecessarily low level suffers from a poor signal-to-noise ratio, increased distortion, and simply does not sound professional. Your grade: 5 Identification of left and right channels It is of vital importance in all areas of sound engineering to ensure that the left channel and right channel are the correct way round. Otherwise the first violins of an orchestra could end up on the right, which is incorrect. Or an actor and actress facing each other on a movie screen could have their voices transposed in the speakers. Preferably, you will have correctly identified the left and right channels when you described how you were moving around the speakers. If not, then your grade has not been affected. However, if you identified the channels incorrectly, then your grade has been adjusted appropriately. Your grade: 5 Ambience Unless you are fortunate enough to have a large, acoustically-treated studio, or can perform this assignment in quiet open-air surroundings, it is likely that there is considerable ambience, probably rather more than ideal. This is due to the distance from the microphone that is necessary to perform the assignment properly. Your grade will only be affected if there is an unusual amount of ambience, or if the ambience is unduly unpleasant. Your grade: 4 Differences in stereo imaging Your recordings should demonstrate that the coincident crossed pair has a very firm and stable stereo image. The level decreases somewhat towards the sides, and significantly towards the rear. The near-coincident crossed pair should show a slightly less precise image, but with the advantage of a better feeling of spaciousness. This may be subtle, so your grading is not affected if the effect is not particularly marked. This may be due to the acoustics of your recording room. The ORTF pair however should definitely show more spaciousness than the coincident pair. The spaced pair will show considerable spaciousness, but the stereo image will not be as firm and precise. Your grade: 5 Professionalism Your recording should demonstrate a professional attitude to your work. Professional in this context means getting the message across effectively. Sometimes a little humor or lightness can be injected into a demonstration. This can make what might have been a rather matter-of-fact demonstration more impressive for those who experience it. It is best not to overdo this however. In your music production or sound engineering career, you will often find yourself showing things to others. It is important to be able to do this effectively and interest your audience so that the message gets through the way that you want it to. Your grade: 5 From your notes you have clearly learned a lot about background noise. Speech and foley effects are the types of signal most affected by noise. Music isnt affected to such an extent. The room seems rather reverberant for a rehearsal room, but of course this isnt your fault. Other than these points your work is excellent - neatly and professionally presented. Your overall grade for this module: 5 (Grade 3 represents a basic professional standard. Grade 5 represents First Call status.) This is work of an excellent standard. However, you have not scored consistently 5/5 on all points so we advise you to consider the issues where you have achieved a less than first call grade.
Posted on: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 14:47:06 +0000
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