Term 3 Recap

Sorry for the lack of updates, Term 3 was pretty hectic especially when being displaced for a week during the chemical leak. The projects were a bit harder and more intense. We got a chance to work with both the Film campus and also work with the Foundations students on their final Term 6 projects.

For the Film campus collaboration we were split up into teams where our group was the sound crew on the set. No new territory for me here, I've boomed for almost all of the 19W films but it was great to be back on a working movie set. Of course it never ran as smoothly as the GDE set, but it was ok. We shot at a number of locations throughout Vancouver but the one I found most interesting was at Storyeum. It didn't look like much from the outside but inside it seemed like a huge Hollywood soundstage!







So it was great to be back on a set, but working with an ever changing schedule and trying to balance my own projects was pretty stressful. During the Film collaboration, we were asked to "mentor" Foundation students in their final projects. We were not ultimately responsible for the final sound design for their projects although for some us, it ended up that way. All we were asked to do was to guide them into what would make their pieces sound better overall. But again, for some of us... (ahem), we did everything from running an ADR session because the production audio was unusable, doing a music edit, and doing a mix of all the elements. I think I might have spent more time on their projects than I did on mine. Oh, and I had 2 of those to deal with, not just 1. After all was said and done, I wasn't too upset when I saw the screening in the theater and noticed everything I did for the sound design was pretty much blanketed by all the music that was on top of it. This is usually what happens anyway so I need to get used to it.

One highlight of Term 3 was a field trip to EA. Yeah that EA! It was HUGE! Unfortunately, I was not allowed to bring any recording devices and no pictures... sorry. It was unbelievable to see in person. We were even lucky enough to go into one of the sound studios to see what one of the audio engineers was working on for a FIFA title and a Need for Speed title. It was definitely an eye opening experience to see what goes on at a game company.

Over the break I did a bit of volunteering at the Dunbar Haunted House. My roommate got involved because one of his instructors runs the event and told me they were shooting a documentary on it. I asked if they needed any help in the sound department and that's how I got in. At first, I took care of sound for some of the footage shot but as the days went by, they needed help running the show. That's what it felt like, you're literally putting on a show every night and you have to make sure everything is going smoothly. I'm still helping out and I can't wait to post the pics. But if you click on the link above you can see what I'm talking about.

That's all for now, Term 4 starts tomorrow...