On the 22/10/14, we met up as a group and experimented with the zoom H4N. We started by testing different gain levels against recording at a mixture of distances away from the sound source.
One of the main sound sources in our soundscape will be footsteps as it is based on a journey through the memory/nostalgia related to the beach scene. We decided in our test recordings to start by recording mainly the footsteps and to record the transition between different surfaces.
The first sets of footsteps were of the transition between concrete and slate to represent the sound of walking from the path onto a cobbled part of the beach. We decided on recording at a distance of 1Meter behind the source at a gain level of 62 on the zoom. This effectively recorded a clear sounding transition from the concrete to the slate however, when we listened back, the sound of the shoe could have been more defined by the choice of shoe worn. It also recorded the sound of the footsteps of the person recording at the time. We saw this as a problem as the story is of one person’s journey through their memories of the beach.
We then decided to try recording the sound source from different angles including in front, behind, to the side and from the perspective of the person walking. We found that if we get the actor to record themselves walking, it will represent exactly what the character is hearing, putting the audience into the head of the character. We thought this would make the sounds more realistic rather than staged or exaggerated.