Test Filming and recording at 6am in the morning
Well this was certainly a feel of life on a real set, in fact from what I've read 6am may even be a lie in. I needed to check both the sound and the light at this time of the morning. The light seemed fine. However, although there was no noise from the neighbours, there was loads and loads of bird noises, really noisy, much more than during the day. I had forgotten about the dawn chorus. There was also a surprising amount of traffic noise. I had not expected rush hour to be as noisy as it was since we are in lockdown and many people are working from home. Whichever way I directed the mic, I picked up traffic noise, and not just a low rumble that I may have been able to get rid of in postproduction, there was hooting and intermittent noses too. So I ruled out 6am.
Test filming and recording at 10am
I tried again at 10am. The birds were not so loud, which was better. But for some reason now there were lots of sirens coming and going, which I couldn’t tell for sure if were a one off or not. They were going for about half an hour. By 10:30am there were neighbour noises again.
Asking an expert's advice
I decided to do the second thing that I had put on my list and ask my tutor Nargess for any suggestions.
When I asked Nargess, she was pleased that I had tried so hard to find a solution before asking her.
I always try hard to find a solution to a problem before asking a tutor, and I also don't just give up on finding a solution just because it seems hard. I had tried really hard to find a solution to my problem of background noise outside, including getting up to test film at 6am and then again at 10am, before I asked Nargess for any tips. I was really pleased when she noticed this and complimented me on my efforts find a solution myself before asking her or just giving up. This was encouraging feedback.
She was helpful. She explained that with documentary/information style videos you can't always get rid of all the background noise, especially if (unlike me) you are grabbing an interview when you can. Also, she said that some types of background noise are more acceptable than others. For example, she suggested that I not worry about the birdsong, since that is quite a pleasant background noise. However, she agreed about neighbours talking on the phone or mowing the lawn etc.
She gave me some tips as to how to hold the mic and direct it to at least minimise some of the noise if it is not too bad, but she agreed with my plan to at least investigate the possibility of filming inside. But also to try some other times of the day outside too, since I really prefer to film this outdoors, which I will do.
Purchasing Lights
With the possibility of needing to film indoors getting more real, I decided that I also need to continue and finish investigating buying a couple of filming lights (as part of my 18th Birthday present) since they could be very useful for filming inside, if they can arrive in time. Thinking positively, there could be some advantages to filming me speaking to camera inside, since if I need to reshoot anything then it is much easier to recreate the same lighting conditions as the first time, whereas outdoors you cannot control if it is a sunny or cloudy day. I still prefer the woods from a creative point of view, I think as a backdrop it would look so much better. And I can get a better variety of places for me to stand, walk or sit than in my garden or in my house. But right now I think I just need to find somewhere that you can hear me!
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