There weren't many people that turned up for the 'audition' of our narrator, but it was nice to see that Tyler had come along to help out with recording. As there was two of us it made it easier to get across what it was we were looking for, and we found that Max was able to voice the story the way we wanted, which was enthusiastically. We did have to do some re-shoots as some words were mispronounced, but I'm certainly happy with the audio now. I did have to do some editing to the animation as the timing was slightly out, but at most it was only the addition of a couple of frames so it wasn't that much of a pain. This has definitely made me realise the importance of nailing the audio early, so you don't have to go back and add frames or remove them.
At our last critique I had asked Tyler to make crucial components such as hay bales for Jack to poke at with his pitchfork and 'information bubbles' to display the proteins of the cows, as well as any other components he would like to add to our scenes. He did just this and I was able to improve one or two of our scenes, and export the final takes of the animation, and slot them into one Premiere file. To begin with I was a little bit worried at how late Tyler had left it to get the components to me as I wanted to assign a bit of time to prepare for final crit and post-production, but I had managed to slot in the new additions and animate them quicker than expected, so everything worked out well in the end.
Once this was done we were able to get started with post, which I also took charge of. When we were in the sound booth, Tyler recorded himself making noises that could be used for both the Giant and Jack. I don't know how serious he was about using these noises in the final cut, but I played around with them and I liked how they brought the characters more life so I decided to keep them. I used Audition to change the speed and pitch of the audio to make Tyler's voice deeper so that it was more suitable for the Giant. I similarly did the same for one of Max's 'moos' for the cow at the end, and I think it genuinely sounds like a cow, which is great. I'm still none the wiser on how to use Audition, and I think it would be worth spending some time to get to know the program, as I have been able to create some good sound effects with basic knowledge, so I can only imagine the things I'd be able to do if I knew what I was doing.
For the remainder of the audio, I searched for some ambient sounds online, and found some that were royalty free and didn't require crediting. I lowered the volume of the tracks so that they didn't overpower the narration and sound effects, and even though they are only subtle, I think they have greatly improved the animation. It really gives you a sense of space and makes you feel as though you're out on the farm.
Finished Animation?
Myself and Tyler would be happy to submit the animation now as we both feel there's nothing else left to add, but have decided to wait until after the final crit - that Tyler is going to make art boards for, considering I took charge of post - to see if anyone has any suggestions of improvement, considering we will have a week to make additional changes.
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