There was a sound recording practice on week 6 tutorial. Why do we need to record sound effects separately  while we can shoot video and record them at the same time?

I tried to make use of those direct sounds during my project 3,but it didn’t work as I had expected. The dialogue sounded  like missing its “emotion”. The background and ambient sound were not any better. Moreover, assuming the on the spot sounds were recorded correctly, we would definitely want to cut some of them to enhance the effects of the rest. For instance, too many ambiences such as footsteps, car beeping or wind will easily prevents audiences from focusing on main characters’ dialog.The process of recording and mixing sounds afterward with the video is called “Foley”. This technique is named after Jack Foley who established it.

The experience with the Zoom H2n was very helpful. I realized how hard it is to collecting sounds for the Foley. It is nearly impossible to record a specific sound in a place crowded with people or vehicles. Most of the time, If you do it outdoor, will be unwanted sounds get into your work. Controlling the volume of sounds is another challenge.