[Extended Practice] Voice Recording

I bought a voice recording device in Hong Kong with a fair price, pretty good quality, ready to do the most important part of my animation- the voice!!!!

We had a few tests before the actual recording. I want him to mention few important points of the events:

the date, 

the place, 

why did the bad guys sent a person down?

what did you do afterwards?

what did the criminal hold?

Did you hurt?

do what you think about this event?

At the first attempt, he did not really feel comfortable and the speech is stiff and live-less, instead of memorising the script, I want him to speak from his heart. Therefore plan changed, this time I asked him question and he answer, everything sounds more natural and organised so this should be the method.

Funnily, when I started recording, he became stiff again. It should be very hard for a person who are not use to this. Although it is very differ from his daily voice tone, I thought it might also be good to use this uncomfortable voice since his is representing the Policeman so it should be spoken by another identity. He was so polite during the whole interview and speaking every words clearly, with just a little mumble but which should be fine!I tried to make jokes and ease the tension which got better.

I kept asking him the events, attempting to get a good result. However, the more I asked, the more bored and tired he got (he did not say anything but I could feel it). So the first recording is the best result I got. It is the most natural. Each video has about 3-4 attempts, separating the questions into small parts. 

After this experience, I knew that it is easy to voice record someone but it is very difficult to get the most natural voice from them, especially from a person who could easily tense. (also from a stubborn Hong Kong man) I really wish I could have a better voice record but at the same time the result remind me not to over manipulate the process. It is also fun to work with what I got and it might lead to a different result! The most important elements needed when recording someone's voice are:

Good voice recording device

good sets of questions

The person

A quite space

water

jokes!

[Extended Practice]Research in Christmas

During Christmas, it was a good chance to collect primary resource. I went to Kam Tin (where the event happened) with my Dad who I thought could tell me more about the case and it should be interesting to see him visited this place again. It was not hard to get there and we kind of just wonder inside the big village. Dad did not remember any of the way haha so we asked a few local elderlies whether they remembered the gunfire happened at that time. Some did some did not. A friendly old man told us that the building was taken down many years ago. Traditionally, the house is considered to be haunted if someone were dead inside and logically it was replaced by new houses. Actually, most of the houses in this village are new but fortunately with similar style. I was a bit disappointed when informed that the building was taken down but things happen! Therefore I took lots of photos of the village instead. There were left with quite a lot ruins and old temples which are authentic and away from the busy town centre. Dad told me which buildings look like the one and where they stood and the distance and stuff so I have clearer picture of what actually happened at that time.


I took a lot of buildings with different angels hope it would be useful when comes to being a background. Most of them are going be traced and applied with various texture. I really want to bring out the realism of this case but at the same time it is not necessarily to make it intense...but how could I achieve this? still need more research.

I also understand that the whole event was happened within a small space, all the houses are packed together which I think the thin road and the lack of sunlight could build up the atmosphere. These are the good pictures I got, we were not allow to take pictures of someone's dinning room or inside the house so there are no indoor shoots which I was not satisfied. However, thinking of the style of the animation, details of the background would not be the main focus but the character and the story so hopefully it should be fine.

I am glad that I went to Kam Tin with Dad. Although he did not say a word about what he thought about visiting this place again, I feel he is proud of being a policeman and should had a lot of memories throw back to him. This also motivates me to tell his story to the world.

[Extended Practice] Callum and Hayley's sets[1]

I was motivated about being able to collaborate with Hayley and Callum's team because I can craft and hand made stuffs! I took the initiative to ask Hayley to book the wood workshop to kick-start the project. This is my second time in my college life to go down to the wood work place and I love the smell of wood!

Hayley did the measurement of how big we want the set to be in cm and we could choose how thick we want the floor/walls to be. I think Hayley did a really great design by giving them grooves to make the mortise and tenon joints which could make a strong set and does not require nails. We showed the design to the gentleman who then advise us to leave a few more inches for the thickness of the wood board and so we did and start cutting the wood!

It is very fun and such a new experience! Although we did not have chance to do any of these things ourselves, we learnt by watching the guy do it. It looks very easy and quick. The hardest part is to measure the length and width. (We do not have the brain to do Maths obviously.)

We are coming back to the workshop later to laser cut the windows out of the wall and I am going to start texturising the floor! It is so excited!