I definitely feel more confident in my ability to do post audio work. Though I’ve done more location mixing than post I feel more comfortable working at a computer than being out in the field.  I Look forward to working with Digital bodega in the future as well as doing more freelance post audio mixing.

In the beginning of internship Daquan asked me if I wanted to help make a podcast. It would be about crewmembers in industry focusing specifically on those who do not come from prestigious backgrounds like NYU. I was on board but other projects and work got in the way. Now we have done our first interview. We started with George Velez (the mix was well received by the way).  I use my Zoom H6, 2 Sony wired lavaliers and a large condenser mic.  The interview went well with the lavaliers picking up most of the dialogue. Though my internship is over I will like to continue working with Daquan in making this podcast series.

Daquan asked me to help Ishmael with another mix. This time it was about a fashion design.

This one was simple. Just like before I use a compressor to level the peak volume and raised the clips that were too low.

My cousin Ricardo Aguirre was working with Digital Bodega on his documentary funded by the nonprofit Acacia network. He needed someone to help him film a trip to Albany but Daquan and Ishmael couldn’t make it. Daquan asked me to help Ricardo out. It was a run n’ gun shoot. We met the night before to make a plan and test equipment. We used the Canon EOS 100 and the Sennheiser MKH416 shotgun mic. The next day we picked up the interviewees around seven in the morning and left for Albany. During the middle of the trip we conducted the interview. My cousin was driving and I was filming from the front passenger seat. Though I’m more familiar with audio, I made sure to practice with the camera before hand.  The Mike was hooked up straight to the camera. I left the input on automatic so the levels would not get too loud or soft.

Interviewees talked about the city of the forgotten an area in Albany where ex-junkies made shantytown by the waterfront. Today is now a park. My cousin conducted interviews at the part and film B role. We stayed there for an hour and went back to NYC.

In August I left for Puerto Rico and came back at the end of the month. Because of this I miss some of the bigger productions but I helped out in moving equipment from the van back to storage.

Digital Bodega was working with NBC to cover their startup corporate classes. Daquan asked me to help cover the interviews of the participants. I came in early and help set up some of the lights and act as a stand in for framing the Red camera. We’re using wireless mics and a H4n Zoom to record audio. I placed the mics on each of the participants and monitored the recordings. I also slated the recordings by clapping in front of the camera. We went through 10 interviews during the day. Afterwards I packed up the lighting and sound equipment.

As I continue to experiment with ProTools Daquan asked me if I would like to do the sound design for a short narrative. It was a science fiction X-file type pilot directed by fellow named George Velez. I took the offer and worked on the project on my own time.

There wasn’t much to do in July so I messed around with the Pro tools room and made 5.1 surround sound mixes. One project I’m proud of is short that’s based on a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. I did all the voices and got sound effects from Adobe. I also made some of my own, likes footsteps.

I had a carriage com up from the rear of the room as well as travelers talking. They banter back and forth going from left back, center back, to right back. When one of the travelers walks forward you hear him come from the back of the room to the front. Then a few  goblins come out and threatened him, speaking in front of the room.

Iasmel and Daquan wanted to ProTools suite up and running correctly for future projects and they asked me to look into it. The suite consists of ProTools console with automated faders, two screens, a subwoofer, an audio interface and five speakers. This system is hooked up to a computer in a server room a few feet away. I made 5.1 project and test out the speakers. I learned that the best way to test the speakers was to create a mono track add in a test tone, and pan the track to each section of the grid. By doing so, I was able to see that some of the speakers were playing at the wrong time and others weren’t playing at all. I followed the single flow of the audio cables and saw that the cables were in the wrong place or not connected. The cables are supposed to flow from the ProTools audio interface then through a subwoofer, and out to the corresponding speakers. I look at the labeling of each cable and plug them into their corresponding sockets. 5.1 surround sound was up and running.

Casa Maria was a small promotional piece that consists of interviews. Iasmael needed help with the mix. Some of the interviews were coming out of one speaker instead of both. We tried exporting to ProTools via .aff file but they weren’t working. The audio tracks were coming up blank. Instead we use the option to transfer the files to Adobe audition. It worked. We exported a video, copy the tracks and transferred it to annex editing suite. Once opened in audition on the tracks laid out into place. I pan the tracks that were giving problems and took out some machine noise with the effect dehummer. I automated the volume so all the voices would be evenly matched as well as fadeout annoying clicks at the end of the clip.  I made a mix down of the final product and gave it back to Iasmael.

Digital Bodega is a production company that was a part of the nonprofit ghetto film school. This year it branched off to become its own entity. It’s headed by the president Ishmael Vasquez and the vice president Daquan Saxton.  They both film, edit, and network. If they need more people for project, they hire from their network or the Internet. They record on Canon EOS 100 and Reds cameras, and edit on Adobe Premier.   I would help them out with some of the recordings and final audio mixes, as well as help transport equipment.