LO4 - Evidence of applying effects, transitions and audio

 Below are some clips and screen grabs of me editing the audio and video for my animation:

I began by editing the audio as there were a lot of recordings that were unusable or needed to be cut using the razor tool before they could become a part of the animation- any faults in the voice acting would've detracted from the narrative immersion. Listening to the narration also gave me a better idea of where the visuals needed to come in. 

Initially I worked on getting the main bulk of the animation and narration down, ensuring they lined up so I'd have a basis to start adding on extra visual and sound effects. One of the first things I did after this was adding in video transitions such as different dissolves so that I could set the mood for each scene and perfect the timing before I made any further alterations. These transitions connoted a dream-like sense of time distortion.

There are three audio levels here, the first being the recordings of my narrator, the second being the unlicensed sound effect of rain that is looped throughout the majority of my animation and the third layer contains any extra sound effects necessary for my animation to further engage an audience e.g. doors shutting. I will also need to edit music into 'The Star' in order to enforce the fairy tale genre so it attracts a younger audience due to the simple, cheerful connotations of the sound. Without sound, children would probably lose interest; all their senses need to be stimulated to hold their attention.

The sound for the narration needed to be raised as it is the most vital part of the audio to ensure the viewer knows exactly what is happening. Seeing as the rain is continuous I thought it should be quietened to seem more like background music, similarly to the sound effects which were also lowered in order to prioritise the voice acting. As seen above, I used the audio mixer to achieve this.

In this video I finalised the audio by importing in background music and any sound effects I'd previously missed out, then adding them to the actual animation. I feel like the music was exactly what I needed in order to tie my animation together and the magical soundtrack truly emphasised the fantasy genre.
More obviously viewable here is the series of quick cuts made using the razor tool to alter the length of each image- the quicker cuts are often used to actually animate a character or connote drama. For instance, the scene in which The Girl remembers that she is The Star gradually becomes more theatrical as the conversation races towards this revelation, and a young audience will become more gripped here due to the faster narrative pace.

Throughout my animation I repeatedly alter between utilising cuts and fades in order to change scenes and add diversity. However, the editing technique I most often incorporated was using position and scale toggles to create pans, tilts and zooms- which created more of a storyboard like effect throughout. As I often remain on a single image for a long time, these edits help create more interest and also show off the detail of the scene. It simultaneously denotes a slower pace which connotes serenity; as 'The Star' is styled similarly to a bed time story, children need to be calmed down by the visual narrative and the audio as opposed to stressed out or confused.


This video contains purely the audio of my animation, including voice acting, SFX and music.