Skills Audit plan

For this academic year, I decided to continue the sound path. Over the past two years at Bournemouth University I discovered new interests within the field of media. Sound is the very first sense we develop and, it is what makes us make sense of the world. Sound is a path to imagination, it conveys emotion, and it accounts for 50% of the cinematic experience (this is the average I decided to use because it is a higher topic of discussion within the industry). In the words of Steven Spielberg, "our ears lead our eyes to where the story lives".

The first task, at the start of the Concept & Production Skills Development unit, was to think about what is it that we are interested in learning, as this year each student will manage and guide their own learning path, in other words, independent self-learning.

This is my skills audit plan for the upcoming semester, for the time being:

W	Specific skill to develop; current performance level (mark out of /10)	Example of how you would demonstrate advance
	SQN Mixer: I would like to expand my knowledge regarding the sound mixer. Besides more practice with the mixer itself, I would like to know how to successfully connect two mixers together. (5/10)	Watch tutorial guides (Youtube, Lynda) to using a mixer. Practising with the SQN mixer. Ultimately create an instruction video, starting with the basics to more advance techniques, as connecting the two SQN mixers for example, and any other interesting detail I may find.
	Microphones: I would like to know how to work with different kinds of microphones and deepen my knowledge into the technical aspect of sound and physics. How to choose the appropriate microphone according to the task at hand and how to use them correctly. (5/10)	Research YouTube and Lynda.com for tutorial videos on the topic. Talk to lecturers and students for practical tips. I will keep a log of my findings and examples of microphone tests in the form of a blog. I would like to record my own sounds and start to build my own sound library.
	Foley/ADR: I would like to continue practicing in the Foley room, and record sound in sync with video in a ADR situation. Setting up the session properly using mono and not stereo. (6/10)	In regards to foley, I would like to test and experiment with more objects. I would like to conduct an ADR session, however in the current circumstances this might be difficult.
	Sound Editing software: I would like to expand in depth my knowledge of ProTools, Audition and RX editing programme. Continuing practising with the EQ tool, panning music and dialogue, elastic audio, effect buses, stems. Learn more about the plugins available, and which one to choose according to the task. Becoming more efficient and knowledgeable. (5/10)	For this task, workshops, tutorial videos will be an essential tool. And a considerable amount of time allocated to practice with the software at the sound editing suites at university.
	Music editing: One of the aspects of sound I am interested in is music editing which I know very little about. In my opinion it is a good skill to have as it can be used to affect an audience for example. (2/10)	Research YouTube and Lynda.com for tutorial videos on the topic. Possibly talking to musicians, DJs or music producers. Keep a log of findings in the form of a blog.
	Mastering a mix: Being able to master a mix. Use sound effects and sound transitions. (4/10)	For this task, workshops, tutorial videos will be an essential tool. Log and skill reports in blog.
	Marking a script for sound: An essential skill to have. I have read and seen a few examples but I would like to try to expand my knowledge through practice. (5/10)	Tutorials and workshops. Reading books on the topic and experiment with several scripts. Log and skill reports in blog.

In a less academic tone: Sound. It is something I am interested in, it is something I truly engage with in any piece of media content. I am interested in knowing the insides and outs. How to manipulate an audience, how to perform foley, what microphone for what situation, editing it, recording it... I want to be good at it. The underwater videographer dream still endures however expensive to pursue in England. But you never know, I might be recording sound underwater someday!

Em frente é o caminho!