Recording Sounds for 'Hogwarts Legacy' | AirCon24

Summary

In this Air Wiggles audio conference session, Dr. Alexander Horowitz and Pablo Valbrana share their experience of field recording in the New Forest for the Warner Brothers title 'Hogwarts Legacy'. They discuss the preparation, challenges, and techniques used during the trip, emphasizing the importance of capturing authentic ambiences and wildlife sounds. The session covers equipment choices, weather considerations, and the value of such expeditions for team building and training, providing insights into the process of creating immersive audio for games.

Takeaways

• 🎙️ The session was about a field recording trip to the New Forest, South of England, for the Warner Brothers title 'Hogwarts Legacy', led by Dr. Alexander Horowitz and Pablo Valbraña.
• 🔊 The team sought unique soundscapes and local wildlife recordings to enhance the in-game environments and atmospheres, particularly focusing on the UK and Scottish settings.
• 📍 The New Forest National Park was chosen for its untouched landscapes, rich wildlife, and relative seclusion from human-made noise, making it an ideal location for capturing organic sounds.
• 📝 The preparation involved careful planning, including justifying the field trip, considering weather conditions, and ensuring the team had the right equipment for the task.
• 🛠️ A variety of recording equipment was used, including different models of recorders and microphones, to capture sounds in various configurations and conditions.
• 🚶‍♂️ The team undertook extensive hiking to find suitable recording locations, emphasizing the physical demands of field recording work.
• 🌞 The timing of the trip was crucial, with considerations for spring bird songs, daylight cycles, and avoiding busy tourist periods to ensure the quality of recordings.
• 🔍 The editing process involved sifting through 43 hours of raw audio, using tools like RX Isotop for spectral editing, and mastering the recordings down to a more manageable length.
• 📁 Metadata was meticulously applied to the recordings using the Universal Category System (UCS) to facilitate easy search and retrieval for future projects.
• 🤝 The trip served multiple purposes, including team building, training for new team members, and providing a valuable hands-on experience that enriched the team's skills and knowledge.
• 🌳 The outdoor experience was highlighted as beneficial for team morale, especially after the isolation of the pandemic, and provided a refreshing change of pace from studio work.

Q & A

What is the purpose of the Air Wiggles Vault recordings?

The Air Wiggles Vault recordings are a series of live streams from Air Wiggles audio conferences, focusing on various topics related to audio, made freely available thanks to their sponsors.

Who is Dr. Alexander Horowitz and what is his role in the audio industry?

Dr. Alexander Horowitz is an audio director at Criterion Games, part of Electronic Arts. He has worked as an audio director, lead, or head of audio for around eight years on titles for Warner Brothers, Rockstar, Fox, and EA. He has a PhD in game development, a masters in programming, and a masters in technical broadcast audio.

What was the main reason for conducting field recordings in the New Forest for 'Hogwarts Legacy'?

The main reason was to capture additional unique ambience sounds and local wildlife for the game, as existing libraries did not fully meet the needs of the diverse in-game locations and environments, especially to capture the essence of the UK and Scotland.

Why was the New Forest chosen for the field recording session?

The New Forest was chosen due to its proximity to the development location in Brighton and Hove, its status as a largely untouched area rich in wildlife, and its relative distance from road and air traffic that could interfere with recordings.

What challenges did the team face in terms of recording conditions?

Challenges included ensuring the recording equipment was safe and camouflaged from potential thieves, dealing with unpredictable British weather, and managing background noise from tourists and other human activities.

What types of equipment did the team use for the field recordings?

The team used a combination of equipment including the Zoom H4n Pro, Sound Devices MixPre-6, and Zoom F8 recorders, along with various microphones such as the Sennheiser MK series and Rode NT4 for capturing high-quality audio in different conditions.

How did the team ensure they captured a variety of sounds during their field recording trip?

The team planned their trip to cover different weather conditions and times of day, set up multiple recorders in various locations simultaneously, and used different microphone configurations to capture a wide range of sounds.

What precautions did the team take to protect their equipment from the elements?

The team used dry bags to protect the recorders and other equipment from rain, and they considered wind protection by using Rycote Windjammers and bubble beanie wind protection for the microphones.

How did the team manage the data they collected during the field recording trip?

The team backed up their data regularly, used RX Isotope for initial audio editing, and then mastered the recordings into shorter segments, applying minimal processing to maintain the natural sound.

What was the outcome of the field recording trip in terms of the final audio used in 'Hogwarts Legacy'?

The trip resulted in almost 100 Gigabytes of raw audio, which was edited down to about two and a half hours of mastered recordings, providing a rich and varied soundscape for the game.

What lessons did the team learn from their field recording experience that they would apply to future projects?

Lessons included the importance of planning for travel time, checking recording equipment settings, listening to initial recordings before leaving the area, using efficient routes, camouflaging gear, carrying extra accessories, and considering the use of tracking devices like air tags.

Outlines

00:00

🎙️ Introduction to Air Wiggles Audio Conference and Hogwarts Legacy Project

The script introduces the Air Wiggles Vault recordings, a series of live streams focusing on audio for games, sponsored by various audio companies. Dr. Alexander Horowitz and Pablo Valbrun, both from the gaming industry, discuss their involvement in the Warner Brothers title 'Hogwarts Legacy.' They talk about their backgrounds, the importance of field recording for game audio, and the decision to record in the New Forest, South of England, for its rich wildlife and ambiance, aiming to capture a variety of sounds that couldn't be found in existing libraries.

05:02

🎒 Preparation for the New Forest Field Recording Trip

The speakers detail the preparation for their field recording trip to the New Forest, discussing the justification for the trip, the need for unique soundscapes and local wildlife recordings, and the goal of team building. They considered various locations but chose the New Forest for its proximity and lack of background noise. The paragraph also covers the challenges of UK's dense population and busy airspace, the importance of weather conditions for recording bird songs, and the equipment selected for its low noise and portability.

10:02

🛠️ Equipment and Considerations for Field Recording

This section delves into the specific audio equipment used during the trip, including recorders like the Mix Pre 6 and Zoom F8, and microphones from brands like Sennheiser and DPA. The importance of low self-noise and good preamps is highlighted, along with the need for wind protection and the consideration of weight and size for portability. The team also discusses the importance of non-audio gear like navigation tools, maps, and practical items for a day-long hike.

15:04

⏱️ Timing and Logistics of the Field Recording Adventure

The script outlines the timing and logistics of the field recording sessions, emphasizing the choice of dates to avoid tourists and capture spring bird songs. The team discusses the importance of time of day for bird song cycles, the need to navigate around school and public holidays, and the strategy for setting up recorders to capture both day and night ambiences. The paragraph also touches on the initial driving route from Brighton to the New Forest and the challenges of finding the perfect recording locations.

20:06

🌄 The Field Recording Experience in the New Forest

The speakers recount their experiences during the field recording trip, describing the process of setting up recording equipment in various locations, the challenges of ensuring the gear's safety, and the unpredictability of weather conditions. They mention the use of camouflage to protect the equipment and the need to manage concerns about potential theft or damage. The paragraph also covers the team's approach to hiking and finding suitable spots for recording, as well as their lunch breaks and the overall adventure of the trip.

25:08

🌃 Nighttime Recordings and Equipment Safety

This section focuses on the challenges and strategies for capturing nighttime ambiences, including the decision-making process for selecting quiet locations and the hope for capturing bird calls or other natural sounds after dark. The team discusses the importance of equipment safety, the use of dry bags for protection, and the reliance on luck for weather conditions, specifically avoiding condensation issues.

30:09

📚 Post-Trip Processing and Reflections on the Recording Expedition

After the trip, the team faced the task of processing nearly 100 gigabytes of raw audio, which they distilled into about two and a half hours of mastered recordings. They emphasize the importance of backing up data regularly and using tools like RX Isotops for spectrogram analysis to identify and edit out unwanted sounds. The paragraph also includes reflections on lessons learned, such as the need for more planning, better communication, and the value of the trip for team building and training.

35:11

🔄 The Value and Outcomes of the New Forest Recording Trip

The speakers reflect on the value of the field recording trip, highlighting the capture of unique sounds for 'Hogwarts Legacy,' the training and team-building aspects, and the personal benefits of being outdoors after the pandemic. They discuss the outcomes in terms of new sound assets, team cohesion, and the personal growth of the participants, particularly the interns. The paragraph concludes with an acknowledgment of the trip's success and the desire to apply the lessons learned to future projects.

40:12

📘 Final Thoughts and Q&A Session

The session concludes with final thoughts from the speakers, who express gratitude for the opportunity to share their experiences and insights. They also engage in a Q&A session, addressing questions about the technical aspects of the recording process, the use of specific equipment, and the justification for the field recording trip within their studio. The speakers provide recommendations for sound engineering students and discuss the benefits of real-life recordings versus sound libraries.

Keywords

💡Field recording

Field recording refers to the process of capturing audio outside of a studio environment, often in natural settings. It is crucial for gathering authentic soundscapes and ambient noises that can be used in various media, such as video games, films, and television. In the video, field recording is the central activity as the team travels to the New Forest to capture sounds for the game 'Hogwarts Legacy', emphasizing the importance of natural sounds for creating immersive gaming experiences.

💡Hogwarts Legacy

Hogwarts Legacy is a video game set in the Harry Potter universe, developed by Avalanche Software and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The game is significant in the video as it is the project for which the field recordings are being made. The team aims to capture ambient sounds and wildlife noises to enrich the game's audio and provide a more realistic and engaging environment for players.

💡Sound design

Sound design involves the creation and manipulation of audio elements to enhance the auditory experience in various forms of media. It is a critical aspect of game development and film production. In the context of the video, sound design is integral to the process of selecting, editing, and implementing the field recordings captured in the New Forest to ensure that 'Hogwarts Legacy' has a rich and immersive soundscape.

💡Ambisonics

Ambisonics is a method of recording and reproducing sound that allows for a three-dimensional representation of the sound field. It is particularly useful for creating immersive audio experiences in virtual reality and gaming. Although not used in this particular field recording trip, Ambisonics is mentioned as a technology that the team is familiar with and has utilized in past projects, indicating their exploration of advanced sound recording techniques.

💡Sound libraries

Sound libraries are collections of pre-recorded sound effects and audio clips that can be licensed and used in various projects. They serve as a resource for sound designers looking for specific audio elements. In the video, the team discusses the limitations of relying solely on sound libraries for 'Hogwarts Legacy', highlighting the need for original field recordings to supplement and enhance the available library content.

💡Audio director

An audio director is a professional responsible for overseeing the audio aspects of a project, such as a video game or film. They manage the creative and technical aspects of sound design, including the work of sound designers, composers, and engineers. Dr. Alexander Horowitz, one of the speakers in the video, is an audio director at Criterion Games, emphasizing the role's importance in leading the audio team and making strategic decisions about the game's sound.

💡Headphones

Headphones are a personal audio device worn over or in the ears to listen to audio without external amplification. In the context of field recording, headphones are essential for monitoring the captured sound in real-time, ensuring the quality and accuracy of the recording. The video mentions the use of headphones for this purpose, underlining their importance in the field recording process.

💡Wildlife

Wildlife refers to non-domesticated animals living in their natural habitats. Capturing the sounds of wildlife is a key aspect of field recording for the video's project, as the team seeks to record the natural ambience of the New Forest, including the sounds of birds and other creatures, to create a realistic and immersive audio environment in 'Hogwarts Legacy'.

💡Sound engineering

Sound engineering is the art and science of recording, manipulating, and reproducing sound. It is a fundamental part of creating high-quality audio for media projects. The video features sound engineering in the form of field recording techniques, equipment setup, and the subsequent editing and mastering of the captured audio to be used in the game's sound design.

💡Mastering

Mastering is the final step in the audio production process, where the recorded tracks are polished and optimized for playback across various formats and systems. In the video, the team discusses the mastering of their field recordings, which involves editing, spectral editing, and applying EQ to ensure the sounds are suitable for use in 'Hogwarts Legacy'.

💡Sound effects (SFX)

Sound effects are artificially created or enhanced audio elements used to add depth and realism to a scene or environment. They are a staple in sound design for games, films, and other media. The video discusses the categorization and implementation of sound effects using the Universal Category System (UCS), which helps in organizing and检索 the vast array of sounds captured during the field recording trip.

Highlights

Introduction of Dr. Alexander Horowitz, Audio Director at Criterion Games, with a background in both artistic and technical aspects of audio.

Pablo Valbrunes, Senior Designer at Studio Goo, shares his experience in film and TV sound recording and his focus on organic sounds.

The team's mission to capture unique ambiences and local wildlife sounds for the Warner Brothers title 'Hogwarts Legacy'.

Challenges of finding a location with minimal background noise in densely populated southern England.

The decision to focus on the New Forest National Park for its untouched landscapes and rich wildlife.

Importance of considering weather conditions for capturing a variety of bird songs and ambient sounds.

The selection of recording equipment prioritized for low self-noise and portability for extensive hiking.

Use of various microphones and recorders to capture sounds at multiple locations simultaneously.

Strategies for camouflaging and securing expensive recording gear in the forest to prevent theft or damage.

The meticulous planning involved in scheduling the field recording trip to avoid tourist高峰期 and school holidays.

Innovative use of a paper map and compass for navigation without reliance on phone battery or signal coverage.

The practical considerations for clothing, food, and water to sustain the team during long days of hiking and recording.

The adventure of setting up recorders in the New Forest and the忐忑 about leaving the equipment unattended.

Utilization of RX Isotope for non-destructive editing and the process of mastering the raw audio files.

Reflections on the value of the trip for team building, training, and capturing authentic sounds for 'Hogwarts Legacy'.

Learnings from the trip, including the importance of planning, communication, and equipment checks.

The decision not to use ambisonic recording techniques due to the specific requirements of the project.

Insights on the post-production process, including the use of metadata and the Universal Category System for sound effects.

Final thoughts on the success of the field recording trip and the benefits beyond just capturing sounds for the game.

Transcripts

welcome to the airon Vault recordings of

the live streams from Air Wiggles audio

conference these are made free thanks to

our sponsors a sound effect game audio

learning killer Herz audio kinetic sound

Cuts tugi boom Library sound Warriors

and air Wiggles the online home for

audio people good morning good afternoon

good evening depending on where you are

and when you are whether you're tuning

in later or now um and Welcome to our

session about the New Forest in the

south of England this is a a a story

from Pablo and I about a field recording

session that took place in 2022 when we

were working on the Warner Brothers

title Hogwarts

Legacy first of all some introductions I

am Dr Alexander Horowitz I'm the audio

director at criterian games in Guilford

part of Electronic Arts I've been an

audio director an audio lead or a head

of audio for around eight years now

working on titles for Warner Brothers

Rockstar Fox and EA my first credit was

actually for EA so I've now come full

circle I've got my PhD in game

development um and a masters in

programming and Masters in technical

broadcast audio from The Classical

School of Arts but I originally trained

as a composer at the conservator in

Scotland so a mix of the artistic and

the technical there I've also done some

consultancy for the UN and for baa and

I'm on the Committees of the audio

engineering society and the independent

Society of musicians I'm joined by Pablo

Val branes hello everyone it's a

pleasure to be here I'm Pablo senior

designer at Studio goo where I join in

around late 2018 before that I was

working at the magti in studio basing in

London and prior to getting into the

games industry I used to work as a sound

recordist in the film TV industry since

2015 when I got my first recorder a

really small Zoom HDM I've been

recording sounds on my free time mainly

focusing on on ambiances for some reason

that still don't know I have a special

interest in organic sounds such as yeah

Birds insects rain or or wind in

2017 I decided to share these sounds I

was capturing with the audio commun

community so I founded my own level game

workers I've also been teaching wise on

gimio at SAE Institute Spain in Madrid

hope you guys enjoy this talk over to

you Alex thank you and we're also joined

in by Ben Pickersgill and Callum Fox

Forest so Ben and Callum came with us on

this field recording trip um but can't

be involved in the The Talk today so

thank you so part one preparation what

did we do before we went on this

trip now obviously we needed to justify

our field recording trip in the first

place and we wanted to go and do some

hiking and some exploration and all

these different things but what was the

reason behind it well working on Hogwart

Legacy there were lots of different

ingame locations there were lots of

different Landscapes different biomes

types of environments that needed lots

of sounds and we bought all of the

ambience libraries that we could find

not necessarily everything but

everything that pertained to the content

that was in game at the time we' gone

through a sound effect boom and

everything else but we decided we need

something extra we were also missing a

lot of the local Wildlife so Hogwarts

itself is based up in Scotland um and we

needed something that tried to apure the

the environment and the ambiances of the

UK and specifically Scotland as well um

we also thought this would be a good

opportunity to bring the team closer

together I mentioned Callum and Ben

before they just joined us as audio

interns not long before we went on the

trip so we were looking for a way of

essentially bringing them into the fold

getting them up to speed with the game

and getting to know them better as well

now we had ideas of the ideal trip of

course we'd love to go up to Scotland

and stay there for weeks and capture

everything we could find but the reality

of course is different the location we

thought about Scotland we thought about

Galloway Forest Park other national

parks up there but of course we started

to think about New Forest because of

where it was it's it's proximity to

where we were developing which was in

Brighton and Hove on the south coast of

England just south of London we had to

think about background noise ideally

we'd have a location that had no

vehicles no other background noise noise

but in the UK especially in the south of

England that's quite hard to find we're

very densely populated island and

there's a lot of roads and various other

things around here that make noise so

things like train lines planes you can

see the flight radar um airspace here

the southeast of England is actually one

of the busiest airspaces in the world

and so you've got lots of air traffic

that can muddy up recordings um and cars

as well so you've got lots of main roads

lots of even B roads that start to carry

Lorry noise and other traffic into your

recordings as well and there's also the

consideration of distance and cost in

time if we travel too far we spend the

time traveling rather than actually

recording and we spend the budget on

either flights or trains or petrol to

get to the

location finally there's the weather now

British weather is very variable pao's

based is north of Madrid and so we're

always joking about how terrible it is

here but we did actually want to capture

um a range of weather situation

so not just

calm with no wind and just bright sun we

wanted to manage to get lots of

different wind and considering birds as

well birds don't really like being out

and singing in torrential rain or gale

force winds so we had to make sure we

had a mix of different weather

conditions and also bird song as well

now we focused on the New Forest

National Park in the end and New Forest

is um north of the aisle of white to the

southwest of London um and you can see

here um on the bottom right it's a very

large tract of land it's a 70,000 Acre

Site 280 square kilometers um and yes

has roads and things running through it

now but it's one of the most untouched

Parts in the south of England it's a

special area of conservation it has lots

of different um accolades and awards and

different um say preservation orders if

I listed them all on this slide it would

go off the bottom of the screen um but

it means that it is rich in Wildlife

you've got Birds which is the main thing

we were looking for interestingly it has

all three varieties of native British

snake which is pretty cool and roaming

cattle you might see some of this later

on in some images wild horses or semi-

wild horses and other cattle roaming

around the park as well importantly it's

away from a lot of Road and air traffic

you can see the bottom right there the

a31 cutting through but a lot of the

other roads are much smaller and there

are areas especially near a Lind first

which are right in the middle of this

park where you're starting to get away

from all that traffic here is the

aviation map on the aviation chart for

um the Southampton airspace and you can

see by the time you get to Lind Hurst

which is to the the west southwest of

Lind sorry Southampton um you're

actually above that controlled airspace

so planes coming out and especially

single or twin propeller planes less

likely to muddy up the recordings there

let's not talk tiny about the equipment

we we took with us so the gear we used

is a combination of four had Studio Plus

equipment I've been purchasing for

myself during these years in summary we

managed to get three different recorders

and three different sets of micr of

microphones this allowed us to record up

to three different locations

simultaneously what all these

microphones have in common is uh very

low sell noise the recorders also famous

or the good preamps another thing worth

mentioning is of course pability we had

to carry them for long walks and

possibly hide them so in other words

that means to us the smaller and the

lighter the gear is the better the hike

would be more enjoyable and we will

definitely have a better sleep sleep if

we knew the equipment was hidden

properly there's an isos variety of

equipment here we brought with us a 32 P

recorder like the mix PR 6 and we also

brought the suum f8 which has eight XLR

inputs and I recordered that fits in

pretty much uh any pocket such as the

super famous and super reliable

D100 it's for the mics H 840s which are

card mics and the L mics which are all

om directional so we had several polar

pattern options the S haeser MK series

is well known for performing better than

other mics in extreme humidity and

weather conditions and well like Alex

said I'm Spanish and I fortunately I

don't have too much faith in in British

weather another thing to factor in is

wind protection in this case we we went

for ra and bubble be and other equipment

we tend to ignore but it's as important

as any mic or recorder those are yeah

batteries stick cars tape cables or dve

backs since the goal of the trip was not

only to capture sounds for a game but

also to expand our technical knowledge

trying out different Ser configurations

was something we definitely wanted to do

for the good of the team and this also

shows the Verity of of the equipment you

could have all sorts of different setups

in the field two stereo configurations

we use were ORF with the 84s plug into

the mix Bri if we wanted something wider

we had the option of using couple of Lum

uses in AB plug into the either the mix

pr6 again or the Su f8 and if we wanted

something even wider um more immersive

we also had for long uses that could be

tapped to a tree and turn that into a

Tre ear setup in Quad we also had a

couple of Flav mics like the micro uses

that would go with the

d00 however one thing I have to say is

that the pickart of a microphone helps

you up to some degree but it's not the

answer to everything the most effective

way to include or exclude sounds from on

your recording in my opinion is to find

the most suitable distance between the

mic and the source uh well out there in

the field most of the time that's

something you definitely cannot control

I guess that's the magic of your

recording absolutely that's me so

looking at other gear things that aren't

necessarily audio related um navigation

was a big consideration for this and um

Maps I've got my my prop I don't how

whether you can see this here this is my

um New Forest or survey map and this

came around um like a Bible when we were

going around New Forest I got a lot of

stick for it from the rest of the um the

folks on the trip but um having a paper

copy of a map let us actually sit either

when we were taking a quick break or at

the end of the day and look at where

we'd been and we covered a lot of

distance on foot each day um a compass

that goes along with this and so we

start to become the Explorer that you

can see Pablo um rocking the the gear of

here on the right hand side um phones of

course essential um but not going to

work if we run out of battery or can't

charge them but also the coverage was

terrible there so making sure we had the

content downloaded beforehand so if

we're using a digital map on the phone

making sure we've gone into Google Maps

or whatever you use and actually

downloaded everything in advance back in

the hotel or on the road um there were

also some practical considerations as

well so food and drink this might sound

obvious but when you're hiking for as

far as we did each day and you're not

really stopping apart from when you get

the odd um lunch break which happens to

be quite short having enough supplies

that aren't a related on you is actually

really helpful clothing again Pablo

modeling this here having suitable

footware there's a lot of hiking we're

doing so that's really important um

considering the weather if it starts to

rain and especially if it starts to rain

heavily we can't really do anything we

can't just go back to the hotel and wait

for it to finish because we've got to

get these boings were there for a set

period of time and we have to make sure

we press on so we can't stop for bad

weather and of course lots of hiking as

well and so having decent footware

decent gear and making sure you're

comfortable it's really really

important so moving on to part two the

adventure itself the hiking we've talked

about miking things up and we'll talk

about the plan's lunch a bit later on as

well so we chose the 27th and 28th of

April in 2022 for this um and there were

a bunch of reasons why that was was the

best date for us we needed something

that was a weekday we didn't want to

have tourists there on the weekend or

families um we were also at work as well

it might sound like we had a lot of fun

and we did but we were working during

the week and so we wanted to go and do

that as part of work and actually get

some rest

afterwards tourists is a consideration

um if we had gone during a period where

lots of tourists were there especially

in the summer um we may have found that

we could hear tourists across all of our

recordings especially if they have to

get there if we're looking at increased

road traffic and things we wanted to

capture spring birds so of course it

necessitates going there during the

Spring but there's also the

consideration of the time of day as well

and when bird song Cycles are actually

going to be there for us to record

looking at holidays um so public

holidays bank holidays when the schools

are off on break as well that's really

important if we'd waited for a school

break um by mistake and then 30 school

children swarming through the forest

where we're recording those takes are

going to be unusable for when they're

there and there's also light and dark

Cycles as well you can see here this um

this graph from time and date that's

today's date there the 11th of June and

you can see there's actually no night

today at New Forest there's technically

no night there's astronomical Twilight

there's nautical twilight but there is

no darkest night and so going a bit

earlier in the year in April meant that

we could capture lots of things during

the day because we had lots of sunlight

to work with to navigate and then at

night we could set up recorders at about

6:00 pm. and they could record all the

way through the night to capture that

nighttime Ambience as

well looking at the time and date here

this is the school holidays so we've got

um the spring and Easter holidays to

consider if we'd gone during those we

could have ruined our takes the half

term dates are more holidays for the

schools these differ across England

Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland so

that's to consider and then there are

public holidays as well so these all

just pile top of each other and give you

lots of dates that aren't going to

work this is the initial route this

isn't the foot route this is the driving

route and we started across in Brighton

um we had Callum come down from London

Ben Pablo and I were all in Brighton or

hve and so we met at Brighton station

with all of our gear piled into my car

and I drove us across to um New Forest

it says about two hours here it was

actually a lot longer than this and

we'll go into that a bit later

on now when we got there we were greeted

with scenes like this

some of the first locations were

fantastic but we didn't necessarily know

where exactly to start we'd already

looked at the routs again we' looked in

the maps and started to do some research

but the difficulty is when you come

across a good location you're not sure

if the next location you find is going

to be even better and if you spend all

of your field recording gear on the

first three locations that you find and

then you find one that's even much

better for the fourth you're going to be

kicking yourself that you didn't use one

of those more conservatively so we did a

lot of hiking to start off with you can

see C Ben and Pablo here on the bottom

going off on the the hike down there um

and so yeah starting to record was quite

a tricky issue we knew we wanted to

capture Dawn and dusk Cycles so we

wanted to make sure we had recording

going on from all three sound recorders

during the day and then we get them

recharged with new SD cards back up the

data and set them off to record at night

again one of the big considerations was

whether the gear was safe and we talked

about this all the time we were going to

New Forest that we hadn't been to before

we took several thousand pounds worth of

recording gear and we left it so we

didn't stay and monitor this gear we

actually set it up to record for three

four five hours and we left it and we

hiked somewhere else and the only uh

reassurance that we had was that it was

kind of in the middle of nowhere so no

one would actually find the gear and if

they did they wouldn't be the type that

would steal it that's what we were

hoping anyway we tried to camouflage

things so we tried to put some leaves

around things and we tried to use

certain color dry bags to help um make

it not stand out so much but again you

can't be too sure I'll just say it now

we didn't lose anything thankfully but

it was on our minds the whole time rain

as well rain was a consideration now we

did have things in dry bags but of

course the microphones can't be inside a

dry bag so we were aware that if we had

torrential rain we're soaking the mics

is that going to be good for them

probably not so that was also a

consideration as we were going around

the

forest here are some shots as well so

we've got on the left hand side um just

one of the the types of trails that we

came across and interestingly we've got

this tree cover above there so we

started finding locations about this

where we thought well this seems really

interesting are we going to capture

something which gives a sense of height

we weren't necessarily doing those types

of recordings but can we get the the

feeling that we're undercover or

surrounded by foliage so that was

interesting Pablo on the top right there

sorting out the levels in one of the dry

bags and just monitoring before we set

to record um and the plowman's lunch

there which I said i' mentioned on the

bottom right this is one of our lunches

um it was invented by the cheese

manufacturers in the 1970s it sounds

like a an ancient lunch but actually

it's a a marked employ to sell more

cheese but it was

delicious so here is a diagram of the

overall recording on the trip we started

in the place called frm and the second

day was in matle wood and you can see

here on the far left hand side not sure

if you can see my curve but we've got

setting off from Brighton all the way

across to New Forest and some of this

travel is on foot starting to go around

New Forest and look for good locations

once we found a location we were happy

with and we thought we'd commit a sound

recorder to that's location one and we

set that to record for a few hours we

did some more hiking found locations two

and three once we'd set everything up

there was nothing we could do we could

of course take notes and do some more

research but we thought at that point

it's a good time to go for lunch and so

went for lunch left those recording got

to take a break and then we started to

hike back round and collect recorders 1

two and three when we collected one we

then set that up as recording four and

so this was starting to get towards the

early evening where we wanted to get the

nighttime takes that would go all the

way through the night so recorders four

and five are essentially the full night

recordings we didn't do a six then

because I think it was a battery issue

um but we did set up four and five and

then we went and had DIN and we planned

our route for the next day we got the

map like captains of a ship put the map

down on the the pub table and had a Lu

and decided where we wanted to go and

what we'd learned from that day and also

took notes as well that built up this

diagram this comes from a written list

that we had along the way and some notes

we took at the end of the day we got up

very early I don't recall when Pablo but

I think it was Pablo and I drew the

shorts draw and said we'll get up early

and we'll go and collect the first bit

of Kit um and then we went and recharged

it got some breakfast picked up kit

number five and then the four of us

started to travel to matle Wood and set

up recorders 6 seven and 8 and so 67 and

8 is a bit like two3 but in different

locations and with different mic

configurations as well we kept swapping

the recorders and the mics just to

experiment and sometimes we thought well

if we've got four hours from that

location let's change the location and

the mics and see what we get once we'd

set up number eight went for lunch did

some hiking to collect 678 and did some

more travel and maybe had a celebration

at the end interestingly my iPhone I was

looking through the health data on the

health app um when preparing this slide

and I had a look at the pedometer and

the step count and you can see here a

few steps around the station getting

into the car seeing everyone and then

the majority of that travel towards the

end there is on foot hiking around

locations it dips down and goes down for

lunch and then four and 5 we're looking

for locations again there's a gap here

where we had the the break and then

you've got the locations in the morning

these are slightly not synced up

essentially but we've got lots of hiking

in the morning and once we set up the

new recorders we can have a break again

so it's interesting the amount of travel

and the amount of non audio

considerations that are required here as

well now I want to talk tiny bit about

some of those recordings the equipment

we we use and why we chose that location

um this one was on day one and after

around 1 hour hiking we found our first

location what made this spot a good one

was that it was away from human-made

noise we hadn't heard any noise for the

last 20 minutes or so no traffic and no

more Enthusiast enthusiastic hikers

remember this was a a week day we knew

we were going to pick up this equipment

after lunch so that gave us a window of

around 3 4 hours that that means that

the location needed to be good right at

that time and not late wrong weather was

clear around 15 Celsius or 59 Fahrenheit

birds were sinking on stop with a good

presence of presence of them but without

becoming a massive curse we couldn't

hear any insects either so that's what

that's what basically what we're chasing

we set up the

840s with The Rao RTF windshield a few M

away from the source uh we left now with

some concerns because well the

microphone was visible even though we

tried to use some camouflage that didn't

work out very well but in the end happy

ending now we're going to play uh 15

seconds of that recording H this is all

raw material by the way

this one is a quite a different scenario

we wanted to live an overnight week and

this was the time to do so first thing

we decided was to that they had to go

unnoticed by people some of the people

we run into earlier today I'm curious

horses we we also saw that day and we

have some recoveries of horses near the

bike what was the smallest gear we had

that was the D100 with the two La mics

the micro uses we T then into a tree uh

voila first problem solve we also knew

that yeah thanks to previous experience

experiences with the d00 the battery was

very very

reliable however this second problem was

more difficult to manage we found this

very quiet location away from any kind

of human activities but it also meant

that it was very quiet by the time we

press W the plan is to leave this

recording all night long but we're going

to capture we for so many hours we

basically didn't know perhaps it was

just going to be silence like it is

right now or we're going to get some

some action the the 100 preamps are good

but not that good I have to say we as I

said we we needed some some action so in

the end what we did is we prioritized

this quiet location over a noisy one

hoping that the night and the early

morning would give us what we were

chasing which was Birds whether was

whether that was single bird calls

resonating across the forest at night

night or a very busy CS of birds

at we we needed one of those two or

ideally the two of them so we left again

uh we hope for the best the which was

the equipment would be still there alive

the morning after and we have gotten

some nice

recordings uh in this slide this is a

very interesting one because just by

taking a look at those uh pictures we

can see how much the sscape can change

at the same location shall we have a

listen at the early morning

[Music]

one and the third down L example this

was on on the second day even though we

didn't need to run files for this

project we wanted to test how a quad

recording would work if we use a a tree

we unfortunately couldn't find a tree

with a thick track so we use the

branches instead as you can see in the

the picture on the right the mix PR was

already recording in a different

location so we had to use the f8 so you

can see in that same picture the dry

backs apart from protecting the

equipment from weather can also work as

a hunger we love this location because

well it was deep into the woods and

presence of birds was dispers enough to

avoid having any Main protagonists in

the recording that's now of a listen

and in this slide we have more uh

beautiful pictures of of that tree

there's a funny story about the one on

the left with the

f8 g wasn't set up properly on the Left

Channel nobody noticed that good thing I

guess is that hasn't happened since then

uh I guess we'll learn something after

all so moving on to part three then what

happened when we got back from our

trip well first of all we had to ingest

our data and we ended up with almost 100

Gig of raw audio 43 hours of recordings

um and I've put on here the sheer amount

of stuff we didn't really realized along

the way how much we were recording until

we got back and tried to look at it all

and work out how to listen to to it um

it turned into about two and a half

hours of mastered recordings by the end

and we didn't lose any data we were

terrified along with the camouflage

problem and the rain problem that we

would lose data um but I had a laptop on

my back the whole time I was swapping

out SD cards um and we did some some

backing up online as well um when we got

back to the hotel at the end of the day

so we didn't lose anything because

everything was backed

up first thing we we always did when

recording something is is uh to make

sure we slate each recording at the

start and at the end we always mention

the equipment we are using time of day

location what's going on what we are

hearing when we live and when we pick up

the equipment that sort of a star H this

is very important because yeah we will

most likely not remember that recording

where we sit down in the studio a week

or a month later so after packing

everything up we could

start with the editing those row files

were copied into a new folder that

became the editing one even though I

would have love to to listen to

everything we recorded I just didn't

have the time to go through each file on

listen to all 43

hours what became a massive Time Saver

for us was uh RX isotop r x just by

looking at the

spectrogram I could tell what was

interesting to us on what could be

chared things like individual core

verticals distant plan or train or even

Hiers walking by were quite easy to spot

through the

spectrogram I dropped markers markers to

name those events so I didn't use at

this point any destructive

editing so we go to the next slide

thanks so those editing fils were

duplicated once again and now we had the

soon to become Master files at this

point destructive editing is allowed

such as spectral

editing I have to say some cases

spectral editing can make can make as

rescue recordings that otherwise we

couldn't use when there's no way to

avoid

capturing uh this on human made sounds

and my Approach is to basically copy the

good parts of our recording and past

them into the dirty ones as long as it

doesn't cover all lot of the spectrum

and there's no relevant content going on

this could work but yeah this also needs

to be used carefully or everything will

end up sounding a natural and and very

odd in terms of EQ in some recordings I

had to get rid of most of the low

content since yeah we could hear some

traffic Rumble in the distance some the

recordings only needed a high pass

filter around 30 40 htz no compression

limiting or noise reduction was applied

to the master files we would take that

into account once the assets were Master

basically depends we're not doing this

because it depends on the needs of the

project same applies to to the mix what

can work for one project doesn't mean it

will work for the next one so at this

stage basically the less processing the

asset have the

better since we had very very long

recordings we had to turn those into

small pieces of around 3 to five minutes

this might sound obvious but the goal

here was not to break the natural throw

of a sscape for example by not cutting

bons halfway through the last thing we

did was to implement the

metadata we use UCS for that matter

Universal category system UCS for those

who don't know this a public domain that

provides a category list of

sfx the ideas to offer a solid

categorization of of those sounds of

those sound effects so it's not the wild

west anymore when you are searching for

a sound in your favorite audio asset

manager whether that's sound Le sound

mind or any other

one now we're going to

play Montage that includes H to master

audio files along with some footage we

we took in that trip well actually Alex

took in that trip and this really shows

off some of the Landscapes as well yeah

be lagging you

and this is what happens when it then

goes finally into the game so this isn't

necessarily just the ambience recordings

from New Forest but this is a mixture of

um different parts of the ambience um

with some new forest in there as

well for

finally then part four Reflections what

did we learn from our trip especially in

this post post modern two years

later so eight things we wish we'd known

some of these have come up in the chat

already actually see if um they match

what you've thought already planning

more time to get into Brighton for

getting out of Brighton for traveling

across for hiking um we found that we

were stuck in traffic on the way to

Brighton or I was stuck in traffic

driving there um then getting out

obviously took just as long so that

two-hour drive across the New Forest

took far longer more like three plus

hours which kill some of the time that

we could have been using earlier in the

morning to record we might have got if

we'd got up earlier again um we might

have got an extra load of three

recorders in

there calling ahead we considered

calling bars or restaurants or local

tour guides or anything else um to find

some locations to go and record in but

then we realized that the kind of of

things we wanted to know I.E field

recording things the people who run the

pups don't necessarily know what sounds

good or what we're looking for so maybe

what we could have done was speak to

other field recorders people who've gone

out there before and get some tips from

them a recording check protocol Pablo

alluded to this earlier with the D100 I

think it was or the f8 rather and that

we didn't set the the game correctly um

I think it was 35 or 40 DB too cold and

so what we did from then on was to make

sure that somebody else was

double-checking um the settings we also

had this thing a bit like you know when

you go on holiday and you're not sure if

you locked the door or you've left the

gas on we thought did we press record

now we did press record every time but I

think there were a couple of times we

went back and we actually opened it back

up and checked that we were recording

and we were and we we realized if

somebody else checks as well that's the

way to do it um having a listen for a

while before we go off onto our next

location that was something that we did

but not necessarily for as long as we

could have done so maybe we did that for

20 seconds or 30 seconds we were lucky

and that everything worked but we might

have found that actually there was this

periodic intermittent noise coming from

a certain location maybe there's a

creaky branch on a tree or something

similar that only Creeks on its high

wind so we needed to be careful and we

were lucky but we should have listened

for longer um an efficient route we did

a lot of hiking um and we didn't need to

do all of that and we realized when we

checked the map at the end of the day

we'd actually doubled back on ourselves

three or four times and added a few

extra miles into the walking that we

didn't need to do number six somebody

alluded to this earlier in the chat

camouflaging gear or using a sign using

a sign that's saying we talked about

pretending we were from a bird charity

which isn't exactly very ethical but

what we could have done is said we are

researchers essentially we were um

trying to capture acoustic ecology so we

could have just said we're trying to

capture bird sounds please leave this

gear Alone um you know that that's our

job um and we really appreciate it if

you could leave it and it might have

made us feel a bit more easy about

leaving expensive gear in the

woods um number seven is to carry more

of the accessories or the extra bits

that we didn't think we'd need so we had

tape and we had cable ties and ropes and

things but we found that the tape didn't

always stick to itself or what we were

sticking it onto um we sometimes didn't

have the right type or length of rope it

was too light it was too heavy so having

some extra bits there would have been

really useful and again again somebody

alluded to this earlier air tags on

recording setups we used um WhatsApp

location and we sent the location to

ourselves but we should have put air

tags there was only three uh recording

devices so we should have put air tags

on or some other type of tracking Beacon

so we know where things

were so this then brings us to the

overall value of the trip now ultimately

we captured lots of new sounds this was

really useful looking back at the

project um and trying to flesh out all

of those spaces especially the entire

map's worth of Ambience on Hogwarts

Legacy there was a big team training

aspect um which we thought might be

useful we didn't realize how far that

would extend to both training Callum and

Ben on some new mic techniques and new

recorders and how they worked but also

Pablo and I to experiment and to gain

more knowledge there as well team

building was a big thing again we

thought it'd be useful but we didn't

realize how well it would work getting

to know the interns quickly because

they're coming into the industry they

had some previous experience on other

projects and things but they were coming

into our studio and we wanted to make

them feel welcome we also wanted to get

to know them and bringing them on a trip

away from the studio where we then had

dinner in the hotel and that kind of

thing really helped to break the

ice don't forget that after two long

years we just came out of a pandemic so

being outdoors in nature made us feel

life once

again that was a really important thing

actually and getting away from the

screens getting away from the studio of

course Studio go is a fantastic place

but getting away from technology here

for a second and having it in our hands

and then leaving it let us recharge a

bit um and also to reflect on what we've

done so far on the project and what we

wanted to do going forward until the end

of

release so that brings us to the close

of our session um thank you for joining

us I know you from different time zones

and all over the world so thank you

that's been the New Forest field

recording for Hogwarts Legacy thank you

very

much thank you

guys we'd like to give some special

thanks to air Wiggles um of course the

aircon um conference fantastic

initiative um we really appreciate being

part of it um Warner Brothers and

Avalanche software fantastic working

with them on Hogwarts Legacy um and

Studio Gobo where Pablo still is of

course um fantastic studio and we really

enjoyed um working there working on this

project and also obviously special

thanks and shout out to K Fox Forest and

Ben Pickersgill as well both looking

good cheeky here in the New Forest um it

was fantastic to bring them on board to

the team um to work with them and also

just getting to know them on the trip as

well you know they're they're both um

friends as well as former colleagues now

now we do have some time for Q&A I think

um we'll probably have about 10 minutes

or so there's been some questions come

up in the chat already but if anyone has

anything now um or Greg might be

collating these as well for us please

feel free to let us

know ah Greg fantastic okay um so um

Gregory Albert I see um 96k 24 bit would

you now consider 32bit float at all so

Pablo what do you think about um using

32 bit uh we did we use 32 bit for with

the mix

spre uh basically what gave us is uh

less concerns about yeah if

something all of a sudden it's G to

happen something super loud and

basically the mics are gonna clip in

this case since we were going after

birds that shouldn't be a problem

because what we check so many things

like we GNA have know a thunderstorm all

of a sudden that wasn't the case but if

for example yeah we were chasing

Thunders definely 32 B fla will help a

lot question from seruan here I'm

curious do you delete the unused data

after the project is over um no that's a

problem for it so 100 gigs not too much

but I believe pavet still on the server

there yeah it's still there still alive

I think if we if we got to the point of

having to delete the data um it would be

a it would be a huge shame there' have

to be a reason for doing this because

you've captured all of this foot Mage

that took a lot of work to do yes it was

only two days but actually there's all

of the preparation for it there's all of

the effort on the trip um so now will'll

be holding on to that for us as long as

possible really um Lewis says did you

use any notal signs on the or around

your gear in case someone found it or

Apple Air tag so yeah you beat me too at

there um we did think about signs we did

think about air tags but we largely

thought about them on the night of the

first day and thought I wish we had some

signs and we didn't really have the

ability to make a sign in the hotel

because we need to laminate it and that

kind of thing thing but we'll definitely

be doing it in the future um W says what

duration are the recordings mostly

during daytime to catch right balance

between variations and useful content um

looking at the graph before I think it

was three or four hours but Pablo maybe

you could speak to this yeah I think

what we captured was around three four

hours and then when it comes to

mastering they were down

to I just had a quick look I think the

shorter is two and a half minutes and

the longest 11 minutes I'm not saying

this is what's going to go into the game

but it's the the duration of those

Master

files Connor says are you using battery

packs or disposable batteries any Brands

you'd recommend for several hours of

reliable recording to my knowledge I

think we used only battery packs

although do we have any doublea that we

were swapping in yeah we use uh so for

the f8 and the mix3 battery packs H

definitely recommend anchor I think

that's the name of the brand and the D1

100 because you cannot use an external

battery for that one was yeah H doublea

batteries I think we use is it called

enop something like that I can have a

look enop I think that's the name of the

brand I remember turning up with a

massive bag of batteries and some

rechargeables and some disposables I

mean preferably I'd rather use

rechargeables um but I think we just

grabbed a load of stuff it might have

even been on the way there I think we

topped up we were at a petrol station or

something actually I think yeah we use

rechargeable batteries with the

D100 should have documented things more

um question here did you record

ambisonic audio if not why not it's

great to see ambisonics is making such a

Resurgence as well considering it's what

1960s 1970s technology um no and I think

the reason

why we didn't was because we didn't have

a mic um it's normally a soundfield mic

I've used I know PAB you've had an ambo

in the past before I think you sold it

yeah yeah don't have that with me

anymore and I mean like I said well we

didn't have an ambic ER mic to first of

all and the other reason was that even

though we capture something ER in Quad

we didn't need anything suround or

ambisonic in this case for for this

project so that wasn't a concern for us

we have used them in the past before as

well though I think when p and I were

working on Planet of the Apes VR um for

Fox we used ambisonics there so we're

not adverse to Amber Sonics it was just

the nature of the gear we had and what

we were looking to record um bass says

how did you handle water condensation

when leaving the mics overnight was the

B dry bag enough um sheer luck luck

might be the answer for that I mean how

did we I don't even think we considered

it we thought let's just set this up and

hope for the best Pablo yeah I mean it

was all right we didn't have any issues

with yeah humidity or water condensation

H maybe it was the

weather ER but yeah that wasn't an issue

at all I was actually more worried about

rodents when we ta the um micro usage to

a tree uh left all that all that

recording all night um yeah humidity or

or water condensation I don't know how

clear we've made it here but there was

there were lots of conversations about

mics going missing horses eating mics um

someone said right the chat about half

an hour ago um did you have any problems

with um creatures or animals or Critters

and I responded yeah we it was a big

thing um it's not we didn't have anyone

running off with anything any rats

Goring through cables or anything but

there are recordings that we haven't

included in this of horses um getting up

close to the mics and having a sniff

around um jav says did you feel it was

worth it to do all this work compared to

what you could be achieving in designing

the ambiances using libraries I I think

it was out of necessity really because

we had gone through libraries and we'd

we' looked through everything um or

everything that we could find and we

just weren't getting enough so it's not

that the quality wasn't there it's that

the quality was there but we needed at

least two or three times what was there

and because of the nature of Hogwarts we

had variations on season time of day

location weather so all of that there

you're essentially multiplying the

variations and the different types of

assets that you need so we would have

done if we could but actually looking

back because of the team training

element and all the rest of it there are

additional justifications for why we

would have gone in the first place yeah

and it was I mean uh massive yes

definitely it was

worth it uh and I don't think we

wouldn't achieve the same without

getting this this

record CH writes did you ever consider

using hydrophones um we had talked about

hydrophones and those electromagnetic

microphones and a bunch of other cool

and crazy things like contact mics and

things I think from my my opinion is

that what might have happened if we

brought a hydrophone or two along is

we'd have spent more time Messing around

with hydrophones than setting up and and

hiking around for good locations um just

because it would have been novel and

interesting and inevitably someone would

have fallen in a lake or a river and it

just adds a bunch of extra silliness to

the equation but I think there's

definitely a benefit to using them and I

would probably do a dedicated shoot with

places that have lots of rivers and

streams and lakes and things

Pablo yeah I mean in this particular

case yeah we W were're not going after

water if that was the case we definitely

would have used a a hydrone i Yeah we

actually had couple of uh hydrophones in

studio but yeah in this in this case we

we didn't need them and the amount of

time we had to record basically Birds

was limited so yeah we basically wanted

to focus on on just capturing

Birds gas writes could you elaborate on

the mastering process what did you

consider as useful and not useful

content also was one of the recording

setups used more than others in the

Masters I'm going to throw this one over

to you yeah

so what do you consider useful and not

useful content so basically when when

you've done this editing process tons of

times sometimes just by looking at the

spectr around you can see okay this this

is basically what we have right here is

people talking hikers near the mic so

even though you listen to that it's

quite easy to recognize those kind of of

uh sounds or pictures in this case in

the in the Spectrum H whereas when that

same thing is uh don't know a bir C

really close to the to the mic that's

also easy to spot just by taking a look

at for example of the

frequency um in terms of recording

setups that we use more than

others H something I really like was

the maybe you guys this gonna take your

surprise but it was the D100 with the

micro uses basically leaving that setup

all night recording ER we managed to get

a lot of good content with with that one

and yeah it's the cheapest recording

among all three is the cheapest all

those are the cheapest mics but yeah

sometime is it's not the gear you use

but the location uh being there at the

right moment like Hendrick's playing a

$50 guitar that's being kind I think

there um so Mark says I'm a Sound

Engineering student from London where

would be a good place to research field

recording techniques um and do you know

of any good accessible resources thank

you so much for the presentation um I

have a resources page on my site I think

it's at Alexander hartz.com

resources which have some things on

there about it's largely courses and

books as well so all of the different um

books about game audio um you know

leading with sound and game audio mixing

and all those things for about 20 years

are all on there um but of course I mean

it it might sound a bit um cliche here

but the air Wiggles Community has been

really fantastic um there are loads of

conversations that go on here um about

recording and I think if you were to

raise a thread um for that as well um I

think everyone would Pile in from the

chat here and start um start giving you

ideas um Pablo there's also the A S

effect blog that's a really good one uh

there's as well the field recording

Facebook group I joined that one I don't

know when that was maybe 10 years ago

and that's also a good one um yeah like

Alex said probably a Wiggles is is one

of the best ones and the other thing

they best resource I'd say go out and

record and practice that's the the best

learning curve I think you can't beat it

and especially if you can take someone

along more experienced what we did on

the the shoot for this trip was Pablo

was essentially um the the main

recordist I was in charge of logistics

and then Ben and Callum were in the

position to just soak up anything and of

course they've gone and done LS of great

things since but um it was a an

opportunity for me to focus on where we

were going and how we were getting there

and all that kind of thing swapping out

Batteries and Things and Pablo to be

positioning mics so it's um if you can

learn from other people it's fantastic

um just a few comments here Christian

says I love the soundfield mics my uni

had one my uni had one as well um and of

course we've got that WXYZ um output

conversion thing as well so there's all

this extra gear but we didn't have one

but it could be interesting in the

future

um sorry my uni didn't have one of those

but we just didn't have one you know we

I suppose that's the thing with the kit

list is that it could have had dozens of

microphones on there and loads of

recorders but we made the best of what

we could with the gear and the time I

think we'd have loved to have gone for a

week or two and take 12 different

recording setups and leave them

everywhere with clever signs and air

Tags I'm I'm sure we will in the future

um especially if I can get myself down

to Madrid and go on a field recording

session there but you do you do the best

with what you can do yeah um uh another

comment here Arie says having a bit of

real life recordings mixed in with sound

libraries gives it a bit of character

that's what we thought as well um of

course it was necessity but at the same

time where it's not just Library content

aough there's some fantastic Library

stuff out there it's about trying to

inject for us it might sound weird but

memories of New Forest you know we I

hear these recordings and it takes me

back to hiking with my friends through

the woods um Jasper says did you

consider layering these recordings in

heightening the mystical mood of the

ambience for the game if so what did you

use so layering

Papa what did we use that's a good one

yeah apart from this we use we purchase

a lot of H boom libraries uh there's

also if you guys can check out H George

bl's sound laies as well I think yeah he

runs meanful audio mindful audio there's

also tox Rex verly he's got plenty of

different sound laies I think the last

one one he released was H about

Patagonia in Chile and

Argentina um also a few

more can't remember right now but yeah

mainly those I think it was a

combination of those three plus uh all

the recordings we we took in this

trip I'm going to just pick another

couple of questions because we're

running up to the hour um Gregory says

is the mzi series are Le common to use

um I'm not sure I mean we didn't think

they were necessarily the the First

Choice everyone would go for but they

were definitely interesting to use on

the trip they are super easy to carry I

mean even if you are don't know on a

trip with your family your partner you

can just drop those into a back with

with the T 100 or any other H record you

have um that means basically the the the

gear you have access to that's the best

gear should have on the slides it's a

good quote that um Vincent says why did

you decide on using AB technique for the

Ambiance

recording

because H we were using RF it was H wide

but not as wide as what AB would give us

using couple of on directional mics and

also the other thing was we wanted to

get as many different setups as possible

because then we want to to have a listen

at this in the studio with h well for

ourselves and the interns as well um

just to uh yeah some team training uh

basically become better sound

designers I'm going to take one more

question here from baz um how did you

communicate or Justify the field

recording trip within studio goo if even

you had to what part the team building

play and how you communicated that um

team training probably wasn't the first

thing we said but we basically stressed

the point that we need some sounds um I

think we might have said look at how

much we're spending on libraries and

look at how much it'll cost to send us

to the New Forest for two days and then

look at all of these additional benefits

and bonuses as well um and I don't

remember it being a struggle I think um

team at goo or the you know the studio

heads and other people at goo were very

happy to sign this off it wasn't that

expensive um it might have been

interesting for us to explore the cost

but it it wasn't huge it was my car

driving across four people in a hotel

for one night um and the rest was just

lunch and dinner um and I think we

didn't put beer on the budget so I think

that's um you know it was it was fairly

inexpensive for the amount of content we

got back um I'm just going to one final

thing here um is to share

this and so we'll leave a Q&A there

thank you for all your questions um

really interesting questions and

actually giving us a lot to think about

for next time so thank you um getting in

touch if you've got any questions for

for us anything you want to add or say

or that you didn't get to put in the

chat here um you can let us know so I'm

on LinkedIn I think it's my only social

media platform I'm on linkedin.com at

Alexander Horowitz um or you can get me

on my website at Alexander Horowitz

doc you guys can also contact me on

LinkedIn or as well or through my

website game workers.com hope you guys

enjoy this talk um yeah like Alex said

if you have any other question that we

haven't been able to answer drop us a

message on on LinkedIn or any other way

and yeah will be more than happy to

carry on talking about field recording

and all your stuff fantastic well great

to see you all thanks for all the

questions and um best of luck on your

field recording projects in the future

goodbye for now thank you very much for

attending