Nerf or Nothing

The culmination of my work is finally uploaded, here is Nerf or Nothing! No real guns were used in the making of this video, all sounds were created in post production using a doorknob, a paper bag, and some computer magic. Enjoy!

Written and Directed by Nash Mendlinger

Starring Nash Mendlinger

Cinematography by Robert Dudzic

Edited by Nash Mendlinger

Score Composed by Robert Dudzic

Sound Design by Nash Mendlinger

Color Grading by Robert Dudzic

Advertisement

Update 2: Electric Boogaloo

So the footage I was going to use for the episode of my vlog from last week got corrupted in a bad import to iMovie…I need a new laptop. Anyways, as a result I don’t have enough of the footage to make a decent vlog, so I’ll just highlight the two key points of that day so Ms. Kleinfelder knows I did stuff.

  1. First, Robert and I went under the Gold Star Bridge with his 360 degree surround sound microphone to teach me the basics of surround sound. This microphone looks like a few microphones interlocking, with a protective sphere around it. I got the chance to hear surround sound directly from the microphone, and it was unlike any other audial experience I can think of. It felt like my natural hearing was enhanced and I could hear every detail in the ground I was walking on, or pebbles being dropped into water. Every noise I made sounded incredible and razor sharp, and if anyone ever gets a chance to listen directly from a surround sound microphone, I highly recommend it.
  2. Later, we ventured to the New London Ferry and got to explore one of the boats, and I recorded sounds such as the walls of the boat, the wheel spinning, a bell ringing, and the rumble of the hatch opening on the main floor of the boat, revealing the chamber underneath. I don’t recommend staying in the bottom of the boat for long periods of time however, as it is poorly ventilated, and as a result, the paint that was painted months ago on the walls still plagues the air with its thick stench. It gets hard to breath down there after a while. I did record some really bass filled thuds as I punched walls, and echos reverberated throughout the chamber. Finally the last few sounds I was able to record was of the gate swinging open and closed to let us onto the boat, separating the dock from the rest of the mainland.

So that’s basically what that day was supposed to be, but without a good chunk of the footage I’d rather write this than make a vlog that I am not personally proud of. Thanks for the patience.

Audio Apprentice Update

Editing takes a lot of work. As a result when I procrastinate and don’t edit, the amount of footage I have to edit multiplies, and in a few days I have at least ten hours of editing work to do. This was the reason behind my lack of posting on this blog, even though I was filming enough footage to do a daily vlog each day of my apprenticeship, I was exhausted from recording all day, and editing all night. This overwhelmed me in the span of three days, as I massively underestimated how much time I needed to put into editing, and so I wouldn’t start until fairly late at night. Yesterday I uploaded episode three of the vlog, which was recorded last Wednesday, and I will edit episode four and post that as soon as possible. That being said, the past two days (today and yesterday), have zero footage for the vlog, since I wasn’t allowed to record yesterday (more details on what I did in a future post), and today I spent my day editing my final project, ‘Nerf or Nothing’, which is finished, but I won’t be uploading it until all my vlogs are posted. That is set to be the final video on this website before the Senior Project Presentations on June 3rd. In the meantime, expect two more vlogs, one from last Thursday, and one from Tuesday, as well as another written blog about my experience Wednesday filming an advertisement/sponsorship video for my mentor. Then, once those are all uploaded, ‘Nerf or Nothing’ will be uploaded.

So, that being said, here is again the upload lineup:

  1. Last Thursday’s Vlog: Collecting surround sound audio as well as exploring a New London Ferry.
  2. Tuesday’s Vlog: Recording sound effect audio for ‘Nerf or Nothing’ as well as an sfx breakdown.
  3. Wednesday’s Blog: Writing about working as a cinematographer for my mentor, as well as a link to the video we made.
  4. ‘Nerf or Nothing’: A one and a half minute actions sequence between me and myself, chasing each other over a briefcase.

Ms. Kleinfelder, thanks for your patience, and I apologize for my inconsistent uploading.

Nerf or Nothing Trailer

So for my final project I am creating a short action scene, here is one shot from it that I have edited. The purpose of the scene as a whole is to be able to apply sound design techniques to make the scene feel more intense and real. I use nerf guns in the scene, since I don’t have access to realistic looking guns, and in order to achieve the sound effect of the gun firing, I recorded sounds of a doorknob and of a paper bag full of air popping. The result is this: