Favorite Unit

What unit did you enjoy the most?  Why?  What are three things that you learned from the unit?  What are two things that you'd like to know more about?  How could this unit be improved?  Please give detailed input.

    Out of all the units over this year, I feel that I enjoyed the sound unit the most; with the camera unit at a close second. I believe the reason for this is because these are the two most technical units that were the most hands on. They also both had very entertaining projects that allowed for a lot of fun during the production process and while grading. Three things that I learned from the unit was the ways that different sound equipment worked and what makes them good for different occasions, how to record good quality sound, and a good start for editing sound. The unit helped me gain an understanding of the different types of microphones (handheld, lav, shotgun, dynamic, condenser, and ribbon mics), when they are best used, and the settings that are needed for each one when recording. I learned how to properly operate a boom mic, how to minimize unwanted sounds such as wind, and properly place a lav mic in order to get higher quality sound. The guides at the end of the video helped to make sound editing a little less daunting and helped introduce some of the tools that we can use to improve our sound. That being said, sound editing is an area that I want to learn more about as we've only skimmed the surface. Another area that I want to learn more about is folley and making sound effects as I find that somewhat interesting. This unit could be improved through potentially having a technical assignment to practice these skills on top of the music video. Although the music video project is incredibly fun and can help with sound skills in regards to editing, I didn't feel like it captured much of the recording and editing the recording. Perhaps having an exercise akin to the camera scavenger hunt, edit a story, and continuity edit would help. This could be having pairs record each other saying a line or a conversation then editing it to sound better. Not sure how well that might work and if the time constraints would prevent such an assignment from being added on top of the other projects.