Assignment 2 – Sound and Image
*UPDATED WITH SECOND SOUND STORY
Genres: Film Noir and thriller
Sound Characteristics of film noir:
- Analog buzz (recording technology), filtered sound
- Large spaces between action scenes: to build up tension
- sudden/dramatic action
- general pace – slower, not action packed
- leisurely, simulating smooth jazz?
- Generally dark sounding
Sound Characteristic of Thriller (zombie flick):
- buildup of tension to climax
- use of heartbeat/breathing sounds to create tension; tempo
- possible extended action: chase scenes, fight/tussle scenes etc.
Other References: Immersive sound (in games)
- First person perspective – immersive soundscape
- Sounds coming from environment/ ambient sounds
- Sounds coming from own body: e.g. heavy breathing
- Relative proximity of sounds
Process
When I received the 10gb game audio bundle, I was intrigued by the zombie sounds samples in it so I decided to do a little zombie thriller flick – and I chose noir films to be my second genre as I found the genre interesting and unfamiliar, so I wanted to experiment with it.
Throughout the entire process, I tried to experiment with various elements to bring about the effect I wanted – for the first film, it was was to present the scene from the zombie’s perspective as he burst from his coffin and attacked a nearby house. To simulate that, I experimented with the soundscape of the scene: e.g. varying sounds across the left and right channels as the zombie turns towards the house and varying breadth of soundscape as he breaks out from the confined coffin into open air. Shit tons of audio mixing with volume and reverb was also used with the sound samples to create a believable soundscape so that it would be immersive for the listener.
For the second film, I wanted to try and produce an emotional soundscape with the soundtracks used; to evoke certain emotions in the listener such that they might understand the emotions of the protagonist. Thus, I used two different soundtracks to create the shift in emotion and mood. I also wanted to evoke the style and era of noir films, so I used a lot of effects like reverb (again), chorus, analog delay, distortion as well as layering analog sound samples to create the vintage record effect reminiscent of films and music from that era.
For both sound stories, lots of layering of different samples of the same sound was also done to produce a fuller overall sound.
The main challenges I faced was in manipulating the samples that I had to create the atmosphere that I wanted – some of the sound samples sounded way too close/isolated so I often had to find other viable samples/layer many many sounds together/edit the sounds heavily to create the effect I want.
Also, I found many of the sound samples limited – to my amateur ears, many of them did not really sound like the sound effect they were supposed to emulate. Hence, I had to become more creative here, using different sound samples not from the described scene and using lots of post production to produce the final sound that I was looking for.
All in all, it was a challenging project but I enjoyed the process and learnt a lot from it.
Sound story 1:
Zombie awakens in a coffin in the middle of the night, breaks through. He slowly shuffles along the road till he reaches the first inhabited house, and thumps on the door. A lady answers the door only to get munched on.
Total number of audio tracks: 12
Sound samples used in order of appearance (repeated samples not mentioned):
Analog buzz
Dog growl (3 samples)
Cellophane crumbling
Splitting wood (2 samples)
Animal digging dirt
Dry growl
Dog fight
Slice/crunch
Raging female creature
Ice sheet crunch
Leek crunch
Country night ambience
Rock/ debris falling (2 samples)
Walking on gravel
House/ kitchen ambience (2 samples)
Wind chimes/ wind ambience
Door opening
Female “huh” intonation
Psycho scream
Cutting watermelon
Sound story 2:
A man walks home to his apartment in the rain. He puts down his bag and keys, and prepares a drink. Putting on the record player, he laughs without humour and starts sobbing. In his moody state, he flings his glass against the wall where it breaks.
Total number of audio tracks: 7
Sound samples used in order of appearance (repeated samples not mentioned):
Analog buzz
Rain/ thunderstorm ambience
Jazz music soundtrack
Footsteps in puddles
Footsteps on concrete (2 samples)
Door unlocking
Door opening/ closing
Putting down leather bag
Putting down backpack
Putting down keys
Arranging glasses
Handling of wine glass
Ice cubes in glass
Pouring drink
Starting of record player
Analog vinyl recorded noise
Edith Piaf’s Je Ne Regrette Rien
Crying man
Laughing man
Breaking glass