Sound and design end of unit Evaluation

 

 

Introduction

Throughout this unit to accompany our 30-second animation we have learned how to. record/implament sound and then transfer it into our animation with the hope of creating a more realistic and immersive experience the audience.

 

 

Beginning 

Before I was to sample and create tacks using the various software I wanted my animation to be complete. I say this as I would have an idea of what times and where my sound would fit in my animation. I wanted to create a piece which was seamless with my animation. As well as this I wanted an overall theme to my animation. To achieve this Looked at some major blockbuster fils that implement a character or movie theme, And then I started to create my own.

God of war 4 main OST

 

From researching and taking notes from these themes I also noticed some unique sound techniques that I could implement. Examples may vary from the Diegetic or nondiegetic sound. Would my animation contain nondiegetic sound making the scene more dramatic however the characters within the world wouldn’t react to this music or would it be Diegetic where the music is playing within the scene?

 

 

 

MIddle.

During class, we were instructed to go and complete a spotting list which would contain various sound effects which would eventually be implemented in our animation. Unlike finding or creating the main theme for the animation this spotting list would contain a category of sound effects that I would use to make my animation more lifelike and immersive. Examples may be a recording of a group of people clapping representing a huge audience giving recognition to the protagonist or maybe chains rustling giving the impression that someone is locked up.  Beforehand I was going to use my phone recorder to originally recording some of these samples however I was told by my teacher that there are much better alternatives. We were all introduced to the collages state of the art recording system. The difference between that and phone recorder is the fact that these recorders shown to us were able to muffle out any background sound. This enabled me to record any samples I required without any interference that would, therefore, hinder the clarity of my sound.

Now that I had the tools to create my sound effects all I did was actually go out and record them. The teacher allowed us to go out in groups to various parts of the college and record our sound. I and a group of friends went to the park to sample sounds for each of our animations. When it was my turn I had the recorder held in one hand and was ready to record. I instructed my friends to all clap repeatedly in unison creating the sound effect of a crowd cheering. I gave them little instructions as I wanted these cheers to be as lifelike as possible.  For my second sound instead of infact manipulating and recording steel chains rustling, I was short on time so I, in fact, went on a website that sample sound effects. (Soundbible) and downloaded an mp3 file of chains rustling.

As I now had all my sound effects I decided to edit them myself using my own skill set and software. Usually I ould use logic as that’s the software that has been taught to us all through this course however as I was pressed for time and new I could not have edited  my sounds at college I asked if it was ok to use Audition cc as I already had the software pre-installed on my laptop at home. (Audition cc is a is a digital audio workstation from Adobe Systems featuring both a multitrack, non-destructive mix/edit environment and a destructive-approach waveform editing view) When I was told that I could I went back home and started editing these effects on audition.

I started with the crowd cheering. I knew I wanted the audience to notice the sample as Iit helped with the overall scene however I new my man theme would also be playing over it. To compensate I Lowered the amplitude of my samples so the lower frequencies wouldn’t clash with my OST and overshadow my theme.

It was a simple task or importing the file into audition cc, and then editing the amplitude with the symbol shown above.

Now that my animation is complete I decided To implement my OSt that would consistently play through the full 30 seconds of my animation. MY animation is loosely based on a murder plot that I have created. To fit with the theme I instantly researched and played around with audition cc  Meshing samples of various instruments until I found the right template. 

 

After Many different atempts, I came to the causality that I was overcomplicating. my post. I am a firm believer that simplicity is always more. Having that in mind now I decided to go for one instrument that would loop throughout my whole animation. I drew inspiration from my friend as he had a piano piece set. It had an sc He sent my this piece and I scaled it down to thirty seconds., this was so it could match perfectly with my animation without sounding out of place. My final product was a piece that would gradually rise n tension this is called ( cinematic tension). As the animation would play on the piano would play more frequently in smaller intervals. As well as this more keys would be played simultaneously. This overall effect created a sense of tension as now the piano was sounding incredibly out of control. keys were being pressed so fast and loud that there was a sense of danger and lack of control. I believe lack of control scares people as we always want to feel in control, it gives us a sense of sanctuary. Nearing the end of the animation when all the action had been revealed the piece seamlessly calmed down. This was the pinnacle for my animation as the variety of tension shown throughout the piece sculptured when my animation would start and when it would eventually climax. The audience would now know when tension would start to disperse as the music slowly dispersed.

 

Self-evaluation

To conclude, I am most pleased with my piece. I think I have created a theme and sound effects that mesh really well with my animation. Not only do they help mold and sculpture the animation but I also believe they help give another layer of emotion to the animation. Before sound was implemented my animation was almost lifeless. There was no clear beginning or ending, Nor was there any sense of realism between scenes. Now, however, everything has come to place and I believe the sound can give audience members something to enjoy.  I do believe that I could improve upon some things that would have shaped my animation to an even higher level of success. Firstly time management. I felt I did not manage my time incredibly well and in doing that I was required to use a software that I was not familiar with instead of working on logic at the college where I would have the aid of my teacher if need. Secondly, I would have preferred to record all my sounds instead of some of them. If I had done that it would have given me a greater sense of accomplishment as I wouldn’t feel like I was taking someone else’s sound.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sound content 2

Title music ( theme music)

 

temp track = Temporary music.  serves as a guideline for the mood or atmosphere the director is looking for in a scene.

Foley effects can be recorded live, on the voice track. Having the actors themselves make the sound can aid in timing the effect,

Spot effect pre recorded sound and then is draged in to your product.

Production effect = recording all sound recording on set during the filmmaking or television production on that day.

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Sound design Task 1 assignment 1

For this task, we were instructed to first describe and explain all the samples of sound that we have covered since our first lesson with Craig. Upon completion, I will then compare two different games purely on the sound that is implemented.

 

non-Diegetic sound: Sound whose source is neither visible on the screen nor has been implied to be present in the action: Good example of this is Darth Vader imperial march. As he enters the screen the music plays instantly filling the atmosphere however neither he or anyone on screen with him is meant to hear this sound Its purely to help evoke the audience in the film.

 

Diegetic sound is any sound presented as originating from a source within the film’s world. The diegetic sound will be found ion screen in the world being portrayed, An example of this is in the beginning of pulp fiction. The audience is introduced to film with the visual shown as well as the music being played in the background. At first, you are to assume the music is nondiegetic as it seems solely for audience purpose however as the films proceed the camera zooms into a radio in the car where the same song is playing. This concludes that the music being heard is also the same song that the character in the world can hear in their car.

 

Equalization, or EQ for short, means boosting or reducing different frequencies.

 

Now I shall go on to analyze and research sounds implemented in two different video games. The keywords I used above should be included for a more detailed and precise investigation.

 

Game 1

Legend of Zelda

 

Zelda is a massive franchise that has thrived since the early 90s. The sound has played a key role for the franchise as its music has emitted. through people throughout the years. Its the type of game where the sound is different from the norm and it stands out for the player. EG Zeldas theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMBttyiRidY.

8-bit

The use of Chiptune, also known as chip music or 8–bit music shows the age of the video game. When this intro was released most consoles and computers were installed with dedicated sound cards only. This allowed developers to control the different noises that they could make. As well as this, however, this gave the user limitations to what they could record ultimately resulting in using digitilized 8bit music.

 

 Non Diegetic sound.

There are many examples of Diegetic sound being implemented in Zelda. One of the most obvious and iconic is when Link finds an item or has solved a certain puzzle ingame.

 

As shown in the link (no pun intended) above music is played slowly building up as finally the item is revealed to link and the players. It’s clear to say that link cant hear this music, however, we can and it leaves an effect of excitement and anticipation for the player as the music slowly builds up.

 

 

Diegetic sound

A perfect example of diegetic sound being shown in Zelda is anytime Link commits an action. Examples may be when he 

• swings his sword 
• Breaks pots
• Rides his horse Epona

 

 

When Link breaks a pot a sound will break out mimicking pots shattering. This is Diegetic as link and NPCs around him in the world will hear the pots shattering. It’s in their world.

 

 

 

 

Call of duty Black ops zombies

 

Diegetic sound. 

The diegetic sound being shown off here Is Mason, (Your character) struggling to get out of his restraints. Although this detail is a minor one it brings more realism to the game as sound helps immerse the player in the environment being portrayed. 

 

 

PItch

This next clip is an extract from the Blackops zombie theme. If you hear the theme it maintains a consistently high pitch with regular intervals of jarring notes hidden through the theme. This constant high pitch sound throughout the songs helps capture the eerieness of the Zombies.

Recent research has shown that High pitch distorted sounds remind us of the calls made by animals in distress.This ‘brings out the animal in us’ by putting us on high alert for threats such as predators. In the modern world, this could take the form of moving to the edge of the cinema seat or feeling a tingling in the spine from video games. 

 

 

Comparison between two games.

So after analyzing both games and going through subject terminology, I can infer that Both games have two different styles of music. You have Zelda that has a more upbeat style beat matching the demographic and feel appealing towards the game whereas Blackops zombie a game which is more of a thriller/horror than adventure has a  darker more eaarie style of music, that allows the player to feel emersed and almost isolated when playing, that’s how I felt anyway.

 

Task two sound Excel Planner

Part of task twos research for our sound development was to make a schedule where I record and add My sample of sounds that I want to add to my game Below is the planner completed with all the necessary detail.

How I created and finished the planner was simple. Firstly I was sent a document by Craig with this layout already setup on excel. Secondly, I enter the document and simply filed in the planner placing in the required sounds that I would require for my game. As well as this I also describes the purpose of each sample and what I would be recording the samples on. On the top of the planner, you will also see that I added a brief explanation of my game.

This second calendar is the final piece to complete Task two. This is a calendar that likes the first one that was required to be filled in. This calendar indicates the days I will be recording my samples and what sample I will be recording spamming a date of two weeks.

I believe The purpose of this goal was to help organize are work. With this timetable in place, I now know what samples Il be recording and when I will record them.

 

Sound design. Logic project 2

 

 

For today’s lesson, we began a new Logic project. Similar To the last project we recorded sound samples on our phones and implemented them to create a tune.

Craig made us record sounds of his car. Examples may be.

His gearbox, car horn, engine and so on.

He did not specify but I believe the reason behind this task was for us to understand and visualize sound around us. I certainly grasped form this task that for video games especially, I can obtain and use sound all around me. Whether that be from my room or the weather outside anything that I can record will and can be helpful for my game.

As well as this Craig told us how many game developers, in fact, use real sound effects for there games. These vary from the rain that may be poring on a certain level or the sound of a gun reloading.

Here is a video of a developer showcasing how he created and used his own sound effects for his indie Videogame.

Now on to the task that I achieved during the lesson, Above is an image of my work in development using a logic pro. As you can see it says car engine. This was, in fact, a recorded sample of Craig’s car engine that I recorded using my phone. Once recorded I downloaded the sample and edited it on Logic.

I wanted My piece to sound different though and not to plain, so I played around with Logics many tools and cut the recorded sample and layered them together creating an entirely different sound. In addition, I also used the copy and paste tool to replicate the engine sound so I would end up having more than one sample on the same project.

 

All recording and sounds will be uploaded to this blog as soon as my project is completed!!

Sound design glossary

Diegetic= Sound whose source is visible on the screen or whose source is implied to be present by the action of the film: Example is when cantina music is being played by musicians in star wars new hope. Everyone there is meant to hear the music being played.

 

Non Diegetic = Non–diegetic sound. The sound which source is neither visible on the screen nor has been implied to be present in the action: narrator’s commentary.

 

Reverb= an effect whereby the sound produced by an amplifier or an amplified musical instrument is made to reverberate slightly.

EQ: 

In sound recording and reproduction, equalisation is the process commonly used to alter the frequency response of an audio system using linear filters. Most hi-fi equipment uses relatively simple filters to make bass and treble adjustments.

Spotting: 

The term spotting is used in the motion-picture and video production industries to refer to the process of deciding where within a film the musical score and soundeffects will be located, a process often referred to as “spotting for sound“.

Sound and design lesson 3 Logic project

Theory of sound.

As we attended our first couple of sound classes, we have already gone through the many basics of sound and the different media of sound.  firstly we were put in groups and were tasked with finding a sample of sound from a game or movie and demonstrate how it made us feel and what effects the sound had on us. As well as this we were asked to detect what instruments were played or if there weren’t any how the piece of music was developed. Our group chose the call of duty black ops zombie theme. We felt it was a good example as it shows a good range of instruments that we were able to detect, as well as this there were many factors to talk about within that piece for example the high pitched piano sounds that makes the soundtrack sound dark and scary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apBWd1FLK9s -link to zombies theme call of duty.

during the second part of the lesson we touched on echoes and the different effects that are presented by echoes. The teacher told us that there are two different types of echoes.

 

oscillation =movement back and forth in a regular rhythm.

Reverb=an effect whereby the sound produced by an amplifier or an amplified musical instrument is made to reverberate slightly.

 

he highlighted that these effects were pivotal to grasp as they were two good examples of natural sound that can implemented into games and helps with the overall tone of the game.