Sounds- Animation Sound Resources

Typewriter

The typewriter comes at a fast tempo showing that the person is typing at a fast rate and it shows professionalism for this person. By using the fast tempo, the word that will appear on the screen will align each other and it does not mate if the sounds are faster than the words. This is just to create an illusion for the audience to interpret the typewriter. To improve, I could try to EQ to produce a softer tone when it is typing.

 

Horse Galloping

When creating horse galloping, I used someone to use their knuckles and tap gently on the ground repeatedly to mimic the sound of the horse galloping. However, when exporting it to Logic Pro X, it was not realistic as the horse from my animation is trotting on grass rather than on concrete. So then I did was added an EQ and an audio gain to reduces the roughness of each individual trot. To improve, I would have produced the sound on a soft surface to get realistic.

Bird Flapping

I add to make two different effects on the flapping sounds as the dove comes in a different direction and the dove comes at a fast pace however it is visible to see and hear where dive is at. I had to change the volume and the pan automation to guide the viewers where the bird is at all times. This has worked very effectively as it shows how gentle the bird is flapping its wings and you hear how high or low they are going. To improve, I would need to experiment different ways to produce a flapping sounds. To improve, I could experiment the different use of materials to produce the flapping sounds.

Soft Breeze

The soft breeze makes a soft ambience effect which gives the viewer a good understanding that they are outside listening and viewing nature.  I have turned the volume down as I want to portray the breeze as calm rather than wild and the mood that I want to display is peaceful. To improve, I would record my own version of the breeze as this version contains sudden crips sounds.

Horse Neigh

The horse neigh is only there for a short period as soon as the horse goes off the screen. Even though it is very short, it does make an impact towards the audience as the horse goes off making that character memorable. To improve, I could add a longer duration of horse neigh to grab a sample of the audio file.

Classical Piano

The piano boosts the peaceful vibe for the rest of the soundtrack. I personally that this is the strongest point in the soundtrack as the piano contains different varieties and they all complimented each other well. Even though it is slightly loud, it helped support the overall animation itself. To improve, I would like to try a different variation of instruments to liven the mood of the atmosphere.

Bird Chipping

For the chipping, I need to make sure that it has the same setting for the flapping sounds to go along with the effect. Since the dove is not a big animal, I decided to reduce the volume so that it is more lenient. Also, the reason why I extended it because I wanted to create an effect that the viewers still thinks that they are outside. To improve, I would like to increase the volume as it is slightly quiet.

Sound – Audio for Circle of Life Evaluation

Task

In Logic Pro X, I have imported the audio file of the dove flapping and the horse galloping. These sounds are foley as I want it to be original and create a realistic effect. I did each sound for 10 seconds as I am able to grab a sample and select the area I want to display.

 

As I am hearing the replay of each sound, I realise that the dove flapping audio sounds ferocious and the character that I am portraying is small and that would not be suitable for the character. So then I applied an audio gain and decrease the volume to make a smoother sound. That way it fits the criteria of the dove.

Since I wanted to create an illusion so that the viewers can believe that the dove is moving towards off the screen, I set the volume so that the right slide has more volume than the left side. The reason why I have chosen this because it creates a sense of realism for when the dove is flying.

For pan automation, it persuades the viewers that the animal is actually moving towards the direction they are heading. This will help my animation to be more realistic.

Since the theme of animation is based on nature, I added a soft breeze as an ambience sounds to show the viewer that they are in nature and they are part of it. I set the volume low at the beginning and raise the volume to show the environment is coming.

As I reviewed the ambience sounds, I heard a crispy sound that sounds similar to fire burning and that can interrupt the peaceful vibe of the scene. So what I did was cut each audio where the fire burning sounds happen and apply a fade in and fade out so that burning sounds faded and it is hardly noticeable.

The soft breeze will be played throughout the entire animation and give the sense of realism. 

At the end of the scene, it will show a quote that it would show how animation is important. I wanted to have a typewriter so that it would go in the theme of Eadweard Muybridge and the time era that he lives. Since I do not want each individual word to be equipped with every type sounds as it would sound that the gun shooting. So I need to found a typewriter sounds that would say think that the person is typing fast. This sounds will be efficient and that way it looks professional.

For the horse galloping, I turned the volume down so that the horse is going further away from the screen.

As I was reviewing the horse galloping, every time the horse is galloping, the surface that the horse is stomping on sounds like concrete so what I added to the audio file have I applied an EQ so that I can take away the high frequency away. The shelved filter helps remove part of the high frequency so that when it is stomping, it is more gentle.

Then I equipment an audio gain to the horse galloping file so that it is even more gentle and it can sound like that the horse is galloping on a soft surface.

For the final audio track, I decided to use a piano as the instruments as it is part of the string family and it is considered to be gentle. Since I do not want the same pattern to continue throughout the animation, I thought that I should apply some variation to add some interest and would appeal some of the viewers with the music. I added a classical piano, concert hall piano and a classical waltz piano. The reason why I have added this because it helps with the music blend with nature scheme.

Video

In the Circle of Life, the soundtrack fits really well with the scheme of nature and set the mood of being peaceful and relaxing. The way that the pan automation alters through each sound helps enhance the feeling of the viewers that they belong in nature which can be considered a relaxing. I personally like the different varieties of each piano when they change the chords to keep the music interesting rather than being repetitive. If I were to make another soundtrack, I would make sure that all of my sounds are original and even though some of them were made by me, I’ve contained some of the other sounds from a website as I was not able to get these sounds at any location. The reason why I would like these sounds to be original is that I can explain what I did in the process when I am making these sounds. The way the breeze comes in first to alert the viewers that they are outside watching what is happening right now. If I were to change anything about the soundtrack, it would have to be the horse galloping as it was done by a hard surface and not on a soft surface. If I were to make another soundtrack, I would like to add different varieties of the instruments to liven the mood of the animation and tone down the instruments to allow the other SFX to be noticeable.

 

Extended work – Sound Resources

 

Sounds – Shelter Island

Task

I was given a film called “Shelter Island” which features Leonardo DiCaprio. Even though the background music was taken off from this file, the vocals still remain. I had to create a soundtrack that I think it would be suitable to use for this film.

 

I added a drum to give an upbeat start for the beginning. The music will start gradually building by applying more instruments which will make the soundtracks interesting. I believe that it will create tension towards the audience.

With the use of the bass and the coffee shop guitar blends well with the drum beats. When combining instruments, it is important to pay attention to which instrument fit and which does not.

Since there are vocals in the film, I decided that I don’t want any music playing in the background so what I did is that I use the fade tool to apply all of the instruments. The reason that I did this because I want to align the scene where the into fades out and it would create a nice effect on the film itself and the viewers.

During the film, Leonardo gets angry with two men and points a gun them. I thought to myself that it would be a good opportunity to use an instrument to create a dramatic effect on the scene. To demonstrate Leonardo’s anger, I used the drum as an example because when it gets louder, it builds tension towards the audience. I added the fade tool to the drum audio so that it gradually get loud at one point and then slowly gets quieter at the end.

Finally, I added a reverb to the drum audio so that the audio has a slight echo effect when the drum slowly gets quieter.

Sound – Introduction to Music

Production Sound is when a live dialogue is being recorded and placed with special effect before any further production

Spot fx is post-production

sync points – specific areas in the film. Trigger event

Atmosphere – Falling under the border heading of Sound Effect (or SFX)

John Cage – Avant-garde composers who experiment the silence

Room tone – recorded silence

There is no silence in the real world however it can be used to create tension.

blue – audio

Green – midi track

You are able to loop an audio file by highlighting the file and apply the loop

BPM – Beats Per Minutes

ALTS key = copies the audio

These are different instruments that you can use in Logic Pro X. I am able to use these instruments without worrying about copyrights because the software is already paid for. Since there is a large list of instruments, I will need to look into which instruments blend well with each other and how many instruments that I can play at the same time.

In this draft version of Logic Pro X, I was experimenting with how the instruments would work. Whilst I was playing around, I realise that not all guitar suit with the drum audio so I need to select my audio carefully. Also, I can experiment with harps and vocals which could be useful if I am making a peaceful animation.

Info Bar

 

Sounds – Title Music

Title Music

A Title music is a form of a signature music written for the beginning of the tv shows, films etc. It has been used to set up for the theme ( rhythmic or melodic) would use to engage the audience.

Melody is time.

The purpose of music is to help tell the story. Telos is the final decoration of the film.

Does it helps tell the story?

1. Title music or the theme song helps create the theme of the story or the personality of the character. There are various roles and purpose for music within the film score.
2. Underscoring ( Music underneath the dialogue, informing the mood of the scene) – It tells you what you meant to feel.

Psycho

In this scene, Psycho kills the women in the shower before she has any time to escape. The sound in this clip convey a sinister tone with the use of the violin whilst Psycho kills the women. This is used to create a dramatic effect towards the audience and emphasize of the death of the women.

Vocabulary

Timbre – The character or quality if a musical sound or voice as distant from its pitch and intensity.

Tempo  – The speed at which a passage of music is or should be played

Hermeneutic  – A method or theory of interpretation e.g. duel (film)

Trope  – cliche – associated with a particular situation

The music provides ideas that could be used further in the production.

Character theme – It acts as a “proxy” for the characters, we associate it with the character.

Richard Wagner who is a German composer who has establishes the “leitmotif” in the opera.

Temp track – References point for describing the type of music that you want.

The downsides are that the final music does not fit because it is smilier to the temp track.

SFX

Spot fx – these are specified fx linked to specific events e.g. a phone ringing or a gunshot.

 

Foley fx– Named after their creator, Jack Foley, these are SFX performed in post-production by foley artist in synchronisation.

 

Sounds Task 3 – Level 1 and Level 2

Task

I need to produce different sound audios that will be suitable for 2 levels. For level 1, it going to be based on a London and how it is affected in daily bases. So what I need to do is to examine what sound it most commonly produced such as the Big Ben, Police siren and etc. In level 2, it is going to be based on a town where it is relaxed and not many people overpopulate that area. The sounds that going to pop up over there are pigeons,  rain and etc. I will be producing these sounds in Logic Pro X and then convert them into an AIFF file.

Both Levels

 

Countdown

This sound file contains using vocals from myself by saying “3, 2, 1, Go!”. I personally believe that this sound is important as it is vital information before racing against your opponents. The use of reverb is produced whenever I say the letters, this is used to build tension towards the player which will make the game exciting. I used a pass filter to adjust the frequency of my voice.

 

Gumte

I used my vocals to produce a high pitch sound to portray the character. The pass filters help produce a higher frequency of the character. By making the vocals into a random word gives the sense of friendliness towards that character.

 

Hextor

I used a deep vocal to create a repeated laugh to make the character sound sinister. The use of a low pass filter is important because it can make the frequency of the sound audio lower. By making the laugh repeat itself in a low tone will make the person will uncomfortable whilst playing the game.

 

Reina

I used a peak filter to produce a high pitch vocals to participate in a role of a young girl who has a lot of charisma. The young girl’s voice who seems to be cheerful will ease some players whilst playing the game.

Car Startup

I introduce a high pass filter to the car startup as I thought it would be necessary to alert the player that their car is ready to go. This sound will be recognisable due to the fact that the player in future references will know when the car is ready.

Car Turning off

I used a peak filter to lower the frequency so that when the car coming to a stop, the player will know that the car has stopped. This will also be recognisable because its most commonly heard throughout a car racing game. I only cut midway of the audio file between the car stopping to give it an interesting effect on the user.

Venvir

I produce a low pitch vocals to create a character who seems to be masculine. I used a peak filter give the audio a lower frequency to give a dark feeling towards the character. The phrase “show no mercy” is important because it shows that people should not mess around with this character.

 

Level 1

Big Ben

Big Ben’s audio file has a high pass filter that the chime has a nice high pitch audio that can be heard throughout the game. I put down the volume of the file so that the audio file sounds like it can be heard from a distance. This sound is very important as it will only display on one map throughout the game.

 

Police siren

The police siren has a peak filter so that it will alert the players when the danger is coming. Even though it is a high pitch sound, making it loud will scare off some player and they will try to escape from the police. This will help build tension towards the players which will eventually become excited for them.

Level 2

Pigeons

The audio file has a high pass filter because it will alert the player when there is trouble is coming. This is important because it acts as a pickup item in the game and the player will need to know when they are coming in the game. The use of repetition gives a signal towards the player for when the pigeons are coming.

Rain

The use of rain has a high pass filter to give the scene a melodramatic effect on the race which will make an impact of the race. This is important because it will only be displayed on the map and there are some people who like the rain so this will be an opportunity to hear what each weather will sound like.

Sound – Game Research Task 1

Dietetic Sound

Diegetic sounds are when the audience and the actors can hear the sounds. For example, when the actor knows on the door, it creates a knowing sound where everyone can hear it.

Non-Dietetic Sound

Non-Diegetic sounds are when the audience can hear the sounds however the actors cannot. For example, whilst the background music is playing, the audience can hear the music which sets the mood for the scene.

EQ

The most common form of signal processing. It lets us control the relative amplitude of various frequencies within the audible bandwidth. This is able to view as a harmonic or timbre content of a sound from the exercising tonal control.

Reverb

Its an effect of sound that is produced from an amplifier or an amplified musical instrument. Depending on the surface area, sound bounces off the wall to travel of how loud or how quiet it’s being produced.

Higher and Lower frequency

Frequency is the rate of vibration of the sound wave. The higher frequency can reach 3–30 megahertz and the lower frequency can reach 30–300 kilohertz. Higher frequency tends to sound like a sizzling sound and the lower frequency tends to sound like a low rumbling sound.

Higher and Lower amplitude

Amplitude is the maximum extent of the sound’s quality vibrating in the air. Depending on how low or high the amplitudes is, the amount of energy carried by the waves shows the measurement of the amplitude.

Super Mario

Dietetic Sound

When Mario does a movement or does something to interact with objects, a sound will appear to communicate with the players. When he jumps, it sounds like a spring being released whilst has been compressed. It’s most likely be created by using the equalisers to make the spring’s frequency higher to make it sound like a jump.

Non-dietetic Sound

The background music is an excellent choice for when describing non-diegetic sounds. Non – diegetic sounds are when the audience can hear the sound but the actors can not. Whilst these musicians are playing, they help convey a message to the audience to set a mood depending on the music. Also, when Mario picks up the red mushroom, the sound will notify the player that they have collected the mushroom. This information helps the player know what they have collected so that they can progress throughout the game.

Overworld Theme

The overworld theme has a cheerful tune which welcomes the players. This is usually the first song that you would hear when playing this game which sets the mood and I think that it is suitable for the soundtrack. The music is usually a high pitch and by making the music joyful for the start can make the player also happy as well.

Underworld Theme

The music is a low pitch where the players might feel unease and they will know that there is danger nearby. By having the music at a low pitch, it makes the atmosphere have a sinister and dark area where the players need to stay caution for their surroundings.

Far Cry 4

The diegetic sound shown here is when the character is reloading the weapon. When that sound is displayed, this signals the player to that the gun is reloading. This might have been made using the equalisers when pulling the switch and making that a high pitch for the gun reloading.

The non-diegetic is shown where the background music is played. The background music has a nice melody which soothes the players when they are roaming the environment. However, the music playing in the background is a juxtaposition because there is a  crocodile nearby which contradicts the whole music which is played in the background. This is used to trick the player that they feel safe but they are surrounded by danger all the time.

 

Trial by Fire

The music has a low pitch melody which makes the scenery scary as something bad is going to happen. Even though the vocal is a high pitch, it juxtaposes against the low pitch melody which confuses the player on what is going to happen. By combing it together creates a mystery for the players.

The Bombay Royale

The music starts off being a low pitch and then continues as a high pitch. This gives a cheerful feel to the players which helps them to calm down after all the event that the character has faced through his journeys. Also, the music has a quick tempo which makes it feel like a party and by doing this, it congratulates the player on their effects throughout the game.

 

Comparison Between the Two Games

The differences between Super Mario and Far Cry 4 is that Super Mario tends to have a lot of high pitch music which allows the younger audiences to feel welcome. On the other hand, Far Cry 4 uses low pitch music to makes the player feel unease around the environment. Super Mario uses a slow tempo to ensure that the player is in a safe environment whilst Far Cry 4 uses a fast tempo in the music to make the game tenser. Mario tends to have cheerful melody which soothes the audience and Far Cry 4  tends to have an upbeat melody, which makes the game more adventurous and makes the player more freedom.

Sounds – Blueprint

Reverb – Its an effect of sound that is produced from an amplifier or an amplified musical instrument. The sounds bounce off.

These are the list of each of the sounds that I am going to include the car racing game.

Sound Creation Resource

Recording Schedule

 

 

Sound – Layers

Today in class, the class went to Grant’s car to record sounds which could be useful for altering the sound effect. I’ve recorded the indicators, the car engine (Exterior & Interior), horn, handbrake, gear stick and the door. After we recorded those sounds, I put all of them in Logic Pro X where I can change its frequency of the sound effect.

First of all, I need to have a selected example of the sound effect of the car engine. So I needed to top and file which part of the sound that I want. Once I was happy with the selected part of the sound effect, I drag it to the beginning so that it doesn’t have to play the whole recording again.

After I was happy with the selection of the sound effect. I had to do the rest of the sound effect so get the area that I want to hear that would sound like a car.

After I top and filed each sound effects, I went to the EQ so that I am able to change its frequency. For the key turning, I used a shelved filter so that it boost the frequency of the key turning. Originally, you couldn’t really hear the key turning so I boost the frequency to a high pitch which will allow the key turning to be heard.

For the indicator, I used a pitch filter because it is used to adjust the frequency of the sound effect. I wanted to get the indicator to a high pitch so that indicator has clear sound to hear.

For the handbrake, I used a pitch filter so that I could hear the handbrake in a higher pitch.

Sound – Spotting

Spotting is a list that is used for sounds.

A score is a blueprint for music.

Underscoring – it goes underneath the dialogue. Background music
Character theme – ( Leitmotif ) Association with person/place etc
SFX

Atmosphere – Background bed of sound
Sopt FX: Prerecord sound at one sync point

Foley FX: Performed by a group of people making multiple sounds to create a sound.

Then I watched a clip from Battlefield and I had to guess where the sound is used and what type of sound it is. So I’ve converted it into a list where each sound effect should be and describe what the sound is.
Javier Spotting list.xls – Sheet1