Animation Research / Analysis
Similarly as there is with audio for film, animation movies more-so consist with regard to their audio content, primarily rely on sound added in post which is designed and created through the methods of foley and sound design. Within this project I will set out to cover all of these roles in my own production.
Through the animation piece which we have been given, the characters are in a sci-fi / dystopian setting where they first look to attain an energy-core, with a close encounter of a spaceship and robots, then return to their home where they unwind, followed by a cut ahead in time to another search which leads to the loss of one of the characters.
When going forward with the sound design aspects of this project, I will aim to match the aesthetics of the audio to the visual so that they are a consistent and whole piece and not too separate and distinct from one another. With my personal focus in this module being in cinematic and immersive sound design. I know for various aspects prior stated I will utilise their inherent potential for a big sound in the stereo image, such as with the spaceship rocket boosters which the characters notice from afar indicating the volume of the sound source in the scene, as well as with the large outdoor heavily concrete and reflective desolate city-scape which would create long reverbs, echoes and wind rushes.
Within this project I aim to create the dynamics of a big cinema viewing to keep the listeners interest and enhance the dramatic action of the on-screen video, being packed with details I’ll aim to place everything with directional imaging to appear to come sonically from the same spot as what is displayed on screen, as well as with the overall level being dynamic to enhance various sections and scenes.
With the arch of the animation starting in a pressing situation encountering hostiles, I will aim to create an eerie opening sequence to set the scene for the piece, this will then build up with backing atmospheres and ambiences, with distant wind building until the cue of the characters noticing the spaceship’s arrival, this will then likely be the peak in terms of volume for the audio with the rockets aiming to replicate the loud and low impact rumble it’d give off from the distance of the cameras perspective, this followed by the close encounter with robots being distorted and noisy to emphasise the duress of the characters, following with the more unwinding and relaxed section of the middle scene where they arrive safely home. The transitional section between the video-game and sleep scene will likely be designed sonically to reflect the similarities of the two states with a blurry and echo driven wash.
The ADR for the video-game would be suitable to bit-crush to make it distinct from the other character ADR. The ADR itself will be recorded alongside the on-screen video with voice actors who’ll have various takes to get each line, cued by a beep and recorded with a high-frequency response condenser microphone for clarity and to ensure that the vox cuts through the otherwise thick and heavy sound-bed which will constitute the backing and atmospheric FX. ADR recording in typical industry settings is carried out in dry recording live rooms, therefore this will be how I go forward with those recording sessions. When undertaking the foley artist role to fill in the auditory details of the animation I will also use a live-room setup as this will create a sealed environment to create the sounds without unwanted noise.
For the foley sounds I will use objects of the same type shown in the on-screen for some such as the sounds of : doors, drawers, cans, bottles, books, paper, gamepad. These will create a realistic sound accompaniment which will help to create the immersive effect I am aiming for, with the directional placement of these replicating the proper distance and angel to psychoacoustically trick the listener into a 3D listening environment. These along with the ADR will need room reverb to also help place them in the scene.
For the sound design I will utilise the Alchemy software instrument in Logic Pro to create some of the atmosphere and FX tracks for the piece. I’ve chose to use this as it is a very powerful synthesiser in it’s capabilities to produce interesting and inherently sci-fi sounds, more than suitable for the aesthetic of the animation along with being a personal favourite for it’s wide cinematic sound and endless parameter settings. For the spaceship specifically I plan to create a puredata patch which I can use to create fundamental oscillating tones which should sound similar to early sci-fi sounds created with early modulator / oscillator patch units, this predate spaceship track will be layered within the rocket boosters and provide some enhancement to that focal aspect of the scene.
For the musical aspects of the audio I will use inspirations from more early sci-fi for the final scene as prior to this point I plan to use the music as more of an atmospheric accompaniment to convey some of the on-screen tension. For the final scene it will be primarily an arpeggiated synthesied piece to enhance the pace and panic to the scene of one character chasing his lost friend, prior will have compositions at a quieter level, with music sourcing from the video-game being more similar to a retro-game console game such as what is found in SNES and NES games but with a sci-fi twist keeping the sounds less bit-crushed. Around the scene of them entering their home the music will be very light along with the atmospherics to match the on-screen relief, and as it’ll be coming out of what is a much more eerie and tense opening sequence the music found in the first section will mostly constitute of hushed tones piercing through the wind and ambience.
