Mid Project Criteria (30 pts)
MIDPROJECT- FOCUSSED, CLIENT BASED DESIGN
This project is an opportunity to really work with concepts, tools and craft we have learned thus far. Concepts are in CAPS. Make sure you understand all of these or be sure to ask your class pals or myself. Give yourself time to work, digest and revise, create a final mix, etc.!!
I want to hear sounds that you have manipulated in Protools, layered and composite sounds. No sounds imported from sound EFX CDs allowed! Bonus points for recording more sounds! Be sure to create a bounced QUICKTIME version to hand in along with the session folder and exported regions used to hand in. HAVE FUN, PLAY and EXPERIMENT. USE YOUR EARS!
1:: Use your SPOTTING SESSION and CUE SHEET to design sounds in Protools for your project. Use your SOUND MAP or other document you created in order to think of broad expressive, informational and dramatic aspects of the work. I am looking for a large portion of COMPOSITE SOUNDS (sounds that are made up of many sounds layered), as that is the magic of sound design. Remember, you can use simple waveforms to change the quality or timbre. For example, extended highs for brilliance and lows power. Take a look at some animation and video grabs of games on YouTube for research.
Remember, the samples from the recordings we made are your paints. A painter rarely paints a painting only using premixed colors from tubes. A sound designer mixes and layers sounds together to create engaging, deep work.
Pay attention to detail, (draw with a pencil, not a telephone pole.) Pay attention to the detail within the “entirety” of the piece. Work general to specific. Don't spend too much time in one part of the piece so you run out of time with other parts of the project or it lacks cohesiveness.
Your focus is on sound effects, however dialog or musical elements that are your own work can be used sensibly. Do not spend time creating a sound track though, your focus is on OATEE.
2 :: Export these as samples in their own directory in your sample library and import your whole sound library into a new Protools session for the project.
3 :: Use this material and other work to create sound effects for the animation thinking about OATEE. All objects, actions, transitions, camera moves, etc. should be complemented sonically with consideration for how sounds work together, the logic, style and integrity of the piece and the dramatic structure. Consider the style and target demographic. Think about how sound creates structure, how it becomes part of the narrative flow. Think about how sound can create a world of information, a sonic scene or environment. Be sure to create sensible ROOM TONE, ambience, environments, atmospheres, location, periods in history, as relates to the project.
How do your sounds work together in the main STYLISTICS of the project. Sound should not only be sampled directly from the source. NON LITERAL SOUNDS are important part of your sonic expression. For example, a gunshot could be mixed in with a basketball bounce in order to create a fearful quality or breathing could be mixed in to the room tone in order to create sultriness or character of space.
4 :: Make changes relating to FITTS or other concepts for thinking about sound: frequency (pitch), intensity (volume, mixing), timbre (tonal color), time (duration, rhythm, silence), sparsity or density of sounds (layers), and space (panning, acoustics) related to visual and dramatic content. All these elements can change over time as well, just as objects, actions, characters, environments, narratives and dramatic shape change. For example, the pitch of cars in a motor race could get higher in order to build dramatic intensity. How will you use these as tools to engage the viewer/player, etc. in the narrative or play?
5 :: DRAMA... The sound design should articulate both PRIMARY (character) and SECONDARY (audience) EMOTIONS and how these work together and how these combine in new media, such a game avatar. Think about how sound sets the tone/mood, encourages emotion, or evokes something in the audience. Pay close attention to articulating characters and scene/play. The sound design should enhance the DRAMATIC STRUCTURE (rising/falling action– exposition, climax and resolution). Where are the dramatic beats and how will you work with this? How can the sound show character arc/transformation? How can sound show the interior motivation and desire of character(s)?
6 :: Create SONIC PERSPECTIVE or how sound works for the visual representation of our material world (or imaginary worlds). Think about sound as a soloist or character against a background or canvas (Gestalt- figure and ground). How does your sound design create foreground, middleground and background? How does sound work with the visuals to focus user/player viewer on main action/important information in the piece? How do you use sound to make the 2D picture plane less flat? How does the sound ATTENTION? Use width and depth in mix to help.
7 :: THE MIX or HEIGHT/WIDTH AND DEPTH. Use AUTOMATION for panning, levels or other mix elements. Use FADES and other subtle (yes, subtle) effects, such as reverb for depth. Be sure to employ sensible/subtle panning and reverb in mixing your sounds.
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Here's a simple breakdown-
DRAMATIC
Identify dramatic beats and build rising/falling action, build to climax/denouement
Sound supports the dramatic or humorous moments
Sound builds character(s) personality and emotion, helps with character arcs/transformations
Sound emphasizes audience emotion and participation
Panning or stereo mix related to the story space
OATEE
All actions and objects have sounds and help focus story
Sound works with transitions in space and time
Sound creates perspective
Sound creates environment and background, setting or location (through room tone, ambience and background)
Sound design for graphics, titles, etc.
Consistent style, logic of piece
Sound/image synch tight
CRAFT
Multiple tracks
Use of sound library
Altered sounds- pitch shift, time compression/expansion, reverse,
etc.
Composite sounds
Mix- width, height, depth with automation
Changes in: frequency, amplitude, timbre, duration, silence, rhythm, panning, etc.
Label tracks, label regions
Organized session folder
Bounced version of the project (QUICKTIME)
Include all Protools files and organized sample library
Overall stylistic, creative quality
Specific Grade Criteria...
Feedback version ____ (of 1 pt) extra credit
New sample recording ____ (of 2 pts) extra credit
Uses “worldizing” ____ (of 2 pts) extra credit
Feel free to email me at with questions.
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NEW CONCEPT(S) ALERT!!
Hearing limitations (problems in monitoring the sounds present in the work)-
FLETCHER MUNSON EFFECT: Humans do not hear the low frequencies (bass) and the extreme high frequencies (treble) as well at low volumes. (Remember, 256 or 20-250 for bass, 250-6000 for midrange and 6000+ for Treble).
Listen to a musical selection with a lot of height. You will hear Fetcher Munson or less highs and lows in the piece when played softly. Listening to your project at reasonable levels while you mix, as well as listening at different levels while you work can help avoid problems, such as distortion due to EQing.
A distorted mix... mixing your sounds while monitoring them at a low level may cause you to boost the lows and highs, because of Fletcher Munson. Later, when the listener plays the recording at a louder level your mix will be distorted (the highs and lows exaggerated due to compensation based on Fletcher Munson).
MASKING: When two sounds are at similar frequencies, the one that is slightly louder will make the quieter sound un-hearable. Because of masking, every elements in a mix sounds quite different when soloed compared to how they sound in the mix.
Remember, most sounds are a complex mix of periodic and chaotic waveforms. Musical sounds have harmonics at multiples above the fundamental frequency, which create their particular timbre. When various sounds or instruments are combined, some of the harmonics are masked, making them sound different "in the mix" than when soloed. The idea is to mix all the sounds simultaneously so one can hear all of the sounds/instruments when and how they interact when mixing. The sounds/instruments can be EQ'd so they play well with their team members.
FINAL NOTE
Both of these can be helped with good mixing practices, as well as through EQUALIZATION or the boosting or cutting of the frequency components of your sounds.
MORE TO COME...
