AUDIO TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN
This course focused on giving students a solid background in designing and implementing aural elements in a performative setting. It covered how to properly use and identify technical elements, the science behind our sense of hearing, history about sound and its integration into society, and design aspects of sound. Below are the projects that were assigned to us. They gave us a chance to implement what we had learned and experiment with sound design. Each one required a conceptual analysis, a sound cue sheet, and of course the final product.
Aural Landscape
Assignment: From a painting of your choice, create an atmosphere based on sound. Use elements found in the painting itself along with elements of design and tech.
I chose The Stonebreakers by Gustave Courbet because of his contribution to the realism art movement, and I wanted to explore that realism in sound. Everything you hear was included with the intent of being as close to real life as possible. Even the French, spoken by me, was scripted to reflect a more colloquial style. I wanted to add some variety to the sound so I looked for some French folk songs that a lower-class person might have sung. The one I found couldn't have been more perfect, as it's an allegory for peasants watching as the higher class enjoy their wealth.
"I saw the wolf, the fox, the hare.
I saw the wolf, the fox drinking.
I spied on them myself.
I saw the wolf, the fox, the hare.
I spied on them myself.
I saw the wolf, the fox drinking."
I used Audacity to record and edit. To view my conceptual analysis and sound cue sheet CLICK HERE.
This class was very engaging for me and I enjoyed the creative freedom. With my interest in voice over, audio tech felt like a natural fit for me, but I finished the class with a newfound passion for audio design, as well. It gave me the tools and know-how to create soundscapes and I enjoyed building cues and synthesizing sound sequences.
BEXAR SCRIP Project
Assignment: Take the short story Bexar Scrip 2692 written by O. Henry and select a section to express in sound. Include sound effects and music to fully explore the story.
Given my interest in voice over work, I got special permission from the professor to treat this assignment as a full-fledged audio-book. In addition to finding sound effects and music, I would also narrate and perform the entire short story.
My initial inspiration for this project came from The Twilight Zone given the story's air of mystery and macabre ending. I wanted to create atmosphere and highlight the darker aspects of the story. The record scratching you hear at the start evokes a sense of age and history. I modulated my voice to add texture and heighten the language. I plucked out sequences on a piano that purposely sound arrhythmic and dissonant. There is also constant snake imagery that I highlight with hissing and biting. I think this assignment was a great exercise in taking someone else's work and applying my own aural concept.
I used Audacity to record and edit and Garageband for mixing. To view my conceptual analysis and sound cue sheet CLICK HERE.
Impossible Sound
Assignment: Think of an impossible situation and make a soundscape centered on that situation.
The impossible situation I chose for this project was a scarf being chased down by a bunch of scissors. I wanted this to be a dogfight-style chase followed by a confrontation, defeat, and resurgence to victory. I turned to classical music for the underscoring and found Flight of the Bumblebee, The Firebird Suite, and Verdi's Triumphal March. To get the sound effects I wanted, I used a mix of live sound recording and pulling effects from other popular media like Harry Potter and Star Wars. I played a lot with panning from left to right channels to simulate a sense of motion and zooming around.
I used Audacity to record and edit and qLab to sequence and layer the sounds. To view my conceptual analysis and sound cue sheet CLICK HERE.