Appendix 12; Time Contraints

I had 6 months to create all the sounds and music for this video. I could of planned my time better but overall i feel that i did not have enough time to create the music and sounds for this video as sound designers can spend years creating the sounds and music for the film. For example, Ben Burtt said he worked on the WALL-E sounds for "9 months out of the year"  You can find the rest of this interview here; http://designingsound.org/2009/09/ben-burtt-special-wall-e-the-definitive-interview/

Appendix 11; Convolution Reverb

Using an impulse response of the stairwell in the main building I was able to create a convolution reverb of the stairwell which worked perfectly when adding sounds like footsteps and breathing to the stair scene as it made all the sounds fit the environment.

Appendix 10; Automation

Below is an example of the automation I used to make the breathing copy the movements of the character. This overall made the breathing feel more natural and made it fit in the video really well.

Appendix 9; Using Library Sounds

Appendix 9;
I extracted all the samples that are used in a popular game called Half-Life 2. Since it was a big commercial release I knew that the sounds used were going to be high quality and would be usable in my piece.

Libraries are used in professional situations all the time. As part of a joke lots of films include a sample called the Wilhelm scream. This is a sample which has been used in various different films and TV shows and is instantly recognisable. Below is a compilation of where the Wilhelm scream has been used in lots of different films.
Appendix 9.1;
One of the problems i had when using library sounds was making them fit in the scene. For example, on the stair scene i couldn't find a sample of barefoot footsteps on concrete. To fix this I had to manually edit the volume automation of each footstep to make it sound less like a boot on concrete and more like barefoot.

Another problem I encountered when using library sounds was making sure I didn't repeat the same sound too many times. It would of been better if i had Foley because i wouldn't of encountered these problems.

Appendix 8; ADR & Bad ADR

Below is an example of bad ADR. It makes the whole scene feel cheap and less professional, this is something I wanted to avoid. To prevent this I had to make sure that the ADR actor knew what feel i wanted. I had multiple takes of the breathing and cut between the different takes and created a comp of the best parts.

Appendix 7; Foley

Foley is an essential part of film and is taken very seriously.  Professional recording studios are hired out and filled with objects which can be used to recreate the sounds which are shown on screen. A good example of this can be seen in the video below.
I tried to recreate the set-up that can be seen in the video by using large diaphragm condenser microphones as these are sensitive enough to capture the whole frequency range of the sound.

Appendix 6; Spotting Sheet

A spotting sheet (or cue sheet) is a common technique used by professionals in the industry. Creating a spotting sheet for Foley and sound design involves sitting down and watching the video while taking note of all the sounds that need to be placed into the video. This can be done for music, ADR, sound design and music. Below are some examples of professional spotting sheets.

Appendix 5; Alternitive takes on the stair scene.

My original plan when it came to the stair scene was to follow the actions of the character with the music. For example, as the character runs up the stairs I would have violins increase in pitch. I spent a lot of time experimenting with this technique but decided to go a more experimental way. I still used this technique as it was a good way to build tension but didn't base the entire piece around this technique.

Appendix 4; Creation of the drones

The main drone was created using a sample instrument of a cello. I used an audio effect rack to create two separate effect chains. One with more effects to create a distorted chorus version of the cello and the other chain just had slight EQ so it would sound more like the real instrument.

Above is an example of what the chain looked like in ableton and below are the effects I used to create the more dramatic distorted version of the cello.

Appendix 3; Staircase Scene

As stated before i wanted to capture the fear and confusion that the character was feeling and took my direct inspiration from the the film Saving Private Ryan. An example of this can be seen starting at 4:25 (Warning scene contains images that may be unsettling)





The Filtered noises and constant humming noise creates dramatic focus on the images that are shown in the scene. The first thing i did was filter the Foley sounds and created a high pitched noise in the background. Later on i decided that i would not filter the breathing and add more bass to the footsteps of the woman to help enhance the thought of the viewer being in her perspective.

Appendix 2; 44.1khz vs 96khz Sample Rate

Below is an example of two shakers recorded at 44.1khz and 96khz.
Both shakers have been pitched down 12 semitones in ableton using the complex pro setting.
As you can tell, the 44.1khz recording has a more crusty high end and sounds worse quality.
This is something i wanted to avoid when recording the piano, although i didn't actually manipulate the audio it was important to record at 96khz as a safety measure.

Appendix 1; Use of music to reflect what is happening on screen.

Here is a short example of Bernard Herrmann using short string stabs to reflect what is happening on screen.