Element of Sound (U16, P1,P2)
P1 (U16): Explain how different sound elements are used.
Sound in film
Case study: Wall-E (2008)
The first media product I will investigate is Wall-E, an animated film from 2008. This was a very original and groundbreaking film, partly because it featured no dialogue in the opening 40 minutes, instead using a variety of sound effects and foley work.
From watching this video I can see how the sounds were made for Wall-E. In the video we see the sound designers talking about how they created original sounds in order to create personalities for the characters despite the fact that they have little to no dialogue in the movie.
They use an old army generator to create the sounds for Wall-E when he has to be quiet in a scene so he's not moving very fast as a sound.
Moreover, in order to create the sounds for when he is moving fast they layered the first sound with a recording of an inertia starter which was used to start engines on old aeroplanes. Using these props that naturally increase in volume makes the sound more prominent.
In general, most sound for animated films are created through voice overs and foley. This is so the sounds are more realistic and fit naturally to the characters movements in each frame.
From this video I can interpret how some of the sounds are created through the use of foley sound. For example, when Wall-E picks up the rubble with his claw hands (0:20). This would be done by someone picking a pile of bricks and metal pieces and then dropping them onto a sand box. This brings the animation to life and allows audiences to be fully immersed in the film as if they are watching this scene in real-time.
As there is not a lot of dialogue in Wall-E, the sound is the most important part of the film, however, for the small amount of dialogue that is featured - this was created through voice over which was then edited to make the pitch and tone higher to match Wall-E's character more.
Case study: A Quiet Place (2018)
A Quiet Place is about a family who must now face the terrors of the outside world as they fight for survival in silence. Forced to venture into the unknown, they realise that the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats that lurk beyond the sand path. This film has little to no dialogue; it means the sound design has to be very textured in order to tell the story.
For the horror film 'A Quiet Place' the sounds and audio were unique and original. The video above shows how these sounds were made using foley sound.
In the video they explain how using simple props to create the significant sounds, some being exactly what you'd expect, like a shotgun loading was recorded for that exact purpose in the film. For footsteps, the foley artists wore leather shoes and recorded himself walking across a patch of hard dirt, with the microphone positioned next to it.
On the other hand, they recorded throwing popcorn kernels against a car door to sound like a grain silo. The car door was placed on the floor of the sound studio, and the foley artists tossed the grains against it, as well as rustling the kernels in a bowl to create a more layered sound.
In the pictures above they show how the foley artist created the sounds of the monsters. The first prop used was crab legs cracking to create a realistic sound of what the monsters would sound like walking and moving. The second sound used was crunching celery and lettuce to create the sounds of a monsters ear opening. The purpose of this sound was to demonstrate the storyline, as the monsters are super sensitive to any noise if they were to hear something in the film their ears would open as a reaction. Using foley sound for the monsters in this film meant the sound producers had to be realistic and find objects that would sound similar to a monster as monsters are not real.
Case study: Sumoman (2017)
Sumoman (2017) is an adventure puzzle platform with advanced physics, destructible objects and the ability to reverse time. Players have to solve various physical puzzles, trying to keep the unstable Sumoman on his feet in challenging environments.
Foley sound can also be used to create sounds for video games, such as GTA, Call of Duty and Sumoman. In the video it shows the behind the scenes of the sounds featured in Sumoman.
Foley is used to create the sounds of the characters moving and objects rustling. In the screenshot below, the foley artists has a patch of hard dirt to create the sound of footsteps. Alongside the dirt, he also has a pile of dried foliage, which he rustles in order to create natural sounds.
The foley artist uses different types of surface to produce different types of footstep. As this is a platform game, the sumoman has to walk over a number of different surfaces. So, in the screenshot below, he walks across a wooden pallet in his socks to replicate the sound of the sumonman walking across a wooden bridge.
In the screenshot below, the sound of an old wooden lift is created via a chair leg. The foley artist places the microphone next to the chair leg, and grips the leg hard. By turning his hand, he creates a sound similar to creaking.
As it is a user-controlled video game all the sounds of the characters moving only occur when the user requests the action. For example, when the character needs to jump over a gap in a bridge to get to the other side, they also use the sound of wooden boxes hitting against each other to sync with the sounds of the wooden bridge moving when the sumoman jumps on it.
Foley sound is demonstrated in many different ways in each of the videos included above. For example, the sounds made for A Quiet Place had horror film conventions, whereas the sounds for Wall-E were produced to create emotions causing the audience to empathise with the characters. Overall this makes the non-diegetic sounds more prominent and important to the films as if they were diegetic sounds amplified.
P2 (U16): Describe how the sound elements are produced.
In my Foley sound I created it to sound like my journey home. I used a small microphone and attached it to my phone and went around recording objects that would sound similar my journey home. For example, the sound of a bus moving off can be the sounds of a coffee machine being used. For the sounds heard whilst on a bus journey I recorded public transport voice that calls out each bus stop.I then recorded the wind blowing to create the winter day atmosphere. After this i recorded the sounds of someone walking through a park crunching leaves to add to the different stages of a journey home. I decided to use the song Travelling Home by Passenger to suggest how a persons journey home during rush hour should be stressful but is actually rather peaceful as they drown out all the noise with music. Music is important because it is non-diegetic sound that can be very effective to a piece of video as it sets the mood on how audiences should feel whilst watching something. Some other sounds I created with foley sound was a stapler clicking to make the sounds of a cars indicator once again showing the hustle and bustle of a journey home.
Sound in film
Case study: Wall-E (2008)
The first media product I will investigate is Wall-E, an animated film from 2008. This was a very original and groundbreaking film, partly because it featured no dialogue in the opening 40 minutes, instead using a variety of sound effects and foley work.
From watching this video I can see how the sounds were made for Wall-E. In the video we see the sound designers talking about how they created original sounds in order to create personalities for the characters despite the fact that they have little to no dialogue in the movie.
They use an old army generator to create the sounds for Wall-E when he has to be quiet in a scene so he's not moving very fast as a sound.
 |
| Army generator |
Moreover, in order to create the sounds for when he is moving fast they layered the first sound with a recording of an inertia starter which was used to start engines on old aeroplanes. Using these props that naturally increase in volume makes the sound more prominent.
 |
| Inertia starter |
In general, most sound for animated films are created through voice overs and foley. This is so the sounds are more realistic and fit naturally to the characters movements in each frame.
From this video I can interpret how some of the sounds are created through the use of foley sound. For example, when Wall-E picks up the rubble with his claw hands (0:20). This would be done by someone picking a pile of bricks and metal pieces and then dropping them onto a sand box. This brings the animation to life and allows audiences to be fully immersed in the film as if they are watching this scene in real-time.
As there is not a lot of dialogue in Wall-E, the sound is the most important part of the film, however, for the small amount of dialogue that is featured - this was created through voice over which was then edited to make the pitch and tone higher to match Wall-E's character more.
Case study: A Quiet Place (2018)
A Quiet Place is about a family who must now face the terrors of the outside world as they fight for survival in silence. Forced to venture into the unknown, they realise that the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats that lurk beyond the sand path. This film has little to no dialogue; it means the sound design has to be very textured in order to tell the story.
For the horror film 'A Quiet Place' the sounds and audio were unique and original. The video above shows how these sounds were made using foley sound.
In the video they explain how using simple props to create the significant sounds, some being exactly what you'd expect, like a shotgun loading was recorded for that exact purpose in the film. For footsteps, the foley artists wore leather shoes and recorded himself walking across a patch of hard dirt, with the microphone positioned next to it.
On the other hand, they recorded throwing popcorn kernels against a car door to sound like a grain silo. The car door was placed on the floor of the sound studio, and the foley artists tossed the grains against it, as well as rustling the kernels in a bowl to create a more layered sound.
In the pictures above they show how the foley artist created the sounds of the monsters. The first prop used was crab legs cracking to create a realistic sound of what the monsters would sound like walking and moving. The second sound used was crunching celery and lettuce to create the sounds of a monsters ear opening. The purpose of this sound was to demonstrate the storyline, as the monsters are super sensitive to any noise if they were to hear something in the film their ears would open as a reaction. Using foley sound for the monsters in this film meant the sound producers had to be realistic and find objects that would sound similar to a monster as monsters are not real.
Case study: Sumoman (2017)
Sumoman (2017) is an adventure puzzle platform with advanced physics, destructible objects and the ability to reverse time. Players have to solve various physical puzzles, trying to keep the unstable Sumoman on his feet in challenging environments.
Foley sound can also be used to create sounds for video games, such as GTA, Call of Duty and Sumoman. In the video it shows the behind the scenes of the sounds featured in Sumoman.
Foley is used to create the sounds of the characters moving and objects rustling. In the screenshot below, the foley artists has a patch of hard dirt to create the sound of footsteps. Alongside the dirt, he also has a pile of dried foliage, which he rustles in order to create natural sounds.
The foley artist uses different types of surface to produce different types of footstep. As this is a platform game, the sumoman has to walk over a number of different surfaces. So, in the screenshot below, he walks across a wooden pallet in his socks to replicate the sound of the sumonman walking across a wooden bridge.
In the screenshot below, the sound of an old wooden lift is created via a chair leg. The foley artist places the microphone next to the chair leg, and grips the leg hard. By turning his hand, he creates a sound similar to creaking.
As it is a user-controlled video game all the sounds of the characters moving only occur when the user requests the action. For example, when the character needs to jump over a gap in a bridge to get to the other side, they also use the sound of wooden boxes hitting against each other to sync with the sounds of the wooden bridge moving when the sumoman jumps on it.
Foley sound is demonstrated in many different ways in each of the videos included above. For example, the sounds made for A Quiet Place had horror film conventions, whereas the sounds for Wall-E were produced to create emotions causing the audience to empathise with the characters. Overall this makes the non-diegetic sounds more prominent and important to the films as if they were diegetic sounds amplified.
P2 (U16): Describe how the sound elements are produced.
In my Foley sound I created it to sound like my journey home. I used a small microphone and attached it to my phone and went around recording objects that would sound similar my journey home. For example, the sound of a bus moving off can be the sounds of a coffee machine being used. For the sounds heard whilst on a bus journey I recorded public transport voice that calls out each bus stop.I then recorded the wind blowing to create the winter day atmosphere. After this i recorded the sounds of someone walking through a park crunching leaves to add to the different stages of a journey home. I decided to use the song Travelling Home by Passenger to suggest how a persons journey home during rush hour should be stressful but is actually rather peaceful as they drown out all the noise with music. Music is important because it is non-diegetic sound that can be very effective to a piece of video as it sets the mood on how audiences should feel whilst watching something. Some other sounds I created with foley sound was a stapler clicking to make the sounds of a cars indicator once again showing the hustle and bustle of a journey home.
Comments
Post a Comment