Sound Design - Soundscape Project

For the sound project, we are required to create a soundscape based on a 30 second - 1 minute long text/narrative. By recording various sounds and using Pro Tools, this will then reflect on the text by use of different effects such as reverb and delay, which will add a sense of spacing to the audio.

Narrative text:

"A narrative is like a room on whose walls a number of false doors have been painted; while within the narrative, we have many apparent choices of exit, but when the author leads us to one particular door, we know it is the right one because it opens."

(http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/narrative.html#rsjzzzlu8zBUwMZ5.99)

Using this quote, I structured a basic outline for what will happen in the narrative. My idea involves the following:

"A narrative is like a room..."

Outdoor footsteps leading into an indoor environment. Indoor footsteps indicating the character is inside a room. (Echoing footsteps on marble or wooden floor)

"...on whose walls a number of false doors have been painted..."

Spray paint/Paint brush sounds. Indicating the painting of the doors.

"...while within the narrative, we have many apparent choices of exit..."

Door knocking, Turning of door knobs/locks. Sounds panning left and right giving us a sense of space. The audience realises that these doors are the fake ones, restricting the character from entering.

"...but when the author leads us to one particular door..."

Door creaking open to indicate the narrative continuing. Droning noise indicates an aura behind the open door, leading the character to the continuation of the "narrative".

"we know it is the right one because it opens."

Footsteps leading away through the door, becoming faint towards the end of the audio.

I was able to book out a Roland in order to start my sound recording for the project. During recording, I managed to record various sounds in order to add them to pro tools to start the editing. For the painting sound, I was restricted as I didn't have the necessary objects in order to gain the right audio (Spray paint can noises and paintbrush noise).

Therefore, I used a deodorant spray can to recreate the noise of a spray paint can. In order to recreate the noise of the ball inside the can when shaking it, I used a tub of Sainsbury's multivitamins and used just one tablet whilst shaking it. This created both an echoed sound plus giving me a close enough interpretation to a spray paint can noise.

For the paint brush sounds, I put the microphone up close to a wall and brushed my hand against it in a sweeping motion. The footsteps I recorded for the beginning of the soundscape were recording on gravel, eventually leading onto concrete and inside a house (being the room for the narrative). I used the sound of someone fiddling with a door knob and the creaking of a door hinge in order to create the sound of the opening of the narrative at the end.

The Roland was very simple to use, as I had taken on my experience of using this in the previous year for Experimental Sound. I used the settings of 48KHz and 16 Bit when recording.

Once I had all my recordings, it was time to import them into Pro Tools during the workshop. 

The first thing I did once importing all the audio was to listen to them individually and renaming them to what sound they were, making it easier to distinguish them once the editing begins on the timeline. One thing I noticed immediately once I imported the audio onto the timeline was the fact that the soundwaves were thin, meaning that the volume was low. I quickly corrected this by using the audio gain in the bottom left corner and dragging up on the meter, allowing the volume to increase.

In order to make the audio fade, I used the shortcut of Command + F, which allowed me to create a length of fade on whichever clip I wanted from either the start or the end. This prevents the soundclip from immediately cutting off, allowing for a smoother listening experience.

The button on the bottom right of the numeric keypad (enter button) is used for setting markers within the timeline. This gives me the opportunity to know exactly where important points of the timeline are (such as important cuts or when a certain moment of the scenario happens within the timeline) without having to keep playing and listening to the audio. I am also able to rename the marker (which appears above the timeline) which allows me to easily distinguish which point of the soundscape is which.

After the first session of editing, I managed to create a rough structure of what I wanted for my final outcome. using various different methods of technique such as panning and reverb to add some space in this fictional audio universe. I managed to use the pencil tool in order to draw exactly where I wanted the audio to pan, allowing me to alter it to exactly where I wanted it to pan. In addition, Harry helped show me how to add a droning noise to the timeline, which fit into the end of the soundscape while the door creaks open. Once I had a general outline of the structure of my sound edit, I realised that I needed to recreate some of the audio in order to make it clearer to the audience on what was happening (such as the footsteps and door noises). The first session was basically an experiment for my final project, as I was playing with the different effects I can use whilst finding out on my flaws and what I can improve.

For the second session of recording, I took out a Marantz recorder and recorded a voice over for the soundscape. I ensured that I recorded many different pronunciations of the quote in order to give me more variety when selecting the right audio. I made sure that during recording I wasn't recording too loud for the microphone to pick up by turning the dial down between 6 and 7 and paying close attention to the lights below it (making sure it didn't reach the red section). I did have some difficulties with battery power (charging it over night but it kept turning off after 30 seconds from low battery), however I managed to get the recordings I needed for the edit.

Once completed, I layered the voice over on top of the sound audio, therefore allowing me to map out where and when the correct sounds would come in. I made use of the marker to easily distinguish when a certain part of the audio will start, allowing for a less tedious edit.

Adding the voice over allowed me to have a visual understanding of what audio I needed to space out, as during the first session I realised that all my sound files were too close together and sounded like a mash-up of audio rather than a timed, spaced out soundscape.

During the opening part of the soundscape, I noted that the footsteps were outside, however I wanted it to transition into an indoor environment as the 'walls' were mentioned. Using the crossfade tool, I was able to put together a smooth transition from outdoors to indoors which gave the sound a room tone.

Once I was happy with the overall edit, I needed to ensure that the audio did not exceed -10db. This was completed by adding a Master track, allowing me to see exactly at which point the audio passed the limit. I noticed that only two recordings (the turning of the lock and the door creak) became too loud at certain points, therefore I used a compresser in order for the sound to automatically reduce if it managed to surpass -10db.

After I was happy with everything, I exported the audio, making sure of the right format (16 bit and 48kHz).

In conclusion, I am happy with the outcome as I felt the recordings were clear and edited to give the audience an understanding of the quote. Ways I would like to improve the recording would be to maybe add some extra aesthetics (such as birds tweeting once the door opens, signifying an outdoor area to the audience), however I am pleased with the way it turned out and enjoyed the experience of sound foley and recreating sounds (spraypaint can, paintbrush).