This week, we are supposed to start working on our next class project. This project is called “Productive Distraction.” We are supposed to step away from our thesis projects and work on something else. It CAN add towards our thesis, but it doesn’t have to. So, upon considering things I need to do or could do, I landed on a sound project. I realized I haven’t worked with sound much, and this could be a good distraction from the illustrations and drawings I have been doing lately. I created a thematic soundtrack last semester. I could use that to come up with a soundtrack for building hype scenarios.
What I watched:
How To Sound Design A Heartbeat (using Vital)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dasZ6gY0Slw
This is a very short video that I came across, which demonstrates how to simulate a heartbeat sound using a sound manipulation and creation tool called Ableton Live Suite. While the process seems quick, I am unsure if I would want to use it since it is not an open-source tool. I will continue to look and hopefully find other tools or methods to simulate sound.
[Haven’t come up with a name for it yet].mp3:
I am considering using the same approach I used for the thematic soundtrack. Using the same melody patterns, combined with some layers of sound. For the thematic one, the layers I used were birds chirping, running water stream, and plain environment static to gel everything together and make it seem organic. For this one, I listed down the sounds I would use, the intended timeline for the soundtrack, and how they change over time.
To get started, I opened a Figma board and began adding sticky notes with my thoughts. I laid down all the different sounds I will need. After I had put down the list of sounds, I put the sticky notes in a linear order to represent the different “phases” of the soundtrack as shown in the image below.
The soundtrack starts with the thematic melody, playing the ABAC melody once. ABAC means that there is one primary melody (A) that I play on my ukulele, then there are two secondary melodies (B and C), using a distinct fingerpicking pattern and chord progression for each of the three melodies. The secondary melodies sound similar to the main melodies with only slight differences, so that they feel like a part of the same family but distinct enough to break any monotony. Once the entire melody is played once, I introduce a heartbeat sound to the sequence. The heartbeat is gradually increasing throughout the soundtrack, and so is the melody after the first complete run of the melody’s progression. A certain time after that, I introduce some muffled voices that are also gradually increasing in volume. After this, I add heavy breathing to the mix. The only thing with the heavy breathing is that it remains the same without speeding up like the rest of the sounds. Near the very end, all these sounds start to fade slightly, and a tinnitus sound plays (similar to the one I have in the starting cinematic sequence of my prototype). As these sounds start to come together, the melody begins to drop sequences. It starts with ABAC, then drops to AB, and by the end, it is only melody A playing repeatedly, creating an annoying and frustrating monotonous loop. As the hype reaches to maximum, a snap sound stops it all and brings it to a complete silence for 2 seconds, after which we hear melody C play just once.
Things to keep in mind:
Since I don’t have extensive experience working with sound, I have to consider potential pitfalls. Considering this, I am actively working on this ahead of time so that I have time to tackle any potential problems that may arise further in the process. I have already recorded my ukulele melodies, both in chunks and as a complete sequence. The reason I created the chunks is so I can break them down easily and work with them individually, especially for the parts where I start to drop out parts of the melody, and at the end, where I need to play only one melody. Another reason for this process is that I am not a fan of cutting sound clips, as they tend to cut abruptly, which does not feel very organic to me. I also need to consider the tools I might use to create other sounds. For example, the video I mentioned that shows how to create a heartbeat sound using Ableton.
Narrative Development:
I started from a blank Figma board. I placed one board/section on the left, titled “Start,” and another on the right, titled “End.” After that, I began creating a linear timeline of the story’s progression from point A to point B by listing the events that occurred during that time. What I plan to do next is highlight the major impact events and then build on those by incorporating bits and pieces of the story, working from an overview of the whole structure, while trying not to get too lost in the complexities. I think I have a good direction to explore the story further from here. I have already selected a few events that I have expanding thoughts on, which are highlighted as green sticky notes. I’m excited to see it take shape moving forward.
Coming up next…
- Next, I will keep working on the sound project by placing the chunks of my melodies, and start creating other sounds.
- I will be researching a little more on creating AFX. I think the way they simulate sounds for movies, for example, by crunching newspaper to create a specific footstep sound.
- I know we are supposed to step away from actively working on our thesis, but if I do, I might go in and add things to the narrative board if I get ideas at 2 AM or something.