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Online Production Log

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For the task of sound designing for an animation I will be using Rockstar Games Grand Theft Auto 5 in which I modify the games 3D engine to create animation stories and  films known as "Machinima's". Machinima is the use of real-time computer graphics engines to create a cinematic production. The word "machinima" is a portmanteau of the words machine and cinema. It is the art of making animated narrative films from computer graphics, most commonly using the engines found in video games. I will also apply my 3D modelling skills to either create or modify 3D models, props and structures to align with my intended storyline. I will also employ my coding skills to create scripts for the behaviour of characters (NPC's) or vehicles to align with my storyline.

My main reason of using Grand Theft Auto as my visual is due to the freedom I have in creating a story from the vast content within Grand Theft Auto. Combined with coding enables the creation of diverse scenarios and characters whilst the physics engine used to animate 3d models is great. The other advantage of using  Grand Theft Auto 5's open world 3D engine for my sound design animation task is due to the replication of real world places such as Los Angeles including many world known iconic landmarks such as Beverly Hills or Santa Monica providing an ideal setting for a Machinima's film animation.    

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The animation is based on an army of special forces preparing for a mission aboard a large aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean. The carrier has two small helicopters, one Chinook-style helicopter, and one jet, with a crew of 14 personnel. Among them are two sergeants and a retired veteran corporal, who are the main characters driving the storyline. The remaining personnel serve as supporting actors.
With the cast, setting/environment, and scenario established I can now focus my attention on sound designing. I would write a list of all possible sounds required and ensure to keep in mind the small details and elements such as engine noises for vehicles, doors and hatches opening and closing, character voices and movement sounds like footsteps as these are crucial in bringing my scene to life. I would also take note of the many possible surfaces in my scene such as metal decks or concrete floors. Additionally, the material composition of vehicles and structure.

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Management of Planning/production​

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To manage my whole process i would firstly plan a storyboard and set it into segments of scenes. This way i can plan my stories events and sounds i would required. I would create cue sheets and markers on my timeline for synchronizing my sounds with the visuals and events in my story and for characters dialogue to enable better audio syncing to visual lip movements of the characters.

 

If i was to release this animation to the public i would have to align with industry standards and would use music cue sheets for any music in my project. Music cue sheets serve as detailed records documenting information such as the title, composer, duration and specific usage of each music in the project. It also ensures proper licensing, negotiations and royalties to composers and other possible rights holders. They are then sent to Performing rights organisations (PROs) whom use the information to track the usage of music in the project and ensure that composers, songwriters, publishers, and other rights holders receive proper compensation for their creative work. This includes the collection and distribution of performance royalties for public performances of the music as well as the enforcement of licensing agreements and copyright protection. If I have used any sounds not created by myself I would ensure to read the terms of usage and ensure to comply with the requirements such as restrictions on commercial use or to be attributed with the project. This ensures I do not fall into any future legal problems with my project.​

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The music cue sheets used in my example are based on Netflix's requirements and The Broadcast Music Inc (BMI) requirements. In my project all the sounds for the music composition was made by myself so I would fill in the named composer/party as myself. The audio I used from other sources would be added in my audio cue sheet with a note of the agreements of use. I have chosen Netflix as my Network source if my project was to be aired to the public as an example.

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Storyboard/Scene​

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Scene 1

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I would begin writing a list of sounds I would require for the scene beginning with the environment and then later focusing on the aircraft carrier. The environment being an ocean setting I would use and create sounds like seagulls, waves, ocean ambience, wind, and white noise. On the aircraft carrier I would add the commanding voice of the sergeant giving orders and eager shouts of acknowledgment from the soldiers with running and walking footsteps mixed to give the sound of the soldiers rushing to their vehicles. I would include the sounds of helicopters starting up, doors opening and closing with the continued presence of the ocean sounds of waves, wind and white noise for added immersion. The jet would include a radio style communication I would create and a characteristic radar ping in the jets cockpit.

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Scene 2

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For my 2nd scene I would again begin drafting a list of sounds necessary (or sounds continuing) but also making notes of possible volume changes required as i will now have a lot of sounds in my scenes and would have to adjust volume or pan to align the audio with my scenes to enhance the immersion of the audio and visuals. I would create a voice for the 2nd sergeant and add a commanding order similar to the 1st sergeants orders. I would add footsteps of the other soldiers walking towards the 2nd sergeant and the change in volume in some of my audio such as the helicopters and ocean noises to match the change in environment. I would also change the footsteps on concrete noise to metal when the soldiers walk on the metal ramp. When the camera pans to the 2 soldiers walking to the sergeant  i would add my music and would lower all audio to give the characters entrance more impact. The music i had composed in FL studio and would consolidate the audio to a stereo wav file and would use it in my project for this scene. My intention for the music i created is to be used for this scene but it would be lowered in volume and all other sounds raised back when the characters dialogues begin meaning it will become a background music. 

 

 

Scene 3 

(End scene)

 

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For my ending scene I would raise the volume level of the music and have it at a level in where it would fit with all the other audio sources such as loud helicopter noises, the ocean/wind noises and the 2nd sergeants footsteps and the opening and closing of the chinook helicopters door. The audio would be full of loud sounds but I would automate/adjust volumes when the camera/visuals change to match the setting for example when the sergeant closes the chinooks door all other audio goes low at the point of the doors closing impact. I would add the sound of the chinook starting and would create a closing door noise by additive synthesis forming a hydraulic sound and time stretching it to fit the timing of the door closing as well as the pitch of the created sound to suit that of a hydraulic door. The audio of the other helicopters I would change its volume by the use of EQ curves and automation. I would end the scene with the music cut out and all audio of the vehicles and environment of my animation playing. when the visuals fade all sounds will fade with the environment last.      

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Sound Design

( Key Techniques/Layer)​

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For my task i would be using sounds i had created in my 1st term EPK assignment in which i had created some wave noises with subtractive synthesis in Logic Pro's ES1. I would also use my contact mics to record the sound of fizzy drink being poured into a long cup. Lastly I would record the sound of wind by setting up my microphones and field recording equipment consisting of a T-bar stand, Audio interface, Laptop and 3 microphones. For Footstep noises I would use a sound pack by Virtual Foley Artists Footsteps which contains over 22,000 Royalty free footstep sounds. I would also be using 3 sounds from Pixabay which also has royalty free audio. I would be using a  Jet sound, Helicopter sound and seagulls. The owner of the helicopter and jet sounds belongs to a user Paul368 and the seagull sounds belongs to a user named ScottishPerson. Although not required in the license I would still credit and mention these individuals for their works as good gesture and practice.     

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I would begin my ocean sound by using a wave sound i had designed in my 1st term EPK assignment. I would also use the recording of fizzy drink being poured fast into a cup which causes the tail sound of the bubbles to fizz more. I would colour code and name these tracks and begin recording an automation of the volumes of the fizzing sound and wave sound from my EPK assignment. I would duplicate 2 of the sounds onto new tracks and time stretch the duplicated audios to create 2 different ocean/wave sounding layers which I would automate and mix with the other original ocean/wave layers. Having motorised faders helps me to automate and mix the other ocean/wave sounds as i am able visually follow the other faders which acts as a guide for me to automate other volumes to merge well together. I would route all of these sounds into a bus track which has a reverb plugin set to a hall effect and mixed slightly with the dry signal so that its not completely reverberated and wet.

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I would then load an 8-bit Synthesizer and set the oscillator to generate noise. I would then setup recording and when recording i would press a key with hard velocity on my MIDI keyboard whilst holding down the note and i would later automate the filter cut-off to remove the high frequency information and slowly bring it back in abit; then back out creating a further wave/ocean sound. I would also add the seagull sounds i had downloaded from Pixabay recorded from a user ScottishPerson.

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Once my environment had audio my next task would be adding footsteps for the soldiers. I would use the Virtual Foley Artists footsteps pack and search for footstep sounds on a surface which matches that of the Aircraft carriers floor surface and the soldiers style of boots. Once i had found my sound i would edit and slice the audio sample to fit my scene and the actions of soldiers i.e running, walking. In later scenes there would be different floor surfaces the soldiers walk on so i would find a suitable sound such as the chinook helicopters metal ramp at the entrance requiring footsteps with a metal surface. i would create several layers depending on how many soldiers in the scene and would align my footstep sounds in sync with the soldiers walking formation.

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For the voicing of characters and dialogue i would use my microphone (Antelope Audio Edge Duo) which enables me to change the characteristics of my microphones frequency response, Polar Pattern, Proximity and Axis in pre and post recording stages. I would begin testing and selecting a microphone to suit my 1st character. It would be a harsh sounding voice as the character had the appearance of an experienced sergeant. I would select an emulation of the RE-20 microphone by Electro-Voice and would add a plugin (overloud Gem voice) and create a vocal chain to enhance my vocal. This is done by removing background noise (gate), adding a pre-amp and driving/raising it for some saturation, some EQ to shape my voice tonally and a De-esser to remove a little of the strong sibilance's. These changes would help shape my voice to suit the character. An example is having an aggressive compressor in my chain such as a FET compressor to create scruffy harsh vocals when audio/signal is loud. That way when I begin performing the voicing of the sergeant and add some roughness to my voice it would be further impacted by the vocal chain. I would record the dialogue and move onto the dialogue for the jet pilot which would be a Radio-style communication. To create this effect I would shape my EQ to have a high bell shaped boost in the mid-range around 500Hz and I would create a hi and low pass and narrow down the bands so just the boosted mid-range frequency is heard. After rehearsing a few lines I would begin recording the dialogue for the 2nd sergeant and the Veteran corporal.  I wanted the voicing of the 2nd sergeant deep and the Vet corporal to have an old high pitched voice. To achieve these changes I would use a plugin by Soundtoys called LittleAlterboy which allows me to change the formant and pitch of audio. I would set the 2nd sergeants vocal pitch and formant low and in sync so it doesn't sound robotic and I would add some distortion/drive to add crunch to the vocals. I would then load the audio into Melodyne which is a note based editing software great for manipulating vocals whilst maintaining a natural sound. I would edit the vocals at certain points of my speech to give more feeling and expression in phrases spoken I.E when im shouting "Rally up men" i would edit the "RALLY UP" section to a slightly more but subtle higher pitch (ascending in pitch) to give more expression and the end section "MEN" lower. I would do this for the Veteran Corporal character and I would change his voice to a higher pitch with the Littlealterboy plugin by Soundtoys.

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For the creation of the Jets radar sound FX I would record my voice making a pinging noise similar to a radar and I would automate the pan making the audio bounce left and right at a fast speed giving a rotary effect. For the Chinook helicopters rear hatch closing I would create a hydraulic closing door sound by using additive synthesis in Arturia's emulation of the synclavier ii. I would use the sample function of the synclavier ii and I would load the downloaded jet noise audio. I would loop the sample just for a short section to get the ascending sound I would hear in the jet audio. I would then resynthesize the sample and use the waveform to form the sound into the hydraulic door sound I wanted. I would create 4 points in the timeframe of the sound I am forming and would add harmonics at certain points of the time frame giving the sound more detail in time by adding harmonic content as the sound plays. I would create another sound (partial in synclavier terms) to layer with my 1st hydraulic sound and I would transpose this partial/sound lower to the 1st partial/sound I created. I then would use another waveform to modulate my 2nd partial to create a mechanical whirring noise. I would set the amount of FM synthesis to be subtle and would shape the envelope to have a slow attack. 

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My next task was too add audio to the Helicopters and the jet aircraft. The helicopter i would use a free to use recorded audio from a User named Paul368 from Pixabay. He had recorded a helicopter engine startup and ignition sequence which was perfect for my scene. I would load the audio into a new track and fit it accordingly to the visuals of when the helicopter engine starts. I would also automate the volume respectively to the visuals scene and environment i.e. if the camera is distant from the helicopters I would have the volumes low or if a soldier is walking towards the helicopter I would automate the volume to raise slightly. To give the change of sound a helicopter normally makes when lifting off I would automate an EQ curve to narrow into the mid range and raise the frequency information giving my helicopter a more hollow sound as though it had lifted off.

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The next task was the Jets audio which I used a recording from Pixabay of a Jet engine starting up and the afterburner popping noise. I would create a new track and place the jet audio aligned with the visuals of the jet starting. I would layer another sound of a rumbling jet and have it fade in slightly after the initial jet sound. I would then layer the afterburner start up sound. With all 3 sounds the jet sound would have more body. I would also level the volumes in relation to the cameras position or the scene for better immersion. Later in the animation I would automate the jets sound with an EQ curve similar to how I had done for the helicopters although I would aim to form a deeper rumble and roaring sound by adding more lower end frequency information in the EQ automation.

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The music I intended to use in my animation would be made by me and I would create an eerie intense sounding song. I would begin be creating a rhythmic simple melodic pattern with a synthesiser using a preset. The sound would be similar of a horn. I would then create an eerie sounding bass to follow my melody and it would sound like a war horn. I  would then use a kontakt library called Jade orchestra and use a sound preset to form an eerie sounding sitar sound. I would lastly layer some hard hitting Hip-Hop drums and would have this loop with just a slight variation that has the 1st melody I created removed. Once the song was finished I would place it in my project and adjust the levels so that the audio doesn't drown dialogue or other sounds.

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Summary​

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After looking back at my work  on the challenges and possible areas for improvement and development I felt I could have improved my voicing lines better as they didn't seem mixed well with the other audio. it would be apparent in the changes of audio loudness in some scenes as the vocal would sound dry and as though it was not in that environment. I also felt the audio of my music was not mixed in well with the other sounds and I would need to do some levelling in audio. I had felt the timing of the sounds were mostly in sync with the visuals but in some areas I could try improve the lip syncing with my vocals. In conclusion for future projects involving sound design for animation I would plan my time on the project better as I was rushing to complete this project. I would also spend more time studying the common techniques and practices in the mixing side of working with animations to enable me to mix better audio with visuals.

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For the task of sound designing for an advertisement I have created an advert using adobe after effects and i would layer and create audio and sound effects for my visuals.

The advert/commercial that i made is a short trailer of the release of a hardware/software I have created. It will serve as a controller which links to any DAW to further enhance the workflow and efficiency for many professionals in the audio industry and further creative industries.

My advert will serve as a teaser trailer to draw the attention of watchers and build a hype around my product which would reveal a release date for possibly an in depth advert or the release of my product. It contains 4 scenes. The first 2 are short commercials of my business which lead into the next scene which is my product. The last scene would be an outro of the many services I offer by a visual representation of all my work and my website advertised at the end.
 

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To begin the task I would use the DAW Reaper for my project and I would load my Advert in an empty track. I would create another track and load a VST plugin which emulates the famous additive/FM synthesizer the synclavier ii.
With the synclavier I am able to resynthesis any audio to use the waveform to create my own for sound designing. I would load into the synclavier an audio of a glitch sound fx and I would create points in time of the sound to change its characteristics over time by using additive synthesis and fm synthesis on the certain points i created in the sound.
Once my sound was shaped as i wanted i would begin layering the audio in sync with the visuals of my adverts visual glitch effect.
I would have the FM synthesis take place at later points in the timing of the sound so the sound is progressive and gets metallic as the sound progresses.
I would adjust the phase in the audio In the time points to create some movement in the sound. Once I have recorded my MIDI information I would render it into a wav file for further manipulation such as time stretching or reversing and slicing the audio.
I would adjust the pitch of the audio as it sounded bright and I would lower the sound a few semitones. To finish the sound design I would place a reverb so the sound isn't too dry.
My next sound to layer with my created glitch sound would be white noise and I would adjust the filter cutoff to Remove the high end as it was too bright. I would layer this with my glitch fx to create a static glitching sound effect to layer on my visual glitch effect. Once rendered and layered I would shift the pitch and formant of the noise to fit with the glitch sound effects I created.

My next task would be to create the sounds for my next advert skit. This skit would be a spinning world which has my logo spinning with it. It will be in open space so the soundscape would have to sound vast and open. The earth will spin fast initially and would go to a halt so i would create the sound effects for this animation. I would have a point in which the words “exclusive” pop up and I would create the sound effects for this visual and sync the timing with the visual.

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The main advertisement begins with a sunset and a silhouette island in the background. The ocean would be eerily calm and the setting would be of the strong orange sunset hue. The sun would brighten up and a package of my product would slowly rise out of the ocean. I would use a song I created in the past to layer with my visuals and I would add an EQ curve to create a telephone effect on the music. I would add my glitch sound briefly on a point it appears on the visual and I would then use a boiling sound to add to the visual of my box raising out of the water. When the sun flashes the audio will return to normal. At a later point when the box opens I would layer a sound in sync with the opening animation and would add a sound when the text appears. To end this scene I would add the glitch sound several times and in sync with the visual glitches on my advert. 

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To end my advertisement I would have an outro commercial which would be a visual of a laptop showing the various works and skills I am able to do on display. The camera would be slowly moving backwards to pan the whole setting which would be a replication of my home studio and would contain various studio equipment ranging from KRK Rokit speakers, 2 guitars and a Neumann microphone. The laptop would have a popular anime of Naruto playing in which I had placed an impulse response of my room on top of it to give a room effect on the audio of the anime for audio immersion. The laptop would also show a scene of Grand Theft Auto modded content I had created in the past. I would also add an impulse response on the audio for immersion.   

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Summary​

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After reviewing my advert on the challenges and possible areas for improvement and development I felt I could have layered more sounds to other possible visual cues such as moving objects or an atmospheric sound for the environment.  I also feel i should have streamlined the  advert although i wanted to display my skills for this task. The levels of the audio wasn't balanced and I feel I could have done a much better job on the mix. I was happy with the timing of the sounds as most were in sync with the visuals but in some areas I could try improve such as the glitch sounds. In conclusion for future projects involving sound design for advertisement I would plan my time on the project better as I was rushing to complete this project. I would also spend more time studying the common techniques and practices in the mixing side of working with advertisement to enable me to mix better audio with visuals.

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Sound Design - Non-Linear

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For my non-linear sound design I would record the clicking sound of a mechanical keyboard switch

(green switch for more noise) and I would record this noise and load it into my daw and remove the background noise of my room. The audio was going to be used for when a button is pressed so I would not do much in the sound design besides from removing the background noise and duplicating the audio lowering the octave and layering it with the original sound to create a thicker sounding click.  With new AutoPlay policies in place for modern web browsers it can be difficult to add a sound to a button without having some coding knowledge. I was able to do this with python coding and below is an example of my sound in action by clicking the logo which opens a light box.