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Gridscape - Assignment response

The visuals I initially envisioned were not as grand as I had hopes, but as my first time with the motion capture technology, I was quite pleased with its final aesthetic. In terms of structure, I was pleased with the final compositing of the sound. However, seeing it in its entirety during the presentation, I did feel the duration was a little off. After numerous attempts to fix this issue, I did feel like I did all I could have to make it a length I was comfortable at. The timing of the different sections of the piece I was quite happy with but the overall duration was a personal gripe for me. After creating the “Inter Load” test piece, I was really glad with the timing and how well it all fit together as a whole. I did try to re-do the intro sequence several times to attempt to create a more captivating intro, but seeing how well the original held together I decided to stick with it. creating the visuals with motion capture proved quite a challenge for me. I tried to make it look as polished as possible whilst remaining true to the theme of my piece. I felt the vibe of the visuals in conjunction with the 8-bit sound worked extremely well alongside one another. I structured my piece in a way where it starts out quite dramatic, but seemingly innocent. It begins with a digitised pulse along with looping 8-bit melodies. The thinking I had with the pulse during the beginning was that it signified the character coming to new life in this digital world, it starts off as a flat-line and becomes a steady pulse after the black screen. This was reversed at the end of my piece with the pulse becoming a flat-line into a black screen, signifying his death in the digital world. The 8-bit melodies during the intro start off quite generic and friendly along with the visuals with the movement at normal speed. As it progresses, the movement is sped up and the man slowly becomes distressed. The sound during the middle becomes quite mysterious following a glitchy lag-esque sound. Toward the third act, the sound seems to return to its quirky fun state until it begins to slow down and the human movements become eerie and unnatural. At this point, the man becomes immersed in the digital world and his actions and movements no-longer become human. I personally feel I have achieved the eerie uncomfortable setting I was going for with the sound. Cutting, multiplying, reversing and slowing down specific parts of the 8-bit tracks and repeating these techniques with the visuals makes for a bizzare composition. Pitch shifting was another technique crucial to achieving the multiple layered sound. Multiplying the same track and adjusting the pitches to me felt like a similar sensation to having multiple voices speak to you at once. It made me feel like the trapped human was not only physically trapped, but sonically trapped in this world. In relation to the reading, I feel as though my piece in multiple parts has toyed around with the perceptual readiness of listeners. Not as drastically as Alien: Isolation, but in a way where it allows for the listener to immerse themselves in the world not knowing what comes next. In a more subtle way where static and buffering sounds integrate themselves into melodies but stick out enough to keep the listener on edge, especially throughout the second act. Overall I am pleased with the final result, but I do feel as though it could have been longer.

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Reading Response

While this book is clearly aimed toward sound designers in the gaming field, its conceptual thinking does align with theme of my piece seeing as was inspired by game sounds. Mark Grimshaw tackles plenty of complex ideas surrounding the sound produced for the gaming world and its relationship with the player and the game itself. In the tenth chapter of the book, Listening to Fear: A Study of Sound in Horror Computer Games, he states that sound is immensely crucial in the game’s mood and the player’s interpretation of the game world. Sound effects are able to act as a bridge to the game environment, enhancing the way the player perceives the virtual space, triggering certain sounds whilst interacting with the environment. While game sound tracks can influence the player’s mood on the world, one can go from quirky playful light world to a gruelling horrific battle for survival in an instant. An example of the impact sound has in game design is the game Alien: Isolation. Mimicking the concept of James Cameron’s original 1986 Alien, the horror and atmosphere heavily relies on the game’s sound design. Grimshaw goes on through more technical thinking, he explains that whilst the sound itself may trigger fear, it is also our perceptual readiness being toyed with that registers a sense of fear. Whilst everyday life listening features a limited amount of dangers, our auditory system is not used to being on guard and we mainly rely on sight to inform us of any immediate danger. The use of sudden jolts in volume of sound or any quick drastic changes in wavelengths is what fortifies our perceptual readiness forcing the player into a fearful position. While my piece isn’t at all aimed to fit in the horror genre, I do hope to bring certain elements of an eerie environment to it. The idea of my piece is an organic human trapped in a digital world, just like Tron. While the film plays upon the adventuristic whimsical ideas of the concept, I want to express the loneliness and eeriness of the concept. The feeling of being trapped, alone and stuck I hope to explore through sound. While Alien relies on atmospheric sounds and jump scares, I hope to include plenty of “glitch” and “buffering”-esque sound effects strewn throughout my piece, heavily toward the ending. These sound effects will come unexpectedly in different pitches and volumes. While technology can be an amazing part of our livers, it can also become addictive and destructive. The use of 8-bit retro sounds, the visuals created through motion capture software and the mini narrative of a human become digitised is a metaphor for that. Everyday mankind is required to adapt to new technology which seems to be evolving over-night, while it should be technology adapting to us. The fear of isolation and becoming powerless is very much a human instinctive fear. I hope to express these instinctive fears digitally through the sound piece along with the human movement. The 2 different eras the motion capture and 8-bit sound represent emphasises how much technology has evolved since. Exploring the evolution of technology and playing with the listener’s perceptual readiness is something I aim to achieve in the final compositing of my piece.

Game sound technology and player interaction : concepts and development / Mark Grimshaw, [editor]. Hershey PA : Information Science Reference, 2011.

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Motion Capture Storyboard

The early planning of my Motion Capture scenes. The scenes do not follow any sort of linear narrative, more just a guide for myself on what I would like to capture in the studio.

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Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm Of The War Drums – A Perfect Circle

I find this a very unique and interesting piece because of the techniques used to manipulate the track. Being a fan of the band’s work, I know that the lyrics used in this track are taken off a previous track the band made titled, Lullaby. The “go back to sleep” line was of little to no significance in the previous track, and simply remixing it into a new track gives the line a whole new chilling meaning. Obviously in a track titled Lullaby, it suggests sleeping, where as in this track it suggests a more morbid meaning. The idea that the band can simply  distort and mix 4 measly words from a previous track of little significance into something of a rally cry really sparks interest in me. The simple use of repetition, distortion and a slight reverb on a simple statement turns it into a chilling anthem. Another notable feature is the imagery shown, especially toward the end. Although simple and cartoonised, it’s no doubt the themes dealt with here are not to be taken lightly. Toward the end we see the editing techniques mimicking that of the audio editing, heavily repeated and distorted.

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Screenshots of inside the Famitracker. After experimenting a bit, the Famitracker proved quite easy to get a hang of. The interface itself is quite minimalistic allowing for easy use. I managed to make a few tunes I was quite pleased with and some sound effects, however after making them it was clear that the Famitracker was extremely limited in terms of sequencing and compositing. The tempo is always at a constant pace and once altered, it stays at that specific tempo through out the whole play through. I intend to create my SFX on the tracker and export it into audition and premiere to further enhance and experiment on them more.

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A program I found surfing on the net that makes NES/Famicom sounds. FamiTracker is a free tracker that allows users to create their own instruments in the tracker (with strict limitations of course) and use them to create melodies within the tracker. The music produced can actually then be converted to allow for use on NES/Famicom hardware.

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Other than being a good song, Pursuit Of Happiness has SFX that sounds similar to what you’d hear on a Super Nintendo. Listening closely during the chorus, you can notice some rough fuzzy noises that have been reversed and repeated over a deep yet simple bassline. The composition makes for a catchy but very odd tune. If I imagine the singing/rapping stripped off the composition and remove the video, my mind conjures up strange imagery that could possibly suit the instrumentals. Perhaps a digital lion sprinting through a neon grid or a wireframe whale swimming across the stars passing by a golden man on the moon.

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SOUND DESIGN x MOCAP ELECTIVE

I’ve decided to tie in my motion capture elective along with my sound design minor. My sound design I already know I want to create an experimental music piece heavily compiled of digital sound. For my motion capture elective, I aim to create a visual companion to this, not so much a musical, more of an experimental aesthetic to match the sound piece. Motion capture deals with fluid, organic movement, which is the exact opposite to the concept of my sound design. I’m interested in contrasting these 2 concepts and exploring the gap between them. Have the sound fully computerised but the movement of the character more organic and human like. I’m also looking to have my sound design and motion capture inspired by the aesthetic of TRON (1982) 

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A memorable game soundtrack for me was the Castlevania one for the NES. Aside form nostalgic value, listening to it now makes me appreciate it more knowing how limited the game technology was back then compared to now and melodic and catchy they were able to make the soundtrack with the bare minimum. Deconstructing it in my head, it’s quite minimalistic and the sounds seem quite simple but the way they’re structured makes for an thrilling upbeat melody.

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Project Proposal (Draft)

Creative Sound Design Year 3

For my sound design piece, I aim to create a musical piece, something similar you’d hear in the soundtrack of a Playstation 1 game or an old arcade machine. Most of the sounds used will be digitally produced through a small synthesiser (looking to purchase a cheap one). I’m also quite keen to consider no-input mixing and harmonizing it into a musical piece (Toshimaru Nakamura, Enema Syringe). My piece will also serve as a soundtrack to my Motion-Capture Elective paper, which I’m going to create the visuals that accompany my soundtrack. My piece will be heavily influenced by games I’ve played throughout my childhood and have the emotion of nostalgia explored. Although almost all sounds will be digitally produced, I want to communicate the human emotion of nostalgia through audio.



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Quick brain storm i whipped up to get myself thinking of a concept. some brain vomit on a page

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Another piece I really liked was this weird melodic thing. First time I had ever heard of no input and the way this piece was put together kinda reminded me of soundtracks on old Gameboy games. I found the idea of no-input mixing enthralling and hearing it put together like this i couldn’t help but think of retro arcade games

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A few pieces shown in class peaked my interests, one of them was a piece by Laurie Anderson. This piece had an 80′s futuristic vibe for me. The repetition, digitized voice and visuals all together created an eerie and uneasy setting which is what got my attention. The way it made me feel a tad uneasy was notable.