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Assessment 4 - Blog s3840808

Week 1:

I found the introductory class to AudioVision very interesting. We had a look at a unique instrument created by Canadian composer Mark Korven, called the Apprehension Machine. It features multiple components; some metal rods, a single string with an attached ebow, metal rulers, etc. From what I’ve read, it was designed for writing horror scores and was actually featured on Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse and The Witch. I’d be very keen to play and experiment with it in the future. We also had a look at the Japanese concept, ikigai, which translates to ‘ a reason for being’. The ikigai states that your purpose in life should consist of what you love, what you’re good at, what you can be paid for, and what the world needs. Darrin also recommended Sweet Anticipation, a book by David Huron on psychology and music, which I’ll definitely have a read of.

Week 2:

During the second week I worked on assignment 1 which involved creating sound for an animation of Gina Moore’s. It was fun composing for visuals again - I haven’t done it since 2020 when I was studying sound production. It was interesting seeing everyone’s approach to the assignment. Despite being completely different from one another, I can see why each person went the direction they did. I watched an interesting interview with Hans Zimmer where he discussed the creative process of scoring Dune. He made a good point in saying that it’s odd that almost all sci-fi movies like Star Wars, Alien, 2001: A Space Odyssey, etc. feature european orchestral sounds despite them taking place in other worlds and cultures. Zimmer set out to create a unique sound that mirrored the dark atmosphere that the Dune universe encapsulates. It was also interesting hearing how he described what kind of sounds he was going for, for example, he’d tell his celloist to play the cello like a Tibetan war horn or his flautist to play the flute like it were the wind whistling. It was a fascinating insight into how he operates as a composer and it gave me a lot to think about moving forward as a sound designer/composer.

Week 3:

During week 3 we had a guest lecturer, Mark Hooper, who has done sound design work on multiple films/tv shows throughout the years. I found his lecture very engaging and gained alot of insight on his thought process when it comes to approaching a new project. A useful piece of information I picked up from Mark was how to effectively fade in and out audio between scenes; Fading audio for scene A out one frame after and fading audio for scene B in one frame before. Mark also emphasized the importance of prioritizing time when working on a project, saying its better to focus more time on impactful moments - themes, motifs, signature sounds, etc. , as opposed to getting caught up on less important details. This is something I often struggle with myself. I find myself obsessing over tiny details and then begin to stress out when deadlines grow closer. This is something I’ll need to work on continuing on in the future. Mark also recommended a book by Walter Murch called In the Blink of an Eye, which focuses on the art of editing in filmmaking. I intend to look into this in the near future. I recently watched Justine Triet’s, Anatomy of a Fall, and really enjoyed it’s approach to sound design. From memory, all sound is diagetic and I assume they went for this approach in order to keep the audience’s attention on the dialouge as it plays the most important role in the film. The sound feels extremely grounded and realistic - you really get an idea of the tone and character of each space in the film, whether that be interior or exterior. There are a few recurring songs that play throughout the film, serving as important plot devices. I wont spoil anything but I enjoyed how they used sound as a pivotal factor in driving the plot forwards.

Week 6:

These past two weeks I've begun working on the soundtrack for my collaborative project. The soundtrack will complement a horror game featuring elements of traditional Chinese folklore and Taoism. My collaborator, Yue, wants the music to be eerie, atmospheric and slow burning rather than grandiose or jump scare orientated. In terms of instrumentation, gongs, vocal choir chants, droning synthesisers and bells are being utilised. I recently watched a Japanese film called Kairo, directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. I found the film's sound design particularly interesting; dialogue often sounds extremely close in proximity and white noise can be heard in almost every scene creating quite an unnerving atmosphere. Additionally, the soundtrack itself is rather minimal for the most part, often revolving around some droning sounds, which lends itself to the dark atmosphere of the film.

Week 7:

This past week I've made some significant progress in my collaborative project. I created a few different demos of potential soundtracks and sent them to Yue to get an idea of what direction I should be heading for. They were very happy with one demo in particular so I've been working on refining the idea and creating two other pieces with a similar essence. I’ve been reading Karen Collins' Game Sound: An Introduction to the History, Theory, and Practice of Video Game Music and Sound Design and have been picking up a few ideas and tips from it. Collins speaks of the importance of experimenting with different variables to ensure that a composition gets a “longer shelf life”. One of the aforementioned variables includes rhythmic changes - in a major key a sudden rhythmic change can create a sense of positive anticipation, whereas in a minor key it can create a sense of dread or fear. Collins also states that avoiding harmonic resolutions can make a composition more adaptable to gameplay changes, allowing the music to flow in multiple directions. I've also been reading Michael Chion's Audio-vision: Sound on Screen. Chion states that there are two ways in which music and sound can establish a specific emotion: empathetic effect or anempathetic effect. Empathetic sound correlates directly to the emotion being shown on screen, while anempathetic sound is indifferent to what is being shown on screen. The juxtaposition of anempathetic music and on-screen visuals has the effect of intensifying an emotion.  I recently watched a Japanese psychological horror film called Cure by Kiyoshi Kurosawa and noticed it utilises the anempathetic effect multiple times during its runtime. For example, during the opening scene quirky jovial music plays as a man murders someone in cold blood. The music being played is emotionally detached to what is being shown on screen and made the scene seem far more disturbing as a result. Perhaps this is a technique I could try to incorporate into my collaborative project.

Bibliography:

Chion, M. (1994). Audio-vision: Sound on Screen.

Collins, K. (2008). Game Sound: An Introduction to the History, Theory, and Practice of Video Game Music and Sound Design (1st ed.). MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/7909.001.0001

Huron, D. (2008). Sweet Anticipation: Music and the Psychology of Expectation

Kurosawa, K. (Director). (1997). Cure [Film]. Daiei Film.

Kurosawa, K. (Director). (2001). Kairo [Film]. Daiei Film.

Murch, W. (2005). In the Blink of an Eye.

Triet, J. (Director). (2023). Anatomy of a Fall [Film]. Les Films Pelléas.

Vanity Fair. (2022, March 18). How 'Dune' Composer Hans Zimmer Created the Oscar-Winning Score [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93A1ryc-WW0&t=2s&ab_channel=VanityFair

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