Sound Workshops and Foley Sessions

This week our group sound workshop sessions with Mathew Applegate came to an end.

In these workshops Matt told us about himself, his life and his career. He explained sound concepts such as diegesis and non-digesis.

Diegesis and Non Diegesis

In a movie or game, diegetic sounds are caused by a sound source present on the screen. The characters in the world can actually hear the sound.

Non-diegtic sounds are the opposite, the sounds don't exist in the 'world' of the movie or game, only the audience can hear them. These sounds are sometimes used to set the mood of a scene, so the character may have theme music, to clue the audience in on their future If this is sinister music, the audience will realise the character has a dark future ahead of them, but since the character can't hear the music, they have no way of telling that anything is amiss. Narration is another example of non-diegtic sound. Narration is a good method of explaining the situation to the audience without effecting the 'world' or characters in the game or movie.

Opening Shot

Matt taught us the importance of the opening shots of a movie or game. The opening shot is quite simply, the first 5-10 seconds of sound the audience hears upon starting the movie or game. This piece of sound instantly clues the audience in on the atmosphere and mood of the media they are watching or playing. Matt used the example of the Star Wars the Clone Wars animated cartoon, to show the effect of the opening shot. The opening of the cartoon contains a massive amount of information. Classic star wars music plays, along with marching footsteps, and a short burst of the Imperial anthem. The cartoon is aimed at both old and new star wars fans. The quick short, Imperial burst was clearly put there for long time fans, who will know that it signifies how the clone wars ends, and how the Empire begins.

Matt also taught us that sound can describe what size an object is. In Star Wars for instance, the bigger Star Destroyer like clone ship engines make a very deep rumbling sound, whereas the small one man fighter ships make a lighter higher pitched sound.

Other concepts Matt taught us include, room tone, how the size and materials of a room can drastically change the sound output in that room. A simple example of this is, in some FPS games, if you fire a weapon in an open space, say a large cavern, and then fire the same weapon in a small enclosed room, the sounds produced with be very different.

Thematic Music

Thematic music is non-diegtic music, which gives the audience an impression of what the character is like and how they act. In the Star Wars animated cartoon, Anakin Skywalker's theme music, sounds troubled and discordant, reflecting the conflict present in Anakin's future. Internal monologues allow the audience to see what a character is thinking. A reverb is usually added to these monologues so the audience is in no doubt that they are listening to the characters thoughts, rather than hearing them speak directly.

Willhelm Scream

An interesting aside that Matt taught us was about the Willhelm scream. The Willhelm scream is used in a staggering number of movies and games, for comedic effect. The scream sounds cartoony and very unrealistic, so directors and sound designers seem to like adding the scream in as a kind of inside joke. I was amazed at the sheer number of movies I watched that featured the scream. Everything from Star Wars, to LOTR, to Toy Story 3, to Inception. If you think of a movie, it's likely the Willhelm Scream will be present at some point.

Stepping Back

Matt also taught us that in order to properly analyse a movie or game, we as an audience, must step back from the story and sound, and experience it at an entirely different level.

This is particularly difficult in games, since it is extremely difficult to do well at a game without concentrating and being immersed in its world.

Matt recommended using video capture card software to record ourselves playing a game, and then watching it back to analyse it. I plan to try this in the summer, since I've always wanted to record some of my favourite moments in gaming so I can easily relive them.

Foley Sessions

We were privileged to have two Foley sessions with Matt. Foley is the process of creating sounds using everyday objects. It is extensively used in TV, movies and games.

Matt let us create sounds using a large variety of objects. Below I have attempted to list every object I can remember us using, and what sound it created.

Slinky and Plastic Cup = Various laser sounds.

Path Tiles = Scraping sound, sounds like a heavy and a light object being moved depending on which side of the tiles is used.

Frozen Vegetables (Carrots, Cabbages etc) = Bone crunching, bone breaking, alien pods.

Trainers = Very pronounced clear footsteps.

Cloth sheet, Crisp Packet, Bubble Wrap and Children's Toy = crackling fire sound.

Creaky Door = Loud creaking sound.

Normal Door = Quiet low creaking sound.

Movie Light rotated = Horrible creaking sound.

Vending Machine Motor = Loud sound of motor running. Edited to produce engine sounds of big spaceships.

Electric Light = Electrical humming/clicking sound.

Metal Ladder and Metal Pole = Metal tapping sound.

Cushions, Cloth Sheet and Punching/Kicking = Realistic punching/kicking sounds.

It was an awesome experience to both see how foley sounds are created, and to take part in creating those sounds. The Slinky and Plastic Cup left me speechless, when Matt first demonstrated it. Actual laser-like sounds coming out of a toy and a plastic cup combined is quite an experience. I'd heard that if the two objects were put together correctly they could cause the sounds, but I don't think I seriously believed it until I saw it happen.

Conclusion

It's a shame our sound sessions have come to an end so rapidly. Matt was able to bring his passion for sound into the lessons he taught, which made the subject both interesting and enjoyable. I certainly learnt a lot and discovered that sounds are much more interesting than I thought.

I will attempt to analyse the sounds in movies I watch and games I play. As I said above, so far I am mainly noticing the Willhelm Scream, but I suppose that's still a start. :)

As usual, thanks for reading.

References

Star Wars The Clone Wars (George Lucas). 2008

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (George Lucas). 1983

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Peter Jackson). 2002

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Peter Jackson). 2003

Inception (Christopher Nolan). 2010