Depths (with Sound) – Anita Luo
Playthrough of the final scene:
“Sound map” of the scene:
1. PROPOSAL
I am prompted to create a conceptual “soundscape” through fieldwork and reconstruction of inside and outside sound. I intend to experiment with “hi-fi” and “lo-fi” systems, mentioned in R. Murray Schafer’s “Music of the Environment,” within a single space to see how I can create meaning and effect through their contrasting perspectives for the audience. By removing sounds from their “natural sockets” and relocating them into the space of my unity project, I would like to build a soundscape of “moving and stationary sound events.” In an attempt to illustrate transient memory in Depths, I also wish to take advantage of silence in some way within the virtual time and space.
2. BRAINSTORMING
In my sketch, I wanted to categorize what sounds would be considered outside or inside and how that would be intertwined with the concept of hi-fi and lo-fi systems. As a result, I wanted to create a reverb zone within the convenience store that would act as the silent space within my project and exhibit a lo-fi sound system. Integrating my concept, this space of stillness acts as the momentary recall and isolation of the space in my head. Everything outside the store is at a standstill too; the external world outside my head pauses as I focus my attention on the store.
Additionally, I also considered the gameplay of Promesa and intended to add footsteps as the audience moves through the space to enhance their sense of particularity and immersion.
3. INSPIRATION & CONCEPTUAL INTEGRATION
Concept #1: SOMA Underwater Soundscape
The sound design in Soma effectively captures the underwater environment with its echo effects that adapt to the room size and spontaneous sounds that elicit agitation toward the unknown. I think that using similar sound effects could enhance my soundscape in the project.
Concept #2: Silence in John Cages’ 4’33”
I am inspired by how the prevalence of silence in 4’33” encourages the contemplation of our surroundings by enclosing the environmental and involuntary sounds, The audience is put into a moment of attention and feels a sense of immersion and particularity.
4. PROCESS
1) Field Work
a) For this project, I used a Tascam recorder and phone to record the environment. I spent some time sitting and listening in the convenience store, the reference space in this project, for a few minutes to note what discrete and indistinct sounds I heard. At times there was only the sound of the fridge which sounded like an air conditioner. Its dominance in the space overpowers any small sounds present—in the context of recalling memories, one might lose these minuscule details. When walking out of the convenience store, the external space turns into a lo-fi soundscape where constant information becomes noise. Thus, I wanted to record sounds that could emulate this dichotomy between the inside and outside soundscape.
b) For the bus that passes the convenience store, I used my phone to record. The quality of the phone is not as high as the Tascam recorder however it picked up all the dominant sounds of the space in the bus.
c) I also recorded the inside of a cafe to capture the sound of people talking. However, because I used a phone to record, the quality of the recording was not satisfactory to edit and embed in my scene further along the process.
d) Using a shotgun recorder I also captured the soundscape of an area near a street to capture the discrete sounds of cars, wind, trees, and environmental ambiance.
e) I made an individual recording of the air conditioner to isolate the sound for better editing later so that I can have a more realistic audio source in the scene.
f) Using my hand, I knocked on a thick book to simulate the sound of footsteps.
Click here for raw audio folder!
*includes audio not mentioned and used
2) Audio Editing
a) I used Audacity, the only editing software available to me at the time, to edit the audio that I recorded. There are many limitations to this editing software and would have preferred to use Adobe Audition. However, for the objective of this project, I believe that the software’s functions would produce satisfactory outcomes.
b) Firstly, I edited the audio of “Outside.wav” by following this tutorial on how to create an underwater effect for audio in Audacity. To make a muffled effect, I selected the “Low-Pass Filter” and adjusted the “Roll-off” to 24dB. Additionally, I added some reverb to highlight the room size of the space—that the external world is boundless with incessant income of information. I exported the audio and named it “Outside water.wav.”
c) For the footsteps I used “Noise Reduction” to remove background noise and isolated two knocks for the footsteps.
Click here for edited audio folder!
3) Reconstruction
a) I incorporate the audio into the week 3 assignment. I considered how the time and location of these audio sources would affect the mood and feeling of the space. By initially categorizing sound as either outside and inside; lo-fi and hi-fi; and external and internal. This distinction offers a juxtaposition between the overwhelming ominous environment outside the convenience store and an isolated still environment inside.
b) I added the bus sound and animated it to simulate the movement of the bus. In this way, I utilized moving sound which helped inform the audience of the space.
c) To create this distinction between the two spaces, I followed the tutorial below to create a custom-shaped sound zone where the audience hears the outside water audio before they arrive at the convenience store.
d) I followed the tutorial below to add the footstep audio to the player capsule so that when the WASD keys are pressed the footstep audio will play. Unfortunately, there are some flaws in the script. Firstly, the script does not account for when the player jumps which means the footstep sound will play even in midair. If I had time I would have added booleans where if “onground” is false the audio will not play. Secondly, I would also add sprinting sounds. However, I did not think of this during the recording step. Thirdly, I would like to change the footstep sound depending on the material of the ground. I wanted to do this initially. However, I did not have time to find good tutorials on how to do this.
e) Lastly, I followed the tutorial below to create reverb zones. The reverb zone in the middle is the bathroom reverb which will highlight by echoing the sound produced in this space. In this way, I enhance the hi-fi characteristic of the space. The reverb zone surrounding this space is underwater reverb which added a good effect to the already edited audio of the outside audio.
f) I added more colliders and also made adjustments to the player capsule—slowing the speed of both the walk and sprint.
5. AUDIENCE RECEPTION & 6. CONCLUSIONS
Through this project, I became more intentional in where I allocated sound in a space. I understood what my space entailed, its narrative and mood and to express these aspects more effectively the audio played a crucial role. Some techniques I used include reverb zones, animation, distinction, lack of distinction, and 3D sound design. In terms of areas to improve, I would like to tackle the limitations of the script for the footsteps—which was also mentioned during class. I would like to take jumping, sprinting and ground material into account. The sense of solitude and player-particularity within this space is enhanced by the segregation of noise and silence. This silence is barricaded by a transparent fence enclosing a hi-fi soundscape and the noise is free to run outside. As a result, as the person bearing the memories, I feel the need to stay within the convenience store to appreciate and remember the past—sometimes escaping reality.
7. APPENDIX
First playthrough without footsteps:
Second playthrough without slow walk:
8. REFERENCES
Schafer, R. M. (1973). The music of the environment. Universal Edition.