Sonic Design : Project 1

Week 5 - Week 7 : 2 May 2023 - 16 May 2023

Tan Yi Yun 0345559
Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Project 1/Auditory Imaging
PROJECT 1 : Auditory Imaging

We are given a task to create an audio image using any of the combination below. The audio should create an image for the first person point of view to be able to visualize on what is going on based on just the audio tracks. It should be able to tell a story for the chosen scenario. We are not allowed to use any voice or dialogs. We are not allowed to create our own sound. 
The choice scenario are:
1. Wildlife + Background
2. Everyday Home Life + Background
3. Cities + Transport + Exterior Atmosphere
4. Industry and Electronic sounds + Background
5. Weather + Background
6. Market + Rural atmosphere + Background

The duration is 2 minutes. Be careful of the pacing when doing sound design. 

Storyline
"A Symphony of Moments"

List of the sound effects:
Scene 1: enters the cafe shop
- ambience
- coffee machine
- door opens and close
- receipt printing
- cash
Scene 2: heading to seat
- footsteps
- pulling chair
- sit down
- putting bag on the floor

Scene 3: working
- open laptop
- typing
- Messenger notification
- take out a book
- flip and sketch
- tear the paper
- crumple the paper
Scene 3: calling someone
- take out the phone
- dial
- no answer
- hang up
- throw the phone away
Execution

First of all, I downloaded all the needed sound effects from Freesound and Pixabay. I created a new folder to store all the sound effects. Then, I imported into Adobe Audition and arranged the clips based on the storyline. 
Figure 1.1, Arrangement of the clips, Week 5 (2/5/2023)

The lecturer taught us to add stereo bus track to edit multiple selected tracks simultaneously. The "bus" can be renamed (similar to a folder name). Normally use it to adjust the volume.
Figure 1.2, Stereo bus track, Week 5 (2/5/2023)

Figure 1.3, Stereo bus track, Week 5 (2/5/2023)

Different medium will have different requirement of the volume. For example, TV production volume will go around -12 to -8. 
Figure 1.4, Volume level, Week 5 (2/5/2023)
For this project, we should aim around -3 amplitude (volume). We can adjust the setting in hard limiter. Only adjust the input boost after all tracks are edited. 
Mastering is small touches at the final stage. Be careful of using the exciter, although the sound can be more thicker and fuller, but it will become robotic if you exceed the limit. 
Figure 1.5, Mastering, Week 5 (2/5/2023)

Figure 1.6, Mastering, Week 5 (2/5/2023)

The biggest feature of using the panning control is that you can make a voice over or sound effect sweep from the left speaker over to the right and back to left. I applied panning in most of the clips. 
Figure 1.7, Panning, Week 5 (2/5/2023)

Finally, I added mastering and stereo reverb in the mixer.
Figure 1.8, Adjusting mastering and reverb in mixer, Week 6 (14/5/2023)

First attempt
Auditory Imaging, Week 6 (14/5/2023)

Final submission
Auditory Imaging, Week 7 (16/5/2023)

FEEDBACK

Week 7 : 

Maybe can change the coffee machine to a better one because it sounds similar to people dragging the chair. Overall is okay. 
REFLECTION

This exercise provides me an opportunity to explore and experiment with various techniques for editing and arranging sound effects to create a desired atmosphere. Firstly, this exercise emphasized how important sound is in determining the tone and ambiance of any aural production. It is possible to generate particular emotions and improve the overall immersive experience by carefully modifying the sound effects. I also learned that sound has a profound impact on storytelling, as it has the power to engage and captivate an audience on a deep level. The importance of paying attention to detail was one of the key takeaways I learned through this exercise. The overall perception and immersion can be significantly altered by subtle changes and nuances in sound effects. I was able to accurately capture the essence of particular scenarios or circumstances by meticulously modifying and stacking different sounds to produce more complex and realistic soundscapes. It is a valuable learning experience that provided me with a deeper understanding of the techniques to edit and modify the sounds.