'Translunar' - Sound Design Evaluation

https://vimeo.com/250699427


Having completed production for this Transmedia Practice module, I am pleased with the result of our short sci-fi picture 'Translunar'. The whole process was a learning experience for me, and it has definitely shaped the way I approach not only music production, but film score. It was important from the start onwards that I considered other artists and composers who compose music for film/animation, and how they utilize instruments and foley sound to create realistic environments for the listener/viewer.

Once our group had come up with a general narrative to base our first tests on, I set off and researched the way sound was crafted in films such as Interstellar and Gravity and opened up Logic Pro on my computer and got going. It was necessary that I understood the mood of the piece, and how if I was to create atmospheric sounds like the films stated above I would need to use both diegetic and non-diegetic sound. Sounds that would have melodic elements, and also sound that weren't necessarily atonal, but synchronized with the visuals on screen. Having sent various tests to my motion graphics team, the feedback was good, however, they desired that I approached a more atmospheric soundscape route rather than dominant melody. This was an effective point in the process for me, as I feel I had got caught up in my head trying to replicate composers such as Hans Zimmer and I was losing focus of the kind of sound that would work with our piece.

The Motion Graphics team had now sent me the first scenes and I started building my composition. Using a basic, Intro, Verse 1, Middle 8, Verse 2, Outro structure, I was able to create a narrative within the music. Making use of the stereo field, I decided to space out my timbres and utilized the panning tool in my track automation, this enabled a wider listening experience and through the use of reverberation, I could make my sounds more distant in our environment. Thorugh the technology at my disposal I felt it would be challenging yet effective, to manipulate any samples that I collected and made them my own. The EXS24 sample plugin on Logic Pro allowed me to customise my frequencies, this was especially significant in the outro section towards the end. Through dark synthesizers and wailing white noise, I felt I captured the eerieness of an apocalypse scene.

It was a learning curve for me, I hadn't had any experience making music for film, and I overcame a lot of difficulties, especially with the choice of appropriate timbres. However, if I was to pursue a similar project again, I would make sure the film was of a longer length and with a more slowly progressive narrative. This would mean I could add more anticipation to my music, with a slower build up.