Sonic Design - Project 1

24.09.2024 - 5.1.2024 (Week 1 - Week 14)

Low Li Vern/ 0362678

Sonic Design / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media

Project 1

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INSTRUCTIONS

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PROJECT 1: Auditory Imaging

We are given the task of creating an audio image that captures a first-person point of view, allowing listeners to visualize what’s happening based solely on the sound. The audio should tell a story for my chosen scenario, bringing it to life through layers of sound without any dialogue or spoken words.

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

After exploring the scenarios, I decided that combining the sounds of a market with a rural atmosphere as the background would make for an engaging auditory image. I already had a story idea when the project was introduced, so I wrote out a storyline featuring myself driving my motorcycle to the market. 

As I wander through, I take in the variety of foods at the stalls, listening to the sizzling and clanging sounds as the vendors cook. I feel my stomach rumble and buy a serving of fried rice. Just as I start eating, a nearby hawker’s cart suddenly topples over, startling everyone around. Some people rush to help, while I continue my meal, eventually heading home with a full, happy stomach.

Once I finished writing the story, I highlighted the foreground sounds in yellow and the background sounds in cyan, making it easier to envision the soundscape and find suitable effects.

#Progress 1

Audio layering and editing sound effects

First, I searched for sound effects related to my storyline on Freesound. After gathering the sounds, I imported them into Adobe Audition and arranged each clip to follow the flow of the storyline.

Primary Sound Effects

1. Motorcycle Sound: 

Start and idle sounds, then gradually fade it as you enter the market.

Keywords to search: "motorcycle engine start," "motorcycle idle," "motorcycle drive away"

2. Market Ambiance: 

Crowded market sounds, with lively chatter, people bargaining, and animal sounds.

Keywords: "market ambiance," "crowded market," "chatter," "bargaining"

3. Footsteps on Stone: 

Walking sound on a stone path to emphasize movement.

Keywords: "footsteps on stone," "walking on pavement"

4. Jingle of Coins: 

Coin jingle for pocket movement and for placing coins on the vendor’s table.

Keywords: "coins in pocket," "coins on table"

5. Cooking Sounds:

Chopping and Dicing: "Vegetable chopping," "dicing vegetables"

Boiling and Frying: "sizzle," "frying food," "boiling soup," "wok stir fry"

Sauces and Mixing: "splash of sauce," "utensils clinking"

Secondary Sound Effects

1. Ice Clinking in Glass: 

For the sipping drink moment.

Keywords: "ice in glass," "clinking ice"

2. Vendor Callouts and Cheerful Shouts:

Lighthearted calls from vendors, capturing the market’s vibe.

Keywords: "vendor shout," "street vendor calling"

3. Plastic Bag Rustling and Murmuring: 

To show people enjoying their meals around.

Keywords: "plastic bag rustling," "murmuring crowd"

Crisis Sound - Cart Tipping Over and Rolling Fruits: For the moment of commotion.

4. Crash: 

"cart crashing," "wooden cart tipping over"

5. Rolling Fruits: 

"fruit rolling," "thudding sounds"

6. Crowd Reaction: 

Gasps, running feet, and crowd chaos sounds.

Keywords: "crowd gasp," "running footsteps," "murmuring crowd chaos"

7. Motorcycle Engine Re-Start:

Low rumble sound to signal departure.

Keywords: "motorcycle start," "engine rumble"

Fig 1.1 Audio layers in Adobe Audition multitrack

Fig 1.2 Audio layers in Adobe Audition multitrack

I began by adding the sound effect for the first scene I downloaded. To set the atmosphere, I started with the market background ambience, selecting a sound effect that included crowd noises, footsteps, and murmuring voices. To make the scene richer, I layered two different background ambience tracks, placing each on separate tracks to create a more immersive and dynamic sound environment.

#Progress 2

Add on Sound Effect

I started by experimenting with effects like the parametric equalizer and chorus to add depth and variety to the sound layers. For the coin sound effect, I applied the parametric equalizer, adjusting it to a lower pitch to create a richer, more resonant tone. This gave the coin sound a distinct layer that stood out within the overall soundscape.

Fig 2.1 Coin original sound effect

Fig 2.2 Coin low pitch sound effect

Fig 2.3 Coin parametric equalizer effect

Fig 2.4 Cart crash chorus effect

# Progress 3

Adjust the volume and pan

Mr. Razif taught us how to adjust volume and pan settings, so I experimented with these techniques on specific sound effects like frying and boiling sounds. I used panning to move the sound from left to right, simulating the experience of walking past the hawker stalls in my storyline. This created a more immersive effect, making it feel like the sounds were shifting naturally as I moved through the scene.

Fig 3.1 Fry pan volume and pan adjust

Fig 3.2 Boiling soup volume and pan adjust

In Adobe Audition, Volume and Pan are essential tools used to control the sound's loudness and spatial placement in your audio project. How each is used:

1. Volume

The Volume control in Adobe Audition allows you to adjust the loudness of an audio track or clip. It helps ensure that the audio is at the desired level for mixing and mastering.

2. Pan

The Pan control in Adobe Audition is used to place the audio in the stereo field (left to right) by adjusting its position between the left and right channels.

First attempt for feedback :

Fig4.1 First audio attempt without mixer

Mr. Razif pointed out that a particular background sound of people was repeating too noticeably, making it feel static. He suggested reducing the volume of this sound each time it repeats to create a more natural flow. He also recommended adding a hard limiter to the project to prevent any clipping, ensuring a clean, balanced audio output.

Clipping usually happens if the recording volume is too high or if the signal is over-amplified during mixing or mastering. To avoid clipping, you can reduce gain levels, use limiters or compressors, and keep an eye on audio meters to ensure they stay within the acceptable range.

Fig 4.2 Mixer

Fig 4.3 Hard Limiter effect

Fig 4.4 Mixer Level

In Adobe Audition, the Hard Limiter is used to control the maximum volume level of audio, ensuring it doesn’t exceed a specific threshold.

Final Auditory Imaging

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FEEDBACK

Week 7 :

Mr. Razif suggested reducing the volume of the repetitive background sound to create a smoother flow and adding a hard limiter to prevent clipping, ensuring a clean and balanced audio output.

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REFLECTIONS

For this Project 1 for this few weeks in Sonic Design class, I can confidently say that it was an insightful learning experience. The task allowed me to experiment with various aspects of sound design, from creating a dynamic audio environment to ensuring the clarity of the final output. One of the key challenges I faced was managing the background sound of people, which Mr. Razif pointed out as being too repetitive and static. His suggestion to reduce the volume each time it repeated helped me understand the importance of maintaining a natural flow in audio design. Additionally, his recommendation to add a hard limiter to prevent clipping was a valuable lesson in producing clean, balanced sound. Overall, the project taught me the importance of attention to detail, especially in how sound can shape the listener's experience. It was a great opportunity to apply theory into practice and refine my skills in creating immersive and polished audio designs.

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THE END