Mark Roberts has been a BBC natural history sound recordist for over 20 years. During that time he has explored some of the remotest parts of the planet. His career has taken him high into the Papua New Guinean rainforest canopy, deep underground inside Venezuelan mountains and even right into the heart of Indonesia’s volcanoes. He has been privileged to work with the world’s … [Read more...]
The Sound Design of The Banner Saga
Guest Contribution by Michael Theiler of Kpow Audio We always knew The Banner Saga was going to be something special. First contact with the guys behind it was so positive and just easy. Our meetings and emails hit all the rights notes creatively so much so we just knew it was going to be an exhilarating ride. We weren’t wrong. Working on a project with such rich creativity … [Read more...]
How About a Sound Ideaboard/Storyboard?
Guest Contribution by Randy Thom During pre-production on a film it's common practice to gather lots and lots of still photographic images, and video as well, that might relate to the story. The stills are often displayed on walls for everyone preparing the film to see and talk about. It's basically an "idea board." The purpose of gathering these images is to stimulate … [Read more...]
Creating a Unified Voice
This article is not what I originally intended. I started it, nearly completed it and then decided to rewrite it from a different angle. It’s core subject remains intact, speaking to our collaborators…the people who hire us to make their pieces of media “sound good.” Whether we work in film, television, games, mobile applications, interactive art installations or any other … [Read more...]
The Voice In…
Michel Chion is a well known voice in film sound theory. A lot of people have heard of, and possibly read, his book Audio Vision. For some reason, The Voice in Cinema is a little less popular. This post isn't really meant to be about Michel Chion or his books though. We're focusing on the idea of "voice" this month, and it's hard to come up with a header image that is relevant. … [Read more...]
The making of Geosonics by Soniccouture
Chris Watson is probably the world's most famous field recordist. Without a doubt he has more recordings of animal sounds than we could listen to in a lifetime, However, we're straying slightly off of animal recordings and into Watson's collection of natural sounds – and how they ended up as one of the most unique and exciting sampled instruments: Geosonics by Soniccouture. … [Read more...]
A Modular Creature Design System
I’ve been working on a game project on and off over the past year and a part of the design is of relevance to this month’s theme — animals. The gameplay revolves around creatures of various kinds — some good, some evil, some tiny, some large. I had to conjure a vocalisation system that achieved the following technical and design criteria: Actions by the user would directly … [Read more...]