Soundscape Post-Production and Final Outcomes
Soundscape 1
The Process
I felt quite bewildered once I had
imported my first raw SFX, I chose ‘wind through vent’. Once I started
experimenting, I became more eager and inspired. I wanted to lower the pitch of
the gusty wind to produce an ominous, internal and deep sound.
The ‘Auto Gate’ setting within ’Dynamics’
created a really interesting crackling noise, an unusual outcome that I wasn’t
expecting to achieve from the original sound effect. Thought this new sound might help break up
some of the deeper sounds, which could become boring when too many are layered
together.
I was able to create some really unusual
results by using the sound effect pre-sets. The ‘hyperspace’ effect was
especially interesting. Here’s what it did to a constant, low humming boiler
sound…
I explored a range of noise reduction settings to help remove the hummin from some of my sound effects. I didn’t want the surrounding environment to affect my soundscape
For this first soundscape, a lot of the
tracks consist of deep and steady sounds. However, the presence of the small
blue shapes on top of the larger ball of mass seem agile and alienated. I
wanted to reflect this through a few higher pitched focal sounds that
spontaneously start and stop. Track 6 shows this through its sparatic waveform.
Soundscape 1 Outcome
Soundscape 2
The Process
A lot of the sounds I aimed to use for my
second soundscape had interferences. One of my favourite sounds, the ‘water in
drain pipe’, had relatively loud conversation heard in the background. I
reduced this using the ‘DeHummer’
effect.
I enjoy using the ‘fade in’ and ‘out’
arch's on the individual tracks, as I can introduce sounds with more fluidity
and less harshness. This is important for my second soundscape, as I'm aiming
for an organic, ambient sound. This effect would be damaged by artificial
cutting.
I revisited the ‘AutoGate’
effect that I used in my first soundscape, as I like the unusual ‘crackling’
effect it has on a raw sound. This paired well with my sound recording of an
extractor fan.
The ‘DeNoise’ effect also came in hands, as it
removed household noise that was heard within my ‘toothpick’ sound effect. This
tool is great for focusing-in on just the sound effect and removing unwanted
white noise.
I found that this soundscape was
initially a bit dull, and adding a subtle sound that was constant throughout
the 30 seconds, it created constant interest and glued the other sporadic
sounds together. The piece finally sounded like a composition.
Here are a few sounds I found most interesting from experimentation...
Adding some indirect buzzing and echo
helped make the overall sound a little more interesting. I didn’t want to go
overboard on pre-sets and effects, but the overall sound was a little bland
without some artificial additions.
Soundscape 2 Outcome
Soundscape 3
The Process
Using toothpicks for my third soundscape
was an idea I wanted to use from early-on in this project. I believe the noises
they create when interacting with their surroundings is the ideal match for the
image I am translating. A toothpick is an organic material that has been
industrialised through factory processing, created into its signature shape.
This balance between natural and manmade was something I wanted to explore for
this image and soundscape. I therefore threw all the ‘toothpick’ sounds I had captured
and played around with those first, to create a solid base.
I found it challenging to know when to
stop, or whether the overall soundscape needed a focal point. After hearing the
track so many times, its hard to understand what it needs…or doesn’t.
Here are a couple of my favourite experimentational outcomes...
For my final soundscape, I found myself being braver with using harsher editing techniques. This was beneficial to the actual soundscape because I wanted it to portray an extreme level of artificial style, but it also showed that I was becoming comfortable in the audio editing routine I had found. I used the ‘infinite distortion’ effect…which initially broke my ears. However, when it is used in small intervals at a very low volume, it creates an interesting subtle aggression and electric charge within a track.
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