SAM MASON
Great interview with the composer johann-johannsson, the composer behind the score for Arrival.
Talking techniques and the award nomination received for the score.
A relatable work towards the emotional tension in our short film HOME
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/nov/26/arrival-johann-johannsson-soundtrack-oscar-nominated
Second meeting with the HOME director Joe.
I showed him my four test demos and he was positive, we discussed the possible placement of each of the track and how they could evolve going forward. We agreed that the general tone of the score feels right and demo’s three & four represent strong theme’s for both the earth and the ship.
Finally we went through the script and made a series of notes together based on the audio track:
Script read through;
Tarık Aslan’s score for the animation short Wicked Girl uses up tempo percussion, with a strong amount of reverb, frantic and obtuse.
The sound design is exaggerated and cartoonish. The combination of the atmospheric percussion and the dry over the top sound design really works, creating a dark tone through the score but emphases the characters actions through the foley.
I will definitely look to experiment with this technique.
Tutorial with Tim Harrison, focused on the competition and theatrical, contextual summary of my work thus far.
We discussed the approach towards the presentation and how much time I should allow for each project.
We also addressed the importance of Sonnenchein and any other applicable texts that apply to my practice.
Finally I showed him my practical tests I have made so far. He agreed that the second demo was less effective than the rest.
We also debated that the use of manipulated voice can sometimes (in the third demo particularly) feel too similar to Cristo’s style and may seem an obvious interpretation to anyone aware of his work. I feel the placing and affect of these tracks work well, but a change or additional manipulation of these tracks could create a less similar sound to that of Cristo’s work. And the originality of the score would benefit from this.
Guo Ge’s score for the animation short CAGE has all the elements that make up my vision for the ESCAPE soundtrack.
A fantastic mix of traditional percussion, wind instruments and sweeping synths. Large sections of rich progressions and then sections of minimal incidental work.
So fat this is definitely the most suited references for my animation score.
SYNOPSIS – Life is liberty in a CAGE. CAGE represents a situation that is filled with a lot of constraints, or a habit or an addiction that is hard to get rid of. This project is to present a Chinese cultural and traditional visual style to audiences. On the other hand, CAGE tries to inspire them to recall their memory and consider what is the meaning of life to them individually.
Of all the reference videos the animation team gave me I found Mychael Danna’s score for the Disney short particularly interesting.
He combines very traditionally percussion of what sounds like djembe / tabla and uses synths and flutes and create a rich modern traditionally score, that really empowers the emotive nature of the short whilst emphasises the Indian cultural references of the story.
I would be very fulfilling to aim for a similar level of depth and connection when writing the score for Escape.
I also connected with the score for The Burden, an interesting mix of sparse orchestral traditonal plucking is definitely a technique I could utilise as it leaves a space in the audio track that is emotive and intriguing.
Fourth demo fir HOME. My tutor suggested I look at resonant metal as a form of instrumentation. I sourced from an online sound library some high quality recordings of metal barrels. I then chopped the most consistent hits and composed a beat, affecting each track differently in pitch, tone and where they sat within the mix. I then continued the theme of manipulated voice and reversed a pitch manipulated vocal.
It terms of the vision of the score demo 3 and this demo are definitely the most fitting pieces thus far. The director spoke of having a receptive, mechanical track for the gym scenes. I believe this demo definitely fits that remit.
Less applicable to HOME as our film has a fairly large degree of realism, but I will need to create a sound world for the ship that is believable and this video from Skewsound has some interesting techniques (more game audio based) for the sounds of rockets and interiors and how that can be achieved.
I particular feel the use of a lashed fire rumble could definitely come in use for HOME, it has a very strong mechanical feel as well as being slightly futuristic, a good piece of advise!
I have continued my reading of Sound Deign by David Sonnenschein.
I have been particular intrigued by his ‘Visual Map’ technique in which he advises the user to create a map plotting the points of interest with the script, then chasing the two opposing vital themes of the story. The user then draws the varying momentum of the two themes. What this does is visualise an emotional score for the entire film, this visualisation allows the composer or sound designer to refer to the points in the film in which one would engage with the specific emotion and therefore the appropriate audio track.
I plan to utilise this technique towards the script of HOME.
Met with the animators and discuss the upcoming project, the working title for the project is Escape.
“Suicides among Hong Kong children accounted for quarter of unnatural deaths in 2012 and 2013. Problems arising from school work topped the reasons, followed by worry about the future and family disputes.”
The animation follows a young boy in Hong Kong and the subsequent struggles that would lead to a young child committing suicide in an environment where this act is all too common.
Below are sketches for the animatic and the initial storyboard.
I have also been sent video references that I will study and see if I can get any idea of how best the score can serve the material, initially I feel as though incorporating traditional instrumentation from Hong Kong could be very interesting and seeing what is the popular forms of music there currently and wether I could play on those styles.
RESEARCH and Development 