Sonic Design-Project 2: Auditory Imaging

SONIC DESIGN

Monday,Oct. 26 .2024

21.10.2024 - 04.11.2024 | Week 5 - Week 7

Jia Wenbing /0365436/

Design principles/Bachelor of Design in Creative Media

INSTRUCTIONS

LECTURES

WEEK 6

Track Layering and Effects

When you want to merge repeated sounds, try overlapping them to make the transition smoother. To group multiple tracks together so that you can apply effects to those specific tracks, go to Multitrack > Add Audio Bus Track Stereo. After that, set the bus track as the parent of the other tracks in the sidebar panel. The bus track is often called a "submixer".

One effect that people use to put the finishing touches on is a mastering tool. The exciter setting in a mastering tool makes the sound crisper, but don't use it too much. Effect parameters in the final mixer shouldn't be adjusted too much, and if you find yourself increasing or decreasing parameters a lot, then the effect should be done separately in the multitrack.

Project 2-Audio Imaging

For this task, we are required to pick one from the 6 given scenarios and come up with a storyline based on the scenario. The storyline has to be descriptive as it will be used as the base to create the soundscape for it. If none of the 6 given scenarios are to our liking, we can propose our own scenario.

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

Using the above requirements, I wrote four simple story outlines.

Four scenarios are given:

1.A cat at home wakes you up

In the early morning, the sun shines into the room through the gaps in the curtains, and there is still a hint of night coolness in the air. Xiaoyu was awakened by a soft "meow". She opened her eyes and saw her orange kitten tapping her bedside with its paws, as if reminding her to get up. Being woken up by the cat is one of her most pleasant moments every day.

Accompanied by the sound of the cat's light footsteps, Xiaoyu sat up from the bed and turned the soft quilt. She stretched and opened the window, and the morning birdsong and breeze outside poured into the room. The cat jumped to the window and felt this beautiful morning with her.

Cat meowing: Soft meows, the sound of the cat gently pawing at the door.
Paw sounds on the floor: Light steps of the cat’s paws, occasional jumping.
Rustling of the blanket: The sound of the blanket as you pull it off when waking up.
Birds chirping outside: Morning bird songs add life to the scene.
Alarm sound: If there's an alarm, the background noise of it going off.

2.Waking up from a nap to go to class or study in the library

After a simple breakfast, Xiaoyu looked at the time and decided to take a nap so that she could study energetically in the afternoon. The gentle alarm clock woke her up from her nap, and she opened the curtains. The afternoon sun was bright and warm. Xiaoyu quickly packed her schoolbag, took her notebook, pen and several reference books, and prepared to go to the library.

She closed the door gently, and the sound of footsteps echoed in the corridor. She liked to immerse herself in books and notes in the quiet of the library. The sound of turning pages and recording inspiration always made her feel peaceful and fulfilled.

Alarm sound: A soft or gradually increasing alarm sound signaling the end of your nap.
Curtains being drawn: The rustling of fabric and the feeling of sunlight coming in.
Footsteps: Light footsteps as you get out of bed, put on shoes, and walk across the wooden floor.
Zipping of a backpack: The sound of zipping your bag as you prepare books or notebooks.
Door opening and closing: The soft sound of you shutting the door as you leave.

3.Packaging items and food from home to go on a picnic at the beach

After studying for a few hours, Xiaoyu decided to give herself a relaxing afternoon. She planned to go to the beach for a picnic and breathe the fresh sea breeze, so she went home to prepare the picnic items. She took out fruits, sandwiches and a few packs of snacks from the refrigerator, packed the food, rustled the bags, and gently closed the refrigerator door.

Driving to the beach, the scenery outside the car window slowly turned from the city to the vast coastline. With the sound of the car starting, Xiaoyu's mood gradually relaxed. When she arrived at the beach, the waves gently hit the shore, as if welcoming her arrival. She spread out the picnic blanket and sat on the beach, with the sound of waves and wind interweaving in her ears and the blue sea and sky in front of her. Xiaoyu enjoyed this quiet time, eating delicious food and quietly observing the seagulls flying across the sky in the distance.

Plastic or paper bag sounds: The crinkling of bags as you pack food.
Fridge door opening and closing: The quiet sound of opening and closing the fridge to grab food.
Tearing open food packaging: The ripping sound of opening snack bags, bread wrappers, etc.
Car engine starting: If you're driving to the beach, the sound of the car engine starting and doors closing.
Waves crashing: Once at the beach, soft waves gently rolling in the background.

4.Reading or painting at home on a rainy day

The afternoon seaside time brought tranquility and satisfaction, but when Xiaoyu returned home, the sky was overcast, and it was not long before it began to drizzle outside the window. Raindrops gently tapped the window, and the air was filled with a moist and fresh scent.

Xiaoyu made a cup of hot tea, took out her favorite picture book, and began to depict the scene she saw at the seaside in the afternoon on paper. The brush slid gently on the paper, and the only companionship in the room was her focused breathing and the sound of rain. Occasionally, she stopped to turn a few pages of the book, looking for new inspiration. The sound of rain outside the window matched her brushstrokes, forming a quiet space full of artistic atmosphere.

The fatigue of the whole day turned into peace in her heart at this moment, and the tranquility of the rainy night and the colors on the drawing paper became her best destination

Raindrops hitting the window: The sound of raindrops or light drizzle tapping against the window.
Pages turning: The soft rustle of turning book pages.
Brush strokes on paper: The gentle friction of brushes or pencils moving across paper if you're painting or drawing.
Warm background music: Light background music, such as piano or violin, to enhance the cozy atmosphere.
Pouring tea into a cup: The soft sound of tea being poured into a cup, adding a comforting touch

After thinking about the possibilities of the given scenario, I chose the everyday scenario because I already had a story idea in my head when we were told about the project. I wrote the storyline based on a person waking up in the morning and being woken up by a cat. After writing the story, I highlighted the foreground sounds in yellow and the background sounds in cyan so that I could more easily imagine the soundscape and look for the right sound effects.

Fig 1.1 Audio layers in Adobe Audition multitrack

I first layered all the tracks and edited as I went along. I started with the background tracks at the top and then layered the rest of the audio based on when they appeared, track length, and track effects. For the meowing tracks, most were layered in Track 3 or Track 4, and for the tracks that needed specific track EQ effects, I put them in the same track and adjusted the other tracks accordingly. I used track automation primarily to control volume, pan, and EQ effects, and clip automation for clips that I planned to potentially move later. While no keyframes were used in the clip automation, only the volume and pan of the entire track were changed.

Sound List

Fig 1.2 Modification of cat sounds

I used room reverb and chorus to make the cat's meow sound more like it's in a room, and to make the cat's meow a little more lively.

Final Auditory Imaging

Feedback

WEEK5: Background and foreground sounds are underlined with different colors, and the sounds are described in detail, and the story is described in detail.

Reflection

This task is very interesting for me. I can find various sound effects according to the effect I want. It is an innovation for me to create a new story that I am already familiar with. I like different modification operations to bring out different effects, making my original sound more interesting. During the production process, I need a lot of patience to listen to the differences in sounds and the consistency of sounds to a

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Jia W en bing 0365436