Construction of the Soundtrack #6

Concept for underworld soundscape

'A Ghost wanders through the industrial chaos his underworld has become.'
I recorded my own vocals. I also recorded droplets of water falling from a teaspoon into a glass to create the sense that there’s a flow of water connecting both world’s. I took the lid of a saucepan and whirled a spoon around it to create an invasive whirring noise like that in Eraserhead. I also used it as a gong-like object to create regular bell sounds that echo through the soundscape.


Effects used on Audition:
Dynamics
Channel Mixer
Pitch Shifter (to really enhance the eeriness of the atmosphere)
Chorus/Flanger
Delay
Echo (to create a sense of space and distance)
De-Hummer
De-Noise (to hide any microphone feedback that would bring you back to reality)

Objects used to create sounds:
Saucepan Lid
Teaspoon
Dropping water into a mug
Guitar (scraping)
Vocals

Concept for one of the sounds of the houses our Ghost will walk past

We've decided that we want each building to have it's own particular sound to give the town more character. The soundscape above is an example of one of them. 

'As the Ghost wanders through the streets of his old and now abandoned town, he hears the memories of each building. This particular house holds the memories of a once happy family. The track underlying the baby giggling will act as the main soundscape for the above world and will feature in all tracks made for the above world- distorted wind howls and echoing chimes to express the fragility of the ghost town he now walks through.

Effects used:

De-Noise

Pitch Shifter

Echo

Objects used:

Vocals (howling wind noise)

 chimes

Recording of family laughter (family videos)

Argument concept for another house that our Ghost will walk past

I want there to be a range of things he hears while passing building upon building. So, i thought it’d be interesting to have the polar opposite of a happy family and capture some arguing and glass smashing (for extra dramatic effect). I’m not too sure i’m completely happy with the outcome of this sound piece simply because i would like the dialogue to be almost inaudible so that they could be arguing about anything- it’s up to the audience to decide. So, I'll use this piece as a draft to simply improve. I dragged my mum up to have a fake argument with me as I'd tried just shouting into the microphone on my own accord but there was no real motivation behind it. I then found a glass smashing effect online and recorded that to play as soon as the arguing ends.

Effects used:

De-noise

Echo

Flanger

Objects used:

Vocals (I recruited my mum to have a fake argument with me as i couldn't get the right tone arguing with myself)

Copy of the above world theme (chimes and howling wind)

Ghostly singing concept for atmospherics

This soundscape was a bit of an experiment and i’m not sure if we’d actually use it for the final soundtrack as i’m not sure yet as to where it would fit. It’s a recording of ghostly, sustained vocals that echo across the town. I layered my vocals over the pre-existing wind/chime soundscape I made for the above world. This piece could appear whilst he’s wandering through the town. It could potentially be the singing of someone he once knew? I’m not too sure, but it fits with the eerie and empty atmosphere and i think the ambiguity of the singing makes the world more interesting and mysterious.

Effects used:

Echo

De-hummer

Objects used:

Vocals

Above world theme

Distorted bird chorus concept- Memories of a once vibrant environment

Nature is also a distant memory for our ghost so as he walks through a section of the town, he is greeted with a beautiful chorus of birdsong. I also feel like this soundscape could be improved, as I want to make the birdsong slightly more distorted to fit with the mood that’s been set. I simply recorded some birds chirping and layered that over the pre-existing soundscape. I then added a chorus effect, a flanger effect and the trusted echo effect to make the birds sound ghostly and wistful

Effects used:

Chorus/flanger

Pitch shifter

Echo

Objects used:

Recording of bird song

Above world theme

Chatting at a Bar concept

I kept this soundscape very simple as i didn't want to drown out the hustle and bustle of the conversation in this bar- an environment that not only seems distant to the ghost but also to us in this current time of crisis (COVID-19). I wanted to take something so incomprehensible for this moment in time, like a bar scene, and transform it into a dystopian atmosphere. To do this i applied an echo over the audio and layered the bar sound on top of the above world theme.

Effects used:

Echo

Above world them

De-noise

Objects used:

Recording of conversations at a French bar i went to last year

Above world theme

Memories of music that used to fill the streets

I came up with a very simple set of guitar chords that i played on repeat and layered over some ghostly singing to evoke memories of once happy times, filled with music and harmony. I didn't want to add lyrics because, like our narrative, I feel like the soundscapes should be just as ambiguous.

Effects used:

Echo

Chorus

De-noise

Objects used:

Vocals

Guitar strumming

Above world theme