Sonic Design - Task 2

Name : Ivy Chung Ai Shin

Student ID : 0358429

Program : Bachelor Of Computer Science

Week 5 - Week 7 (24/5 - 7/6)

Project 2 : Auditory Imaging 

In this project , our task is to create an audio image using any of the combinations below. The audio should create a vivid first-person point of view, allowing the listener to visualize what is happening based solely on the audio tracks. The audio should be able to tell a story for the chosen scenario given.

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

I have chosen the scenario to be weather. This is the storyline that portrays the scenario. 

"Inside the Cozy Stone Cottage on the Windswept Moors of Scotland"

Inside the cozy stone cottage on the windswept moors of Scotland, John setup the fireplace and sat by the window, writing down his journal of the day. Dark clouds gathered ominously on the horizon, and the once gentle breeze had transformed into a fierce, howling wind that rattled the shutters. The distant rumble of thunder and the sharp crack of lightning lit up the sky, casting eerie shadows on the walls of the living room.

The fire in the hearth crackled warmly, its glow providing a comforting contrast to the storm's fury outside. The soft, ticking clock danced across the room, illuminating the timeworn furniture and the woven rugs that adorned the stone floor. John sipped his tea, the warmth seeping through the ceramic mug and into hhands, grounding his in the snug sanctuary of his home.

The heather outside the window shivered in the wind, and the roar of the thunder resonant undertone to the storm's symphony. John had always been drawn to the raw, untamed power of nature, and as she watched the first heavy raindrops splatter against the windowpane, she felt a surge of exhilaration.

He leaned back in his armchair, feeling the heat of the fire on his face. The storm raged on, but inside, surrounded by the familiar comforts of home, John felt a profound sense of peace. The tempest outside was a reminder of nature's wild beauty, a spectacle to be admired from the warmth and safety of his cottage.

Sound Elements

1.Interior Ambiance:

Fireplace: The soft, continuous crackle and occasional pop of a wood-burning fire.

Tea Sounds: The gentle clink of a ceramic mug being set down and picked up, and the subtle sound of tea being sipped.

Creaking Wood: The occasional creak of wooden furniture or the floorboards, adding to the cozy, aged feel of the cottage.

Book Sounds: The rustle of pages being turned, indicating John's presence and activity.

Chair: The soft, cushioned sound of an armchair as John shifts his weight, adding to the sense of his physical presence.

2.Exterior Storm:

Wind: The fierce howling of the wind, occasionally rattling the shutters and whistling through any small gaps in the cottage.

Thunder: Distant rumbles of thunder rolling in, with occasional sharp cracks of lightning.

Rain: The heavy, rhythmic patter of raindrops against the windowpane, intensifying as the storm progresses.

Tree Branches: The sound of tree branches scraping against the cottage walls or windows, adding to the sense of the storm's intensity.

Heather: The subtle rustling of heather plants outside, whipped by the wind (this can be a faint, almost indistinguishable background sound).

Scene Order 

Initial Interior Ambiance:

Fireplace Gate:
Sound: Includes both opening and closing the metal squeak of the gate
Opens at 0.00 and closes at 0.18

Matching Fire:
Sound: Lighting a match and ignites 
Starts at 0.04.

Putting Woodfire
Sound: Adding in woodfire into the fireplace to increase fire intensity 
Begins at 0.065 and continues until 0.165.

Fire crackling:
Sound: The crackling and popping of the fire.
Fade in starting at 0.045 and continues until the end but with gradual change in volume.

Introducing the Storm:

Wind:
Sound: Fierce howling of the wind, occasionally rattling the shutters.
Fade in starting at 1.32, increase intensity gradually.

Rain:
Sound: Heavy, rhythmic patter of raindrops against the windowpane.
Start at 1.03, increasing to full intensity by 1.44.

Layering Interior Actions:

Tea Sounds:
Sound: Clink of a ceramic mug being set down and picked up, followed by sipping.
First instance of a clank starts at 0.29 , then followed by pouring the tea and stirring the cup.

Creaking Wood:
Sound: Occasional creak of wooden furniture or floorboards.
First creak at 0.52 , then continues for a minute.

Walking:
Sound: Footsteps on the wooden floor varying at different time.
First footstep at 0.23 , then at 0.52 , and lastly at 2.53.

Book Sounds:
Sound: Rustle of pages being turned.
First page turn at 1.08, then every 45 seconds. 

Writing Sounds:
Sound: Rustle of pages being turned.
First page turn at 1.10 then every 45 seconds. 

Chair:
Sound: Soft, cushioned sound of an armchair as John shifts his weight.
At 1.10 , John sits down on the armchair and at 2.52 John stands up 

Sipping:
Sound: Slight and gentle sip of the tea.
It comes in at 0.47 and repeats again at 1.46

Intensifying the Storm:

Thunder:
Sound: Distant rumbles and occasional sharp cracks of lightning.
Distant rumble starts at 0.00 and the first rumble heard at 0.38. The rumble then continues at interval

Heather:
Sound: Subtle rustling of heather plants outside.
Very faint, background sound starting at 0.48.

Wind Howl:
Sound: Wind howl hitting the window or seeping the gap of the windows.
Very faintly, background sound starting at 1.32 and becomes louder at random times.

Background Details and Dynamics:

Shadows Implied by Sound:
Sound: Fluctuating intensity of the wind and fire sounds to imply changes in light.
Vary wind and fire intensity.

Shadows:
Since shadows are a visual element, this can be suggested through the fluctuating intensity of the wind and fire sounds, creating a dynamic auditory landscape that implies movement and change in the light.

Distant Animal Sounds:
The occasional distant yelp of a dog.
Comes in at 0.00 from a distant 

I have downloaded all the sound files that are required for this scenario form freesounds.com and put into a folder all together. From there , I have then inserted all the sound into the multitrack following the scene order. It starts from making the fire to making tea and to writing journal with the thunder rain as the background. 

Image 1.0 - All Sound 

I have also added a parametric equalizer to the heather rustling sound as I wanted to make it sound more muffled as it be listened from indoor setting. Therefore , I have lowered the upper range. 

Image 1.1 - Parametric Equalizer

I then made a stereo bus track as taught by Mr Razif to manipulate a bunch of sound of the same category. In this case , I have made a bus track for the thunderstorm which includes raining , thunder, wind howl , etc. I wanted to increase the volume as it should sound loud in this scenario. 

Image 1.2 - Hard Limiter

I have also tuned the panning and the volume for each sound. With panning , I was able to make the sound coming from different directions such as the footsteps , the thunder and etc. I also adjusted the volume according to the scenario to match everything as desired.

Image 1.3 - Panning & Volume

As I have chosen the weather scenario , I ensured to focus more on the weather background sound instead and minimised adding abundant action sound. 

Final Mixtrack : 

Google Drive Link : Project 1

Reflection : 

In this project , I have applied most of my knowledge that I have learned in class to create the sound environment. I have chosen weather as my topic scenario as I personally enjoy listening to the rain sound. I first vision the scenario and a storyline that then brings in the sound that I want. I find that creating the scene order is relatively important as it helps to better visualize the sound following the scene. I then proceeded to collect the sound all together and started adding into the multitracks. Imagining the scenario , the volume and the sound direction plays a vital role in making the scene realistic. I also ensured that the track does not pitch by applying hard limiter as adviced by Mr Razif. Since the topic is related to weather , I ensured to focus more on the weather sound rather than actions.