Sonic Design - Task 3

 Name : Ivy Chung Ai Shin

Student ID : 0358429

Program : Bachelor Of Computer Science

Project 2 - Audio Storytelling 

In this project , we are asked to create a short 2 minute audiobook for a fairytale story. Here , we will have to record our own voice and perform voice acting as well as incorporate sound effects into the storytelling. 

Story 

It is advised to choose a story that has a fair amount of narratives and also conversations. Therefore , the story that I chose for this project is called ' The sleeping beauty'. 

Script : 

Long ago there lived a good king named Stefan. For many years , King Stefan and his queen wished for a child.

At last their wish came true. The king and queen named their daughter Aurora.

A great feast was planned to celebrate the birth of the new princess. 

Everyone in the kingdom came to the feast. 

King Hubert arrived with his son , Prince Philip. The two kings decided that one day Philip and Aurora would marry. 

“That way our kingdom will always be united,” King Hubert told his son.

Three good fairies came to the feast. Each had a special gift for the princess.

Flora waved her wand. “I give you the gift of beauty.” 

“My gift shall be the gift of song.” said Fauna.

“And my gift….” began Merryweather. Suddenly a blast of wind blew open the castle doors.

A bright flame filled the room. Then the wicked fairy , Maleficent , appeared from the flame. 

“You did not invite me to the feast , King Stefan. But I , too, have a gift for the princess. “ 

Maleficent pointed at the cradle , “ Before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday , the princess will prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel. And she will die!” 

“Seize that creature” shouted the king. But Maleficent disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

To Be Continued…

Scene Order 

Long ago there lived a good king named Stefan. For many years , King Stefan and his queen wished for a child.

[Intro Song Plays]

Royal Fanfare and Reception at the palace - Paul J. Smith 

At last their wish came true. The king and queen named their daughter Aurora.

A great feast was planned to celebrate the birth of the new princess. 

Everyone in the kingdom came to the feast. 

[New Song Plays]

[Crowd Background Noise]

II. Minuetto

III. Allegretto 

King Hubert arrived with his son , Prince Philip. The two kings decided that one day Philip and Aurora would marry. 

“That way our kingdom will always be united,” King Hubert told his son.

Three good fairies came to the feast. Each had a special gift for the princess.

[New Song Plays]

Flora waved her wand. “I give you the gift of beauty.” 

“My gift shall be the gift of song.” said Fauna.

[Magical Piano Plays] 

“And my gift….” began Merryweather. Suddenly a blast of wind blew open the castle doors.

[Strong Whoosh + Doors Bang Sound Plays]

[New Evil Song Plays]

The Magic music box

castle of dreams

Jester waltz

A bright flame filled the room. Then the wicked fairy , Maleficent , appeared from the flame. 

[Flame Sound Plays]

“You did not invite me to the feast , King Stefan. But I , too, have a gift for the princess. “ 

Maleficent pointed at the cradle , “ Before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday , the princess will prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel. And she will die!” 

“Seize that creature” shouted the king. But Maleficent disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

[Smoke Sound Plays]

To Be Continued…

Progression

Progress 1 :

I first went to find the sleeping beauty book available out in the internet. Then , I covered the first 2 mins of the story. From the story , I figured the types of sound effect that can be added into the storytelling. Therefore , I went into freesound and also a few free source online to download the sound effects that I need. The list of sound effects include : 

1. Magic Wand 
2. Door Bang 
3. Flame 
4. Crowd Shocked
5. Smoke Poof 

I also went to find some classicial and magical background music that will fit into the storyline. I have decided to split into four parts for the music that matches the storyline : 

1. Intro Music 
   Royal Fanfare & Reception at the Palace 
2. Music 1
   Minuetto I
3. Music 2 
   Carnival of the animals 
4. Intense Music 
   X L"incendie

 The story starts with introducing the family background of sleeping beauty , thus introducing a grand opening music. Then , it moves on to inviting people to a feast which makes it a perfect cue for a lively and upbeat music. When introducing the fairies , the music transitions into a more magical music. However , as the evil character comes into play , the music then transitions into a fierce and intense music. 

Progress 2 : 

I first recorded my voice using my microphone in a relatively quiet and soundproof place. Therefore , in terms of noise , there is not as much noise disrupting the recording. I voice acted based on the characters in the story such as the three different fairies , the king , and maleficient. I proceed to reduce the high spikes in the audio and ensure the audio does not peak. 

I have selected the best audio from all the recordings made and compiled into the multitrack. I also ensured to split long recordings into different tracks to easily manipulate the different settings for each part. I also cut out parts that are unnecessary and that it will add unnecessary noise. 

After adding the sound recordings , I then added the sound effects as planned.

Figure 1.0 - Multitracks

After that , I had applied "denoise" into each track as different recording may have different noise volume. However , I have the denoise amount to about 55-65%. 

Figure 1.1 - DeNoise

Along the way , I have figured to apply "dynamics" such as the "autogate" that would help to reduce the breathing sound. The compressor would help to maintain the audio sound and make it consistent.

Figure 1.2 - Dynamics

For the evil character , "Maleficient" , I decided to insert reverb to make the voice sound more echo and loud as she is imagined as if she is announcing to everyone in the hall. Lastly , I created a bus track as evil dialogue and applied to the relative tracks. 

Figure 1.3 - Reverb for "Maleficient"

In making the king voice deepen , I thereby added pitch shifter to tone down the pitch. 

Figure 1.4 - Pitch Shifter for "King"

 Therefore , I introduced hard limiter into the mixer to increase the volume but ensure it does not spike.

Figure 1.5 - Hard Limiter 

Progress 3 : 

After consultation with Mr Razif , he had given multiple advice into improving the audio. I took in the advice and proceeded to make some changes. 

The first one is adjusting the crowd noise to make a smoother transition as the audio comes in.

Figure 1.6 - Music Sound Adjustment

Then , he also adviced to apply parametric equalizer into the narration by toning down the bass and also the "s" sound. I also created the bus track as adviced as "narration" and apply it to all the other tracks which consists of the narration. 

Figure 1.7 - Parametric Equalizer for Narration

Additionally , I have also added parametric equalizer for the evil character dialogue. However , due to the nature of the storyline having more sibilance than usual. I decided to reduce the higher part more as I did not want to reduce too much of the deEsser as it significantly affects the other words.

Figure 1.8 - Parametric Equalizer for "Maleficient"

Following the advice , I have also added "deEsser" and lowered the threshold to about 65% to reduce the sibilance more as it sounded very much prominent. 

 

Figure 1.9 - DeEsser 

Next , the introduction music is also said to be adjusted by having to decrease the volume as the narration comes in and gradually increase to a consistent volume. With that , he had introduced using the "write" function that allows the flexibility to move the mixer up and down. 

Figure 2.0 - Music Sound Automation

As for the king voice , I am also told that I can lower the pitch a little more to make it sound more realistic. 

Figure 2.1 - Pitch Shifter Adjustment

After playing the audio again , I realised the voice acting for the first fairy was not that good and thus I re-recorded again and made it sound more like it. 

Figure 2.2 - Re-recording

I have then added the special feature also known as the "mastering" to make the overall audio sound more crisp and clearer. I have lowered the lower part to prevent the sibilance becoming prominent. 

Figure 2.3 - Mastering

Then , as for the hard limiter , I have lowered it and also set the maximum amplitude to -10.0 to ensure it does not peak nor become too loud. 

Figure 2.4 - Hard Limiter Adjustment

The final touch , I had adjusted the autogate for the part5_1 for the first fairy speaking as I have realised it picked up quite some background noise , thus making sure the autogate would help reduce picking it.

Figure 2.5 - Dynamics Adjustment

The final result : 

Project 2 - Google Drive Folder

Reflection : 

In the beginning , I had thought this would be relatively simple. However , it was definitely not as simple as I thought. As I first started recording my voice-acting , I found that it takes a lot of effort to perform the perfect voice-acting. It is not just trying to imitate a certain character but also to ensure a good performance that captures the emotions, nuances, and personality of the character. Each line must be delivered with the right intonation, timing, and energy to bring the character to life and make the performance believable and engaging to the audience. It definitely took me multiple tries to achieve the best result. 

After the recording , I have also faced the difficulty in capturing the noises in the recordings. I had to listen to the recording multiple times meanwhile adjusting the noise reduction to reduce as much as noise possible but also remain the quality of the sound. Then , I had to also watch out for the volume of the recording to ensure it is consistent throughout the production. Thankfully , with the guidance by Mr Razif ,  I had learnt to properly use and apply the "deEsser" , "pitch shifter" , "mastering" and other applicable tools. I have learnt the difference that a tool can make to an audio and the importance of each tool.