Sonic Design // Task 2

26.09.23 - 14.10.23 (Week 5 - Week 7) 

Emelyne How Sok Hing (0352938) 

Bachelor of Design (Hons) Creative Media 

Sonic Design // Task 2

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Instructions

Week 5: 

Auditory Imaging

In this task, we need to choose one of the six provided scenarios and create a detailed storyline for it. This storyline will serve as the foundation for crafting the soundscape. If none of the given scenarios suit our preferences, we have the option to propose our own scenario.

The 6 scenarios 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

Storyline

Our first step was to write a storyline and also highlights the necessary words or sentences that would make us remember that we need to include those sounds. We also need to list down the sounds that are needed for our audio track.

Here's the Google doc link for my storyline: 
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qCwptYOh1GMlVIxJUKrwxzq2uvwnFPQwXY6n5f7Lgs/edit?usp=sharing

Figure 1.0 Storyline, 26th September 2023

Process

I downloaded files from both the Freesound website and YouTube because I couldn't find everything I needed on the website alone.

For editing, I used EQ, reverb, and pitch shifting to make the sounds deeper. I also applied denoise to remove distracting background noises.

After a while, I took a break because listening to the same sounds for too long was exhausting. Then after some days of break for my ears and braincells, I continued on editing my work.

Week 7: 

I added all the necessary sounds and then edited each one individually. I properly denoised the 'cracking eggs' sound using techniques taught in class this week. I made changes as suggested by my lecturer, reducing background noise and adjusting the EQ and reverb in some parts. Finally, I applied a hard limiter to every sound.

Figure 1.1 Multitrack of the audio, 13th October 2023

Final Auditory Imaging

Here's the final auditory imaging after adjusting the sounds and applying some effects. 

Figure 1.2  Final Auditory Imaging, 14th October 2023

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Feedbacks

Week 5: 

- Add more background noises that is more stuff happening around you but for now the rest is good. It's a good starting point. 

Week 7:

- Lower the bird chirping volume

- Conclude the soundtrack with the oven timer ringing, as the final 'removing the cookies' sound is odd.

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Reflections

Week 5 -7: 

This task was quite lengthy and draining in the long run. I didn't particularly enjoy it because I couldn't find some specific sounds I needed to download. Additionally, even after editing, some sounds still didn't sound great. However, it did teach me the importance of staying organised with file organisation and naming. I also became more familiar with various editing tools and learned how to use different effects beyond EQ and Reverb. Denoise and modulations became more familiar, and I also worked with pitch shift and time stretch.