Category: The Project

Meeting With Amelia

Shaun Andrew Beeden / / Dialogue, Music, Sound Effects, The Project

I met Amelia in the library to discuss the progress of the project and ask her a few questions.

 

Before the meeting I made a list of the things I wanted to talk about:

  • Game Format
  • Animation
  • Script
  • Sound Effects
  • Music

Game Format:

Amelia said that her game’s platform would be Unity, a PC based platform and the game would be created on design program Maya.. I asked if there was any space requirements regarding sound and if she’d be able to use wav. files instead of Mp3. Amelia stated that there was no space requirements and that she would be able to use the best quality wav. files.

 

Animation:

The animation that I had already seen on Amelia’s blog was not the finished animation. The cut scenes will be created closer to the 20th May – her hand in date. This was to ensure she had all the timings calculated correctly. As the animation would not be finished in time, I needed to ask David McSherry if it was possible to hand in the draft animation with my sound design.

 

Script:

I played the recording of the dialogue to Amelia. She was very happy with the recordings and asked if it would be possible to record some more dialogue for the game. She wanted to add a few more lines to the script which wasn’t a problem as Ashley Lewis lives just around the corner and said she was available to record when I needed her. Amelia also wants to record some breathing and screaming for the animation.

 

Sound Effects:

Amelia had already given me a list of sound effects that she wanted for the game and animation, and said that if she thought of any more that she needed she would let me know.

 

Music

Amelia wants the music to be a victorian style, quite creepy and intense, with a touch of suspense. As the game is set in the 1800’s, I would need to look at composers from the Victorian era. For the winning ending, Amelia wanted a fanfare of french horns, to indicate success, but still some suspense as the game is not over yet. For the loosing ending, Amelia wanted a dark, intense piece of music as Grace is sucked underground as the game ends. For the gameplay music, Amelia told me to listen to the soundtrack of the game Amnesia – A Machine For Pigs. 

 

After I had all the information I needed I assured Amelia that I would be in touch regarding the dialogue recording and the music production.

 

Planning

Shaun Andrew Beeden / / The Project

I plan to have submitted my final mixes of dialogue, sound effects and music to Amelia by week 10, 24th March. This will give me time for any alterations that may be required and time to prepare my personal reflection. Also, I will be arranging meetings with Amelia to discuss the process of the project weekly.

 

Week 1 – 20/01/14

  • Crate Blog and speak to Amelia regarding sound requirements

Week 2 – 27/01/14

  • Listen to Amelia’s examples of the music for the intro sequence

Week 3 – 03/02/14

  • Discuss the project with David McSherry in tutorial

Week 4 – 10/02/14

  • Research composers in Georgian era.

Week 5 – 17/02/14

  • Record Dialogue with Ashley Lewis on Thursday 20th February
  • Edit and mix dialogue together

Week 6 – 24/02/14

  • Research music in games
  • Look at composers in Georgian era and put together a plan for the opening and closing sequences

Week 7 – 3/03/14

  • Record music for opening and both ending sequences.
  • Edit and mix music.

Week 8 – 10/03/14

  • Research into game sound effects and foley
  • Record sound effects, edit and mix.

Week9 – 17/03/14

  • Complete final mixes and send to Amelia for integration into the game.

Week 10, 11 and 12

  • Weeks 10, 11 and 12 are left free for any adjustments or changes that need to be made.

 

My Role

Shaun Andrew Beeden / / The Project

My role as sound designer and composer involves a number of things:

Sound Designer:

  • Create sound effects, atmospheres, sonic textures and ambiences that will create naturalistic and abstract worlds for the game’s story
  • Record Dialogue, edit and mix together in post production

Composer:

  • Record, edit and mix relevant music for each sequence
  • Have an understanding of musical history

 

Being a sound designer, it is not just about recording sounds and putting them into a game. It is about being creative. “The work is incredibly varied and could be anything from creating character Foley for in-game animation, gameplay sound effects such as weapon sounds, through to creating 5.1 ambiences that reflect level design or evoke a particular mood in the game.” (Attack Magazine, 2013)

 

Bibliography:

Attack Magazine, 2013, Game Sound Designer James Magee, [Online] Available at: http://www.attackmagazine.com/features/job-envy/game-sound-designer-james-magee/ Accessed: 17th February 2014.

Research

Shaun Andrew Beeden / / Research, The Project

I have acquired a number of books to aid with my my research for this project:

Books:

  • ‘Hearing Film’ Anahid Kassabian
  • ‘The Foley Grail’ Vanessa Theme Ament
  • ‘Audio Vision: Sound on Screen’ Michel Chion
  • ‘Game Sound’ Keren Collins

My tutor David McSherry has also kindly lent me ‘The Complete Guide to Game Audio’ by Aaron Marks, which has so far been a very interesting read and includes case studies on some of the leading audio designers in the games industry.

Music:

I have looked at a number of composers from the Georgian era and have come across a number of composers who had a similar style to what I will be trying to achieve:

  • Alexander Glazunov (1865 – 1936)
  • Richard Strauss (1864 – 1949)
  • Edward Elgar (1857 – 1934)

 

Aims and Objectives

Shaun Andrew Beeden / / The Project

Aims:

  • Develop the sound of the game to give the player a thrilling experience
  • Discover and research into the game’s target audience
  • Research into how music can add to the experience of playing a game
  • Research different foley and sound effect recording techniques.

 

Objectives:

  • Record dialogue to a high quality and insert into cutscene
  • Record three music tracks to a high quality and insert into cutscene
  • Record sound effects to a high quality as per Amelia George’s instructions