Audio Design Document
Audio Design Document
Florence Ramage 1804062
Sound and Music for Games
Investigation into the use of audio in conveying grief in the horror genre
Objectives
Explore literature on how people are affected by loss and grief in order to accurately depict these in the form of a narrative.
Discover the ways in which grief and loss have been portrayed in the horror genre in the past by analysing existing media and literature relating to this.
Research technical theory on sound design within the horror genre. Experiment with techniques found within this research to determine which are relevant to the topic.
Investigate how other sound designers have used audio in existing horror media with themes of loss and grief and evaluate whether these techniques have been successful or unsuccessful.
Produce a grief themed audio-based narrative with the use of research and experimentation. This will focus on using sound and music to portray emotions, events and atmosphere whilst staying true to the style of the horror genre.
Critically evaluate the project and assess the strengths and weaknesses as well as determine the success of the project at shining light on the topic. Suggest possible further research which could be done stemming from this.
Methodology
Research- Research was conducted to further understanding of how audio may be used to portray certain emotions and what techniques are used in order to achieve this.
Case Studies- Case studies were carried out on media relevant to the topic. These studies focused on audio specifically and how it was used to portray the psychological effects of loss and bereavement. More general studies of works with interesting and effective use of sound were also studied.
Conducting Practical Research- An audio piece was created using techniques and information gathered from previous steps. The piece is a narrative with the theme of loss. It is scripted however focuses more on using audio and musical techniques to build atmosphere and emotion. The piece was created using Ableton Live and a Rode microphone, as well as multiple instruments and foley props.
Post Mortem- Reflective analysis was carried out in order to evaluate the project and discuss the effectiveness of the use of audio in the portrayal of the psychological effects of loss.
Findings from research on grief:
Effects of grief, divided into categories
Feelings- sadness, anger, blame, anxiety, loneliness, fatigue, helplessness, shock, emancipation, numbness, relief, yearning.
Physical sensations- hollowness in the stomach, tightness in the chest, tightness in the throat, oversensitivity to noise, sense of depersonalisation, feeling short of breath, weakness in the muscles, lack of energy, dry mouth, racing heartbeat, panic attack.
Cognitions- disbelief, confusion, preoccupation, sense of presence (of the dead), hallucinations
Behaviours- sleeping disturbances, appetite disturbances, absentmindedness, social withdrawal, dreams of the deceased, avoiding reminders of the deceased, looking for the deceased, sighing, restless overactivity, crying, holding sentiment for things that remind the individual of the deceased.(Worden, 2018)
Information, findings and my own thoughts taken from On Bereavement by Tony Walter:
“The dominant idea of the 20th century has been that grief is eventually ‘resolved’ by ‘detaching’, ‘letting go’ and ‘moving on’ to new relationships. The last decade of the century, however, has witnessed a sustained assault on this idea, both by academic researchers and by bereaved people themselves.”
While doctors and therapists are quick to tell their patients that there is ‘no wrong way to grieve’ ad ‘everybody is different’, the way that society responds to those expressing their own psychological effects of loss differently from the norm says otherwise.
“Most western texts on bereavement make clear distinctions between the following:
1. Bereavement is the objective state of having lost someone or something.
2. Grief refers to the emotions that accompany bereavement.
3. Mourning is the behaviour that social groups expect following bereavement.”
From the Fiona interview:
“Professionals may have difficulty in letting go of their pre-conceived notions of grief and in really listening to the client.”
Professionals in the field have a text book idea of the psychological effects of loss, and while these may suit some patients, this can also be detrimental to a patient’s mental health who is experiencing the effects outside of this demographic.
In the interview conducted with Fiona, she discusses how she was alone in dealing with her grief from the death of her father when she was 13. Her family did not accept her grieving process and tried to get rid of any links to her father. They did not allow her to see her father’s body and discouraged her from talking about him. In order to deal with this, she recalls speaking to her father in her head. She was aware that her father was not really speaking to her, but it gave her comfort anyway.
Fiona describes the feelings she had surrounding her father’s death and her life after.
“I did feel guilty about being angry at my dad for leaving me, and for moving to Devises. ‘Why did you leave me?! Why didn’t you know this was going to happen? Why didn’t you go to the doctor? You were the adult, you were the grown up! You should have gone to the doctor.’
She says that these were all conversations that she had internally with her father.
Her father said to her ‘no one ever dies as long as you remember them’
“If the dead are not integrated, then society disconnects from its own past and ultimately from itself.”
It is important that we remember the dead and maintain the knowledge of the things we know about how they lived and what we can learn from them. If we did not do this, then we would have no history. No knowledge of the past would be archived and so it would be extremely hard to progress as a society or as an individual.
Many people encounter the experience of feeling the presence of the dead, generally bringing comfort. This is more common closer in time to the passing of the individual, however, can be experienced further into the future. Many who have lost close relations encounter having conversations with them, perhaps at the end of their bed or sitting in their favourite chair. There is a lot of dispute over whether these happenings are spiritual and physical or hallucinations and psychological symptoms of loss.
While the above encounters depict almost ghostly encounters, it is also documented that people who have lost a loved one may sense that their presence lives on in another world. This is common especially with religious individuals, who have a strong belief that their loves ones are still in some way present in heaven etc, however many non-religious people also recall having these experiences. This form of contact with the dead is surprisingly similar with both, with people generally considering the deceased to be ‘above the clouds’ or ‘somewhere up there’ regardless of their religious standing. This could be explained by the somewhat gruesome reality of the way in which we handle our deceased. People do not want to think about their nearest and dearest being in the cold, dark earth, slowly decaying and putrefying and so the idea that the thing that makes them ‘them’ (their soul of that’s your thing) is somehow separate and transcends to a beautiful place may give a great deal of comfort.
My thoughts on this- While it is lovely to think of loved ones living on for their own sake, there may be another, more selfish reason why we are so stuck on this concept. The dead remind us that we ourselves must come to our own conclusions. Human beings find it difficult to process the idea of blinking out of existence and so the idea of an afterlife is both appealing and the easiest theory to wrap your head around.
While many consider their deceased loved ones to still be in some way conscious, many also do not. They still may wish to communicate in some way though, such as going to a grave. Rather than speaking directly to the deceased, this is more seen as looking to the past, when they were alive. What would they have said/done before they died? We tend to give special meaning to items which remind us of the deceased, including photographs, jewellery etc. And these keep the memory of the person alive if not the physical presence.
Sound techniques used in horror
Suspense-
Breathing- Often recorded in post production ADR in order to make it stand out. Effects such as reverb may also be added.
Whimpering/sobbing-Same as breathing
Wind howling- Natural wind is hard to capture since it causes distortion and interferance, therefore the sound of wind can be artificially created using foley. Adding effects like pitch shifts, reverb, EQ and distortion to vocal whistling or animal noises can give this effect a scary alive feeling. The sound of wind is made by wind interacting with the things around it. Rustling branches and shaking leaves will help to build up the sound.
Tap dripping/water running- This can be done organically or recorded in post. Having the water dripping onto a pool of water instead of another surface will give a better plopping sound and recording this in a bathroom will add natural reverb.
Silence- Silence can either be exactly that, silence. Which can make the viewer feel uncomfortable, especially if there are unnaturally long periods of this, or you can add a faint buzz into the background which adds a certain claustrophobia and tires out the ears subconciously.
Electrical sounds- This could be a light flickering and buzzing, TV static, a ceiling fan. These sorts of sounds give the impression of neglect. This may be a modern environment, but there is an eeriness to it. These sounds may be recorded using the actual things themselves, however effects can be used to achieve these kinds of sounds. TV static is white noise and electrical buzzing is low frequency.
Phone ring- This makes the audience question who is on the phone? If the ring goes on for a long time and there is no other sound in the mix, this can give a really suspenseful feeling. This also plays into the fear of the unknown.
Sting/startle-
Anything loud and abrupt- The purpose of the sting is to cut through the suspense and give the audience a real shock. This could be done using many different audio artifacts, however it is the way that they are used that is important. The sting will always be very loud instantly, with no build up. It crashes through and comes at the audience, making them actually fear for themselves, not just the character on screen.
Could be false (woman in black when you expect a ghost, but a crow flies out and caws loudly)
Roaring
Screaming
Loud bang
Crashing
Thudding
Gore/gross-out/distress-
Bones breaking- This effect is done using foley and frozen celery is used to replicate this. The sound is brought out in the mix so that it is even more jarring.
Flesh tearing- This is usually a wet, squelchy noise and can be created by squashing tomatoes
Stabbing- The sound of stabbing can be recreated by actually stabbing pieces of meat. To give the impression of stabbing someone wearing clothes, you could record a pillow being stabbed and then layer that over the meat sound.
Gurgling- ADR post production
Screaming
Squelching
Groaning
Screeching
Anything jarring- This could be gore related, but could also be anything that is uncomfortable to listen to. Screeching sounds such as nails scratching at wood make you wince and this adds to the gross out nature of the experience.
Juxtaposed
Giggling
Childish voices
Anything childish or innocent
Overly happy sounds in dark situations- Jack in the box, a children’s TV show playing quietly
Associative-
Thunder- The sound of thunder can be created using foley. A way of creating the rumble could be to record concrete being dragged across the ground, or even the sound of a wheely bin being pushed. The crash could be created by cracking a whip and adding reverb and delay to this.
Wolf howl- There are many samples online of wolf sounds, however it could be done with human voices
Uncanny-
Familiar, but not fully comfortable
Slightly wrong- Anything that is a familiar sound, however it may be distorted or warped. In Mother!, a doorbell is used slightly out of tune, which gives an uneasy factor to the scene. A character could be speaking in a happy voice, but it is over the top, or there is no change in tone, giving it a creepy and uncanny feeling to show that there is something wrong with them.
Musical techniques used in horror
Suspense-
Drone- Low or high frequency suspended tone. Often brass and strings are used, however electronic instruments may also be used to create this.
Repetition of theme/motif- Themes and motifs give the audience an auditory cue that something is happening without them actually being able to see the thing. In Jaws, you are aware that the shark is present without even seeing it, because of the theme that plays. This is extremely effective for creating suspense, as it plays on the imagination and makes the audience come up with their own verion of what is going on.
Extreme highs/lows
Generally quieter and build ups- Crescendos are good for building suspense. As the music gets louder, the more on edge you feel. You know something is going to happen. Building up to a crescendo and then instantly cutting to silence is a good way to create suspense as you can decide when to bring in the sudden startle at a point the audience least suspects it.
Sting/Startle-
The sting comes after a time of suspense and will often accompany sound effects or visuals. Popular instruments for this are violin, brass instruments and percussion. The sting technique works in the same way for music as it does for sound effects as the two are parallel.
Loud
Extreme highs/lows
Abrupt, quick attack
Aurally jarring musical techniques-
Dissonance- The clashing of notes which do not sound nice together
Lack of tune/harmonic direction- A lack of structured melody. This created feelings of confusion and being lost. The audience has no way of guessing what is going to happen from the music so they are left in the dark.
Changes in speed- This does the same as above.
Mirroring techniques-
This is a way of using music to mimic what is happening on screen. It adds drama to a scene and conveys emotion to the audience.
Aggressive playing to go with aggression on screen
Tremolo/Vibrato for trembling/shivering
Glissando for falling/helplessness- Downwards motion of playing. Strings are good for this effect as they can seem whiny and almost vocal as they descend smoothly down the frequencies.
Unpredictability for confusion and being lost
Instrument choice-
Extreme highs/lows in frequency
Registering around human vocal level to emulate voice
Violins good for creating whining and glissando
Brass good for startle and general intimidating soundtrack (the shining theme music)
Juxtaposed-
Juxtaposed melodies are a great way to create feelings of unease for audiences. The sound of a cheery song accompanying the scene of a man being torn limb from limb gives a manic feeling and rather than sympathizing with the victim like normal, we have an insight into the crazed mind of the killer. We see the happiness that they get from this horrific act and it fills the audience with dread.
Nursery rhymes
Pop songs
Overly happy tunes over horrific scenes
Uncanny-
Familiar, but not quite right
A famous song, played slightly out of tune
Change lyrics of a classic song to something dark. In the film Sinister(2012), children sing a popular nursery rhyme, but the lyrics have been changed to talk about death.
Associative-
Organ- The organ often symbolises spooky old houses, vampires and graveyards and so may not be suitable for serious horror films, but is great for the more camp and not so serious gothic tales of the macabre.
Minor key- Minor keys just sound sad.
Tritone- Throughout the history of music, the tritone has always held a sort of dark power. It has been thought to be able to summon the devil and bring bad luck. This is why it is often used in horror with themes of the occult.
How can sound be used to portray feelings of grief?
In researching the dissertation, it became apparent that grief is a blanket term for a selection of effects which an individual experiencing loss may experience. These were cross-references with audio techniques learned from research on horror sound design to understand how best to portray grief in this way.
Structure of the piece
The piece is roughly 6 minutes long and contains three parts which are in contrast with each other, but fit together as well.
Characters:
Jess, played by Florence Ramage
Mark: played by Laurence Gallo
The parameters of working with audio without visuals
While working with audio exclusively, there are certain parameters which are faced in contrast with working on audio for films. There are no visuals to work with therefore it becomes challenging to alert the audience of events and movements. The use of a narrator to tell the story can combat this, however with dialogue taking up a large chunk of soundscape, this takes away from the creative possibilities. The piece begins with a small statement to clarify the context from which it begins. After this, narrative is driven by the conversations between Jess and Mark. Certain events are signified by functional sound effects and music captures Jess’s emotion through her grief.
How audio was used to portray grief in 'The Confidant'
The main focus of the project was to portray grief using audio techniques found in the horror genre. These techniques were researched and developed in order to create the end result. Sound and music are present throughout the entire piece; however, each section begins with dialogue and events and ends with a musical representation of the section as a whole. Because the piece is purely audio, it relies on sound and music to portray emotions. ‘The Confidant’ includes a range of music to portray certain emotions. In Part 1, there is an air of mystery and suspense, however the instrumentation of the synths is otherworldly which adds a supernatural element. This eerie nature is carried on through reverberant vocals. This is a technique which is used multiple times throughout ‘The Confidant’ to signify the ‘Them’ and the torment going on inside Jess’s head. Part 1 gives the audience an uneasy and anticipatory feeling to take into the next section. Part 2 begins with the sound of echoey drips, as if from a tap. This conveys the feeling of emptiness and unpleasantness of Jess’s home. This is an associative sound, meant to make the listener think of damp, cold caves rather than a warm dry home, which adds to the discomfort. Similarly to in ‘Hereditary,’ the heartbeat drum rhythm is used to convey the anxiety Jess experiences as she tries to deal with the ‘Them.’ In Part 1, the heartbeat starts of slowly, but builds and builds to a climax. ‘The Confidant’ makes use of a lot of drones and low frequency sustained notes to create suspense in different ways. One use of this to convey the feeling of confusion and lack of orientation is used at the beginning of Part 3 where a drone pans between right and left. This panning effect mirrors dizziness and the confusion that Jess is experiencing after part 2. Mirroring can be witnessed again through the use of descending glissando. As Jess’s mental state declines in Part 2, this is heard. The dissonant frequencies of the violin also mimic animal noises which have an association with wildness. When the ‘Them’ go to sleep, there is a drastic change in tone. Drone is still present and there is still an air of suspense however, there is a calmness which mirrors Jess’s state of mind at this point in the piece. She is tired and worn out and the audience may feel this after the jarring experience of Part 2.
References
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