Sound designer Jeff Shiffman, from Boom Box Post, has worked on an array of animation series such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Thundercats and The Looney Tunes Show. He gives some interesting tips and insights based on his many years doing animation sound design.
Learning Outcome 1
Shiffman suggests previewing work with clients (without dialogue or music) addressing any notes. In our case the only dialogue is minimal laughter or grunts so we will just leave the music out. We can then preview the soundtrack to Charlotte with music and the animation can be predub mixed. When we have a final mix we will then bounce our project, show it to our client and see if she wants to make any final changes.
“As for sourcing these sounds, we tend to go about it in one of three ways. Our first source (and my personal favorite) is synthesis. If the sound requires it, I jump at the chance to build something from scratch. Of course another great option is to record new material. There is no need (nor usually any time) to be crazy about recording techniques. Grab a mic and a portable recorder and get something down. Some of my absolute favorite recordings are total guerrilla efforts”. “As a third option, anything beyond the scope of recording and synthesizing can be filled in with high quality library recordings.” Recording original and new material has been a big factor in our project as we aimed to show that we are capable of recording new sounds and making them sound professional in the context of a redesign or soundtrack. This could be then shown on our business’ show reel, which theoretically will obtain us work in the industry.
Shiffman also stresses that almost everything he builds ends up in layers. It’s very rare that a single sound effect works well on its own and building a moment by layering different effects gives him another chance to make something new. This is another technique myself and Ben has found to be very effective, as one singular sound often sound very isolated and lacks depth and timbre (Bordwell, D., & Thompson, K. 2004). Another approach Shiffman makes note of is layering real animal sounds under dialogue (growls, roars, breaths, etc). This gave me inspiration to try this in my Iron Giant redesign, possible a bear or an animal with deep vocals. It may not work but is something to experiment with.
Learning outcome 4
Shiffman states that he always tries to build a production schedule for his work and experimenting to be completed on time. This planning technique is something myself, Ben and even Charlotte (our client) have been using in order to complete the project. This schedule is based around Lee’s tutorial advice of creating a ‘tick sheet’ to lay out the recordings needed and when we will record, edit and mix them. Shiffman also recommends building your sound library with every project you do, this way it you can easily access particular sounds you may need for future editing. However he does also argue, that building a library on a project from scratch and relying less on existing material will make your project sound original. Which is exactly what myself and Ben have done when working on our soundtracks.
References
- Bordwell, D., & Thompson, K. (2004). Film art: an introduction. Boston, McGraw-Hill.
- Andersen, A. 2015. Sound Advice: The Key To Outstanding Animation Sound Design. [Online]. Available at: https://www.asoundeffect.com/animation-sound-design/. [Accessed: 1 May 2017].