Month: March 2023

Most of the primary atmospheres I recorded whereby using the Soma ETHER and Moog Mother 32. The Moog Mother 32 was recorded into my audio interface into Ableton Live. Meanwhile the Soma ETHER being an instrument that thrives on being moved about was recorded into a Zoom H5 handheld recorder. All these sounds were moved into Ableton live and edited to good sized sound files. 

The Soma ETHER recordings were done in one continuous half an hour take, so when exported into Ableton I took parts of the sounds I thought would work for the game. I kept the processing to a minimum but used these effects primally, Eight EQ (8 Point EQ), Valhalla Supermassive, and transportation of clips. The reason i kept it minimal was to not get the sounds too muddy. The ETHER microphone picks up on all types of frequencies so using the EQ was handy to subtly change it so some of the pitches weren’t too low/too high. Put not used heavily so it doesn’t alter what is so great about the ETHER. 

The Moog Mother 32 is a semi analog desktop synthesiser, the mother 32 is great for low brooding drones, and ambient space passages. Which are 2 sounds that are used heavily in the game. I experimented with the ‘cutoff’ and ‘resonance’ knobs on the Mother 32. This experimentation led to this sound. I found this sound rather intense and scary, which I thought would work perfectly for this game. It reminded me of the sound design created by David Lynch and Alan Splet in Lynchs movie ‘Eraserhead’. Which is a big inspiration for me artistically. 

When collecting sounds of a place there are things to take into consider, when are you going to record, what are you going to record with, and how will you go about it?

Early on in the VR project Ingrid introduced us to multiple microphones that are good for recording sounds for VR, I chose to use the Zoom H3VR. The Zoom H3VR is a ambisonic mic that records a whole 360 radius using it’s 4 microphones. This is much better then using something like the Zoom H5 field recorder, that only records whats directly infront due to its X/Y mic setup. I got to experiment using the Zoom H3VR in the lecture with Ingrid and it was a very simple machine to use which was a relief.

On Wednesday 26th April I walked around the whole of LCC and collected multiple sounds with the Zoom H3VR. I started recording in the stairwell outside of the kitroom, I chose this place as it is quite echoy so it produced lots of boomy sounds of people walking around and the genreal bleeps and sounds of LCC. I also recorded in the hallway of the sound arts and interactive arts hallway. There is also a stairwell at the end of this hall which has a constant beep and has lots of reverberation in the stairwell.

After recording I put the sounds into a programme called ‘Zoom Ambisonics Player’. Which is a app you can download of the zoom website, where you can export the audio you recorded and also change the direction. As it is a 360 microphone. I then expoerted these sounds out of the player and into ableton. I did no altering to them after as I wanted them to so natural compared to the more artificial sounds.

Today we had our midterm crits in which we were to show our rough drafts of our sound assets and game design. We were the first group to go, which is always a bit nerve racking. I personally struggle with giving presentations in front of a classroom full of people, especially a room of friends and collaborators who I respect endlessly. When we got up Ana started the presentation in which she led the class through the concept of the game and the inspirations behind it. She then got a volunteer from the class to run through the rough sketch of the game, apart from a few technical difficulties it went well.  

I showed the class through some sound assets I have created for the game, or just as a placeholder. I am the primary creator of the ambiences/soundscapes for the game. With that job I have to create the general ambience of the game which will vary a lot throughout the game as it becomes more intense. I provided the class with some ambiences made from manipulated tube field recordings, and the sampling of old opera vinyl records (in a similar vein to artists like The Caretaker). The sounds were made for the more intense parts of the game, where the game acts more like a horror game. The sounds aren’t going to be used, but act as a good starting place for me and my peers to work up from. 

I feel the presentation went well, although I wish it went smoother. I was the only one who uploaded sound assets before to the lecture, although we did get another sound uploaded to the drive. I do wish it was a bit smoother. I think I came across quite anxious and I tend to ramble when presenting as I feel if I don’t speak it will be awkward. I do think I started to settle in the longer I was talking for.  

We got some good feedback, especially for sound. One thing our lecturer Ingrid mentioned was the use of the SOMA ETHER electronic magnetic microphone. I am lucky enough to own one myself, so I will be using this to collect harsher electronic soundscapes. 

This is our final lecture before our easter break, which is about 3 weeks long. I have made a list of sounds to achieve over the break which you can see here. Throughout this break I will work on these sounds and send them to my group to get any feedback. Though we have specific roles in this project everyone is encouraged to collaborate with each other, as it is a collaboration project, and it is good to work with your peers.