PROJECT ONE - LINEAR NARRATIVE

GAME TRAILER SCORE

ASSASSINS CREED VALHALLA

PROCESS

DRAFT SOUND STORY BOARD

BITWIG DRONE PATCH

VOCAL RECORDING

DRUM RECORDING

CROSS DISCIPLINE COLLABORATION

AUDIO STUDENT ANDRE NALYWAJKO AND MUSIC STUDENT JONNY SIMONS

I wanted to really challenge myself, but also be as authentic as possible with this score so I decided to rally the troops for a war drum recording session in the Neve. This session was a really amazing day, and Jonny and Andre really came prepared for battle. We made a solid team on this recording day and I felt that each of us contributed some really valuable input, experience, talent and feedback within the session. We communicated so well as a team, and this allowed us to quickly and efficiently record some amazing drum tracks. Andre was super organised for the entirety of this session, his labelling of tracks, selection of mics, and overall session and studio management really made this day run stupidly smooth. We managed to get two great full takes out of this session, and I made sure to also request a recording of single hits of each drum as well for a couple of the impact sections. Andre used Pro Tools for the recording of this session, and made sure to stem out each individual track, labelled and grouped in their respective take folders so I could easily import them into Ableton and start the editing process. Andre was professional, passionate, motivating, energetic and really lovely throughout this whole day and I am very grateful for his involvement.

Jonny was an absolute star during the whole process, he took direction really well and also had the experience to be able to know when some things were and weren't working, as well as how to get the most accurate sound out of each drum. His passion for drumming and music was super evident from his ecstatic energy throughout this whole day, and this really showed in our recordings. I had an amazing day with these guys, and we really did make a dream team. I feel very honoured to have worked with them both and look forward to working with them again in the future.

BONE FLUTE CONSTRUCTION

PROJECT TWO - NON LINEAR NARRATIVE

SYMPHONY OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM

PLAYING THE PLANETS IN A GENERATIVE SOUNDSCAPE

This installation has been focused on creating instruments based on the orbital resonance of each planet in our solar system. I created the project to allow the audience to play a cosmic soundscape with a playstation controller. I will map the resonant frequencies of each of the planets to 8 different controls on the playstation controller, mapping them relative to their distance from the sun. The Sun will be mapped to the touchpad on the centre of the controller. All whilst having an ambient generative patch constantly playing in the background emanating a musical rendition of the vastness of space, written in the key of A major H. This generative soundscape in the background with be tuned to G, which is roughly the key of the frequency of Earth's planetary orbit (194.18Hz). I also wanted to incorporate within this generative soundscape a sample of a sonified deep Hubble space image that I found recently throughout my NASA travels. This concept (explained below) completely blows my mind and fuels a massive fire in my soul, something that really inspired the whole idea behind this project.

The audience member can then in turn, conduct their own symphony of our solar system. Or 'play the planets' if you will.

THE COSMIC OCTAVE

HANS COUSTO

'In 1978 Hans Cousto, a Swiss mathematician and musicologist discovered the natural formula of the "Cosmic Octave" as the link between different kinds of perodically occurring natural phenomena, such as the orbit of the planets, the weather, colors, rhythms and tones. This extraordinary book explains these relationships with examples of astronomical data comparing the frequencies of planatery orbits, in architectural works, in ancient and modern measuring systems, the human body, music and medicine. Cousto reveals how music is truly the language of the cosmos and of the natural world.' (Cousto, 2000)

PROCESS

FINDING THE SOUND OF MERCURY

ORBITAL RESONANCE - 141.27Hz = C#3 (138.59Hz)

'Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. It rotates slowly — about twice for every three orbits it completes. Its cratered surface can experience temperatures upwards of 800 degrees Fahrenheit (426.7 degrees Celsius) because of its proximity to the sun. However, temperatures on the side facing away from the sun are cold — about -279 F (-173 C). Slightly larger than Earth's moon, it is the smallest planet in the solar system. It has no moons, no rings, and an atmosphere so thin that scientists classify it as an exosphere.' (Powers, 2018)

I would sonically interpret these characteristics of Mercury as crunchy, icy, and textural but also a bed of lower warm timbral tones to relate to the contrast of the extreme low and high temperatures. Having a smaller dynamic range and elements that sat a bit further back in the mix, I think would relate to the small size of the planet. I used the Analog Rain instrument within Bitwig because I felt this sounded the closest to my interpretation of this planet. I also adjusted a couple of the modulated parameters including limiting the cut off centre frequency amount so the modulation was faster, I felt that this gave the sound an intensity that would emanate the closeness of Mercury to the sun.

FINDING THE SOUND OF VENUS

ORBITAL RESONANCE - 221.23Hz = A3 (220Hz)

'The second planet from the sun, Venus is slightly smaller than Earth. Because of its relative proximity to Earth, it is the largest planet seen in the night sky. The cratered surface is hot with surface temperatures around 900 F (482 C), the product of a runaway greenhouse effect. Although the atmosphere is nowhere near as thick as that of any outer planet, it's the thickest of the terrestrial planets, and it consists mostly of sulfuric acid and carbon dioxide. The density of its atmosphere makes the air pressure at the surface 90 times that of Earth's. The heat and pressure make the planet decidedly inhospitable to life.' (Powers, 2018)

My audible interpretation of Venus would be a grungy synth with long sustain and with a heavy impact to correspond to the immense heat and pressure of the planet. I used the 'Bell Birds' polymer preset to start with, extending the sustain and release of the main envelope, and increasing the phase modulation to give the instrument a more grungy feel. I boosted the sub frequencies to create that pressurised, ominous feeling. I also incorporated a modulated band pass filter onto the resonance pot of the filter, into the FX of the polymer instrument, as well as added a randomised modulation to the frequency of the filter to relate to the rugged, cratered surface of Venus. I put this filter before the delay on the chain in order to prevent the harsh clicks of the frequency modulation. I also changed a variety of parameters on this delay including the Left side to 7 beats of delay and the right to 4, this gave the sound a really nice randomised, unsettling, generative sound. I wanted to boost some of the sub frequencies as well as some of the textures of the high end so I added in an EQ before the Delay and after the Filter to give it a nice textural balance.

FINDING THE SOUND OF EARTH

ORBITAL RESONANCE - 194.18Hz = G3 (196Hz)

'Home sweet Home, Earth, the third planet from the sun and the largest terrestrial planet, is the only planet known to host living beings and the only one known to have liquid water on its surface. The atmosphere, made of mostly nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide, is crucial to Earth's ability to support life. Although the surface of the earth is mostly water, the planet also has large landmasses which harbour a stunning variety of ecosystems.' (Powers, 2018)

I used the Ebb and Flow preset in the polymer instruments, as I thought this push, pull movement characterised the sound of life on Earth well. Emanating things such as the push and pull of the tides, wind, life and death, and also the psyche of humans (the ups and downs of happiness, sadness, etc). I changed the wavetable of this instrument to be the 'Robot Oh', as this gave a nice vocal, humanised layer to the sound (ironic that it's called Robot oh). I went through and softened a lot of elements within this preset, including slowing down the attack and release of the main envelope, adding more reverb and tweaking a few other parameters. I liked the general ambient tone of this patch, however I wanted to add in a more natural element. So I downloaded a forest atmos track from splice and added this into a sampler, which I put in before the Polymer instrument in the FX layer group. This meant that the atmos sample and the polymer instrument would be triggered simultaneously, creating a more naturally based, ambient soundscape for Earth.

FINDING THE SOUND OF MARS

ORBITAL RESONANCE - 144.72Hz = D3 (146.83Hz)

'Mars, the Red Planet. The red colour of the surface comes from iron oxide or rust in the soil. The topography is characterized by large volcanoes and deep valleys, and Mars experiences frequent planet-wide wind storms. Some of the surface features of Mars, such as dry river beds, hint to the possibility that water previously existed on the planet and may still flow under the surface. The carbon dioxide atmosphere is very thin on Mars, with only 1/100th the atmospheric pressure of Earth. The planet is colder than Earth, with surface temperatures ranging from -171 to 32 F (-113 to 0 C).' (Powers, 2018)

I wanted to express the juxtaposition of the large volcanoes and deep valleys by using a modulated band pass LFO that allowed the movement of the instrument to represent this. The 'Uplifta' polymer instrument fit really well for the vibe I wanted for this track, and I think the melodic element gave a beautiful 'martian' vibe to the sound. I changed a variety of parameters on the Oscillator settings, and in using the Swarm oscillator, I think this added a nice icy, textural characteristic to the melodic drive, representing the cold nature of the planet. I also modulated the sub amount a fair amount, as I felt this gives this instrument the variety of timbral elements, keeping the melody and overall sound energetic and engaging. Modulating the resonance of the filter also allowed the higher frequency textural layers to be accentuated alongside the rise and fall of the LFO. I wanted to emanate the chaotic nature of the planet-wide storms on Mars so I modulated the Noise level of the instrument, so this created a moving white noise layer. I also changed the arpeggiator setting in the Note FX, to Up/Down from Chords to give the melody more variation and movement, as well as going through and randomly changing the velocity amount of the 16 notes.

FINDING THE SOUND OF JUPITER

ORBITAL RESONANCE - 183.58Hz = F#3 (185Hz)

'Further from the sun, past a ring of asteroids, lies the largest planet in our solar system — Jupiter — the first of the gas giant planets. Its characteristic coloured cloud patterns are caused by enormous, swirling storms in its atmosphere, which consists of primarily of hydrogen, helium, methane ammonia and water ice. The largest and most distinctive of the storms, the Great Red Spot, is larger than Earth. Jupiter has 63 moons and a faint ring system.' (Powers, 2018)

This one had to sound big and brutal! The 'Uprising X' Polymer instrument was exactly the vibe I was feeling when thinking of Jupiter. The crunchy, abrasive texture and crazy amount of modulation within this instrument expressed the wild chaos of Jupiters enormous storms, and the complexity of movement within the Sawtooth LFO and the XP Oscillator gave the melody a unique, rhythmic drive with interesting layers. Including the use pitch LFO modulation on the Sync amount of the sawtooth oscillator to give it the contrasting melodic texture. I adjusted a variety of these parameters to ensure the instrument was brutal enough without being too overwhelming in comparison to the other planets. I also added the use of delay and reverb within the FX of the polymer instrument to achieve this, but also to give it an ominous, majestic, boss like vibe.

Sub bass was essential in providing the sonification of the sheer size of the planet, so I added Sub Lab to the FX group, in order to have it trigger at the same time as the instrument. I wanted to ensure this sub was impactful enough but also resonate enough to sustain throughout, without overcrowding the rest of the sound. Hence why I started this track with the Polymer instrument so I could play the sub over it and get it sitting in the right spot.

FINDING THE SOUND OF SATURN

ORBITAL RESONANCE - 147.85Hz = D3 (146.83Hz)

'Saturn, the sixth planet from the sun, is also a gas giant, and it's most impressive feature as seen from afar is an extensive and complex ring system. The rings orbit the planet in a thin band about a mile thick. The radius of Saturn is about 9.5 times that of Earth, and instead of one paltry moon, it boasts 62. The interior of Saturn, like Jupiter, is made of mostly hydrogen and helium. Nearing the core, the intense pressure turns the gases into liquids and ultimately into a metallic form that conducts electricity.' (Powers, 2018)

I wanted to represent the incredible ability of Saturn to create this metallic electricity near its core through the use of sharp and shiny, textural synths. This was almost perfectly represented with the use of the square particle polymer instrument. With a complex amount of modulation within this instrument, the electronic and metallic sounding elements are able to shine through in a beautiful variety of ways. Through modulating the full index amount of the fibonacci square wavetable with an index LFO, and using a ramp to modulate the cut off frequency of the XP filter, this gave the instrument an almost spherical movement and added some beautiful, spatial dimension emphasising the rotation of the rings. There is also a rain envelope being used to modulate the movement of the ramp, accentuating the cosmic droplets that I like to think of as the ice and rock that make up the contents of Saturns rings. I modulated the Mix amount of the Delay in order to emphasise the droplets in a diverse way.

FINDING THE SOUND OF URANUS

ORBITAL RESONANCE - 207.36Hz = G#3 (207.65Hz)

'While most planets spin on their axis with a slight tilt, the ice giant Uranus spins on an axis parallel to its orbit. With a diameter of 31,518 miles (50,723 kilometers), this cold planet is four times the size of Earth and is made of a large atmosphere of methane with a dense core of frozen methane. Uranus has a faint ring system and 27 moons in its orbit.' (Powers, 2018)

Due to Uranus's parallel rotation, I interpret this as a characteristic that makes it strangely unique and well, literally sideways. I wanted to express this through the layering of out of phase synths, and with a variety of weird, textural elements that sound a bit perplexing. Starting off with the 'Movement' polymer instrument, I modulated the phase amount of the pulse oscillator with the existing vibrato LFO. Giving original instrument much more of an unusual, layered, unsettling sound. This vibrato LFO is also used to modulate the Pulse width of the pulse oscillator, enhancing this movement between multiple elements. This is alongside the Sync LFO modulated sync amount of the oscillator, which gives the pulse of the oscillator a crunchy, alternating square wave motion, introducing an interesting, contrasting movement and characteristic. I bought the frequency level of the XP filter most of the way down, to cut out a bit of the higher frequencies, that I felt took the focus away from the motion of the instrument which also enhanced the pulsating rhythm. I applied an EQ to the entire instrument to further cut out some of the harsh highs, and this in turn made the modulating, mid high frequencies which were enhanced by the filter, a bit more concise. I wanted to have these select few higher frequencies accentuated in a subtle way to also express the dense, frozen nature of the core of Uranus.

FINDING THE SOUND OF NEPTUNE

ORBITAL RESONANCE - 211.44Hz = G#3 (207.65Hz)

'The blue planet Neptune is the farthest one from the sun and, like Uranus, is a very cold place. Its surface temperature is a chilly -353 F (-214 C). Because of its distance from the sun and its large orbit, one year on Neptune is 165 Earth years. The atmosphere is mostly methane, which gives the planet its blue color. The cold interior of the planet is mainly methane ice. Like all the outer planets, Neptune, like Uranus, has a diameter roughly four times that of Earth. Thirteen moons and a faint ring system orbit the planet.' (Powers, 2018)

Being the farthest planet from the sun, and a long orbital period, I wanted to demonstrate this distance through lower rumbling frequencies, with only a subtle amount of movement. I feel I achieved this affect after changing a variety of parameters on the 'Deep blue mood' polymer instrument. I changed the wavetable shape to 'going low' which I feel really rounded out the movement of the sound, creating a smoother transition between the individual elements. I also boosted the Index amount of the wavetable which limited the frequency spread of the instrument, limiting the movement a bit more. I boosted the mix of the Reverb to 100% to soften the effects more and also to give a bit more distance to the sound. To create even more space I added some noise to the instrument to emanate somewhat of a windy chill, and ambient swell, I think this also highlighted the coldness of the planet.

FINDING THE SOUND OF THE SUN

ORBITAL RESONANCE - 126.22Hz = B2 (123.47Hz)

'The sun lies at the heart of the solar system, where it is by far the largest object. It holds 99.8% of the solar system's mass and is roughly 109 times the diameter of the Earth — about one million Earths could fit inside the sun.

The surface of the sun is about 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit (5,500 degrees Celsius) hot, while temperatures in the core reach more than 27 million F (15 million C), driven by nuclear reactions. One would need to explode 100 billion tons of dynamite every second to match the energy produced by the sun, according to NASA.' (Choi, 2017)

Massive, smouldering, force, with exuberant amounts of energy. I wanted to emanate the sun in a more realistic sense as more of a grounding energy source for the rest of the planets in the symphony. It will also be mapped to the central track pad of the controller as a focal point of not only our solar system but the installation. I started this sound design with the polymer instrument, and completely mutilating the comb 'lazer lead' preset. I wanted to have a lower frequency rumble with some modulated noise filters, as well as some sort of tonal element that randomised to give the sense of forceful, chaotic energy. I feel I achieved this by adding a low pass filter to the instrument, and using the randomiser to modulate the resonance of the filter, and also modulating the frequency of the filter cut off as well to give a bit more variance to the timbre of the sound. I felt that an EQ on this instrument would also cut some of the highs, allowing this lower frequency rumble to really be the foundational feature of the instrument. Adding a delay to this track also allowed a more constant movement to the different characteristics of the sound, I achieved this varied movement by setting the Left of the delay to 8 beats and the Right to 4, and adjusting different feedback levels for both. I also added a soft, simple sine, low resonating kick from sub lab to this instrument, to enhance the presence of the sun and give it some force and strength within the mix, as well as to act as a solid bed for the rest of the planets.

SOUNDSCAPE

REFLECTION

Phew, what a project. I'm feeling super proud of myself after completing all three of these linear scores, and really grateful for the opportunity to work with some very beautiful, talented people. This project has really allowed me to strengthen my organisation skills, time management and leadership skills, due to working with multiple other people across the entire duration of the trimester. I also had to ensure that I stayed on schedule with each portion of this project to ensure to allow for troubleshooting and issues between individuals and groups, as well as ensuring that things weren't left till the end of the trimester to complete them. I managed to keep everything on schedule throughout the entirety of the project, and this allowed me to benefit from multiple feedback sessions and consistently tighten things up to a higher standard.

I think I am mostly proud of my work with the Valhalla games trailer score, due to running into a bunch of issues throughout the duration of this one, and learning so much from this process. My perseverance, passion and drive didn't let me down with this one, and even though at certain times (such as mixing the drum recordings and making the bone flute) had me at a point where I felt a bit in over my head, I managed to push through and come out the other side with some really integral lessons learned that have improved my overall resilience, production skills, team work and professional practice.

Overall I'm really stoked with what I have been able to submit for this project and believe that I have grown and learnt so much during the entire process. I am really grateful and really proud of how far I have come since week one, and am feeling especially passionate about furthering my career in composing sound for screen. Our class content and project work has pushed me into a lot of really exciting rabbit holes that I have found myself not wanting to climb out of, which tells me that theres something important here that I need to continue striving for. I feel like this realm of music production is a great way for me to utilise my skills and passion for expressing and evoking emotion through music. I don't think I've ever felt so inspired as what I have this trimester so this also tells me that I am doing what I should be doing, I'm exactly where I need to be, and I'm heading in the right direction.