I. The Narrative
The group was formed, with the aim of creating an immersive experience for the audience through a radio drama. Eight people decided to participate in this project, who later agreed to carry out the tasks that had been assigned to them, each providing a portion of the duties associated with the audio production processes in order to justify the number of members and demonstrate their specialization. Although we all agreed that the bare minimum contribution was recording and editing our respective contributions, we also agreed that it would be ideal to have people spearhead and help out each other in different phases of production since we all had a great deal to offer to the group.
A lot of things regarding the initial idea underwent numerous considerations and revisions before arriving to this concept of final output.
To look back, different stories were pitched, and our project’s initial objective was to use Robbie Gale Jacinto’s short story “How to Deal with the Fact that You’re Dead: Death’s Guide afterlife” to create a linear audio narrative that followed a nameless character whom the listener would embody as they experienced the story through the character’s perspective. This first plan had a more traditional approach to what we wanted to do. It involved a meticulous script with heavy dialogue between defined characters, which meant that besides Foley production, a lot of voice acting was going to be required too.
In regards to production, the division of labor would be split between those who handled major creative decisions, and those responsible for directing the group during the production and post-production phases. Despite that, we realized that this still wouldn’t justify the number of members that we have, and it would create an imbalance in a lot of aspects like voice recording and post-production, especially for those who will play the major roles when it comes to voice acting.
One time, Christian came across a short film video on YouTube that depicted the different points of view and experiences of people when it comes to love. By then, Robbie, Christian, and Hanz, the people assigned to the radio drama’s creatives, had decided to incorporate some aspects of the film, such as how sound design was used to convey different perspectives and feelings (aside from its visuals).
Our direction shifted from our prior concept of traditional narrative storytelling to one that was more non-linear and experimental. Our new script served less as a script and more as general instructions for a sensory exploration that was still thematically the same. The primary distinction was that our strategy for carrying it out made much greater use of Foley, spatial sound design, and voices that weren't our own. Instead of depicting a story in line with our inspiration, we opted to try to convey the emotions and to provide an experience.
For a topic that is commonly exploited in many multimedia products, we chose to do it this way to capture grief in its purest form —that is, presenting how it feels to lose a loved one to suicide. In order to achieve that, instead of writing the lines ourselves, a uniform process was implemented wherein we decided to come up with five questions that everyone in the group would personally ask those who were close to us. The goal was to represent a variety of relationships, including those between a lover, parents, siblings, friends, and loved ones— seeking genuine and emotionally resonant responses. We advised to not reveal the set of questions and the main purpose of it to really receive unrestricted answers. Also, we didn't use abrupt questions; instead, we relied on phasing, which we know to be a better approach; easing them in with each question to think about us and our relationship carefully. These were the questions we to asked our loved ones:
Ano'ng bagay maiaattribute mo sa relationship natin?
How would you describe our relationship?
Give me a good memory between us.
Ano'ng kulay ng relationship natin?
As much as possible, we have to ensure that our interviewees are relaxed and comfortable first so we prepared these questions beginning with reflections on our relationships, remembering cherished memories, to set the mood before gradually approaching the sensitive topic of hypothetical suicide.
Would they let themselves be vulnerable with us? With the presence of mind that their responses would be heard by other people?
On deciding whom to be interviewed, closeness isn't the only factor that we have to consider but also their openness to a heartfelt conversation, and their mental and emotional capacity to hear and express their feelings towards a hypothetical suicide of someone who holds dear to them. These considerations, along with logistical factors and their willingness to participate, guided our selection process. It was crucial to transparently inform them in advance about the personal nature of the questions and how their responses would be utilized in our project. To ensure a respectful and informed exchange, we decided that it is best to do the interview with discretion, especially for those who have tendencies to get triggered by immensely by the topic of suicide. Here are the two sets of question that we can opt to ask:
Magpapakamatay ako tonight, what would you feel?
or
Mamamatay ako in the future, how would you deal with that?
Everyone in the group was given a directive to speak to the interviewees as little as possible in order to concentrate on their natural responses. Before interviewing, a test run of the process was done when six of the eight members from the group were together. Two people out of the 6 weren't aware of the purpose of the questions. The experiment started with a casual tone that gradually changed into a more serious and intimate atmosphere. The outcome of the experiment was a success, proving that this could be effective in achieving the narrative of what we want to represent through audio. With a new direction came a readjusted division of labor. It shifted to one that became more evenly distributed, still with each member having to record and edit their own dedicated parts.
In a sincere attempt to capture grief in its purest form — we also planned to detract from the personal stories that would be given by the interviewees during the interview process. All the responses will be recontextualized to fit the plot of the story, consequently turning the multitude of reactions to 8 group members dying into a singular response to a loved one who committed suicide. Despite the fact that it will follow non-linear storytelling, the non-scripted scenes will still follow a general direction — nudged together by three soundscapes.
I. Suicide soundscape
Walking on staircase > walking on rooftop > taking a deep breath > nondiegetic silence > diegetic fall > body hitting the ground
II. After suicide soundscape
Directly after suicide
Women yelling in both shock and horror, people running, cars beeping
A short time after suicide
Ambulance
Being buried sounds
III. Soundscapes for non-scripted scenes
Briefly mention that soundscaping will also be made on the non-scripted scenes:
Natural backgrounds
Inside the coffin
II. Foley
The foley sounds that were used for this were spearheaded by Jordan Costanilla along with volunteer members composed of Ally Diana, Daphne Simo, and Porsche Gutierrez. Each member was assigned a main item to record foley for while others provided variations.
These were the assigned foley for the group to achieve:
Understanding that the interviews only make half of what is important on the recording side, it is also imperative that we focus a lot on the foley. After all, given the nature of our project being a sensory experience, our foley can either make or break our work.
A list of essential foley SFX needed for the radio drama was given and members of the group volunteered to record the materials. Techniques on how to record each sound is also provided. Using different materials like a toning kettler ball to achieve a body impact effect is utilized. As well as using an umbrella to imitate the flock of birds. A wind SFX is achieved by blowing directly into the mic. To achieve a better recording quality, isolating the recording area was done by using clothes to dampen unwanted noise. Appliances were also turned off during the recording process.
Some were generally easy to record like the ambient sounds of nature, busy streets, and rain. However, there were also instances where recording specific sounds were difficult. The shout foley encountered some issues like peaking due to high pitch and frequencies. To resolve this, a specific distance from the mic is executed.
The main goal was to achieve clean and decent recordings that are usable for the whole project so it was critical keeping in mind the technical requirements for this stage to ensure quality. Other SFX materials like ear ringing sourced from online resources.
III. Music
The music that will be used for this audio drama was assigned to Katherine. The group aimed to have their own musical scores from this, so they opted out of getting background sounds from free audio libraries. Inspired by the Windshield Wiper, this radio drama initially aimed to present different people's perspectives about someone's death through music. That is why, the creation of soundtracks was hardly planned because it is reliant on the output of responses as well, but Robbie gave directions on how he wanted each person's background music to sound like. The music was initially meant to give transitions and different vibes to each character involved. The intensity of the music is meant to be a light piano sound, to give the heavy feeling of silent grief through subtle music.
Equipment needed for these are DAW, which is Cakewalk, a MIDI keyboard, and a sustain pedal. The soundtrack produced was planned to be used as a transition or background music and then uploaded on Soundcloud.
Given that we are all working from our own spaces instead of recording with each other face to face, controlling the quality of our recordings was no easy feat. For this, the technical setup played a crucial role. A lot of experimental setups were utilized by each member in order to achieve the best quality possible. In choosing the location, we had to find a great balance between good acoustics and comfortability of the interviewee as we wanted them to be as relaxed and comfortable as possible. Microphones were strategically placed near interviewees and distanced from interviewers to facilitate easy removal of the latter's voices in post-production. This ensured a clean and focused audio recording.
To better illustrate each member's contribution and experience, here's each member's personal account towards their experiences answering the following questions:
How long was the recording
Which final question was asked
Summary the process in obtaining the recording
Challenges encountered and how it was solved
Friend and Friend's Mother POV - Katherine Jane Certeza
Kath's recording both reached approximately 12 minute each, summing up to 24 minutes in total. For Rom, she opted to ask "what would you do if you found out that I committed suicide" and for Rom's mother, "If I die in the future, how would you deal with it?" The process began when she went to Rom’s house to interview him and his mom. For Rom, she directly asked about suicide. However, given Rom's history of having recent attempts to do it due to his Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Kath had to gauge the situation carefully.
The initial questions were good enough to establish a vulnerable and intimate moment with the person that’s why she managed to do it. For Rom's mom, she didn’t ask about suicide because she anticipated that it would be harder for her to receive that, especially as a mother who has experienced seeing her son attempt it multiple times. Despite that, she was still able to receive a heartfelt answer for her, which also lead to the conversation getting emotional between them.
Niece/Child POV - Daphne Sarah Simo
Daphne's unique perspective added a fresh dimension to the radio drama project, focusing on her relationship with her little niece, whom she considered a best friend and the little sister she never had. However, addressing the topic of hypothetical death with a 6-year-old presented its own set of challenges. Daphne pondered how a child could grasp such a concept and what a child's view of death might be. To bridge this gap, Daphne had to adapt the prepared questions to make them more comprehensible for a young child and ensure that the responses would be valuable for the narrative. Due to not having seen her niece in a long time, it took nearly an hour before Daphne felt comfortable enough to broach the sensitive topic. Their conversation began naturally when Daphne's niece came across a baby picture of Daphne with their late grandmother. Daphne saw this as an opportunity to discuss missing someone dear who had passed away and transition the conversation to the hypothetical question about her own death.
However, Daphne encountered unexpected challenges during the interview. Her niece, with her playful nature, did not take the questions seriously, likely influenced by the knowledge that Daphne used to be an actress. Her niece even speculated that being in a coffin might be part of an elaborate act, and there might be hidden cameras at the funeral. The initial interview did not yield the desired results, and Daphne faced additional setbacks when she discovered technical issues with her recording equipment – the audio was muted despite her earlier testing. Consequently, she had no choice but to rerecord the interview. This time, she asked additional questions to guide her niece toward providing more genuine answers, and she encouraged her niece to get closer to the microphone to ensure clarity in the recording.
Younger Brother POV - Argenielly Diana
Talking about suicide is a very sensitive topic for someone who has experienced suicidal thoughts from time to time. Ally don’t usually have these kind of talks with her younger brother now, but as a big sister she knows when something is up with his mental state. Ally approached him telling that they need to talk to and record their conversation for the final project and explained that they'll be talking about human relationships.
Ally began setting up her equipment as she casually talk with him to set the mood. For the interview, she used her condenser microphone and her iPad to record. The front of the microphone is facing him so she can clearly pick up his voice while the back of the mic is on her. The recording is 19 minutes long but she had to pause in between to eliminate some noise because some vehicles and dogs can be heard in the background. Ally added some questions from the list of initial questions provided in order to get more information and make her way to the final question. This also helped her know how she would approach her younger brother on asking the last question. (If I told you I would kill myself, how would you feel? What would you have said if you knew I did such a thing?)
The major challenge was encountered during the recording. Since their house is just 200 meters away from the main road, a lot of noise from motorcycles and cars can be heard. To solve this issue, Ally lowered the gain knob of her microphone and paused the recordings when necessary. She also told her younger brother to speak directly into the microphone and to modulate his voice while speaking, and did the interview at night so there is less noise compared to a busy morning.
Friends and Younger Brother POV - Anna Porsche Gutierrez
Porsche's recording with Margaret lasted for 40 mins and was recorded just through OBS since they didn't have the time to meet in person. In order for the interview to happen, Porsche messaged her early on asking if they could talk. Margaret responded later that day and that's when the interview started. Given the choices and the nature of their relationship, Porsche chose to ask the question about suicide as she deemed it more suitable in order to extract genuine emotions from her friend. Her only issue experienced with interviewing Margaret is that she had to record an online conversation giving her less control over the quality of the recording.
Porsche's next interviewee, Laura, also went through virtually the same experience as Margaret. The only difference being that they talked for much longer since they had a lot of catching up to do with each other. This extra time spent proved it's worth as it had set a more intimate mood. Given that, when asked about the idea of Porsche committing suicide, Laura first reacted with shock. Upon processing her thoughts, she provided responses that were genuine and heartfelt.
Lastly, Porsche's younger brother. The last interviewee Porsche had was a family member that she considers very close to her. Their conversation lasted for 39 minutes and was done in person which helped in controlling the quality of output. Porsche asked him to help her out with a project and that's where they started off. While he was related to her, she seemed to have a hard time getting a heartfelt message from her brother. Perhaps due to the dynamic of their relationship but nonetheless, she was still able to extract a lot of answers from him.
Ex Lover/Friend POV - Hanz Christian M. Natividad
Hanz's interview with Kirstin lasted for 47 minutes, most of which were spent catching up with each other and talking about other things before beginning the line of questioning that he had prepared. Even before the interview started, they were already conversing about a lot of things as they first met at a mall. This was done to ensure that the interviewee is not tense and is very comfortable. The interview was done in person as Hanz wanted as much control with the quality as possible.
Before asking the question about suicide, Hanz opted to slightly break off the pattern and opened up some personal struggles which allowed the interviewee to empathize with him. When he asked the question, he was met with vulnerable responses and warmth. His only struggle during the interview is actually setting the date for when it will happen as both him and his interviewee were in between a lot of things.
Lover POV - Jordan Rae Costanilla
Jordan's interview is a short one but it does not take away from the quality of his work. Spanning only 2 minutes, the premise was that they met during a get-together with a few friends and then he asked her if she was willing to record: a short interview. Using his phone's built-in mic, they went into one of the empty rooms and conducted the interview. He asked his lover about how she would feel if he dies tonight, which given the nature of where they currently are seemed to have taken her by a surprise, leading to a very raw and vulnerable response.
Childhood Friend POV - Christian Paul Velo
Christian decided to create a relaxed and casual atmosphere for the interview with his childhood friend, Jerus Alem, by inviting him over for a chicken meal at his house. They set up for the interview at the dining table, placing the microphone between them. Christian connected his headphones and microphone to his laptop for recording. During the interview, Christian posed a thought-provoking question to Jerus Alem, asking him about how he would prepare for his own future death. The conversation flowed smoothly, establishing a comfortable environment for discussion.
However, an unforeseen disruption occurred when the doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of Christian's brother. This prompted them to start the recording over again, extending the interview beyond its initially planned duration. One challenge Christian encountered was a low output gain in the initial recording. This issue would need to be addressed in post-production to ensure optimal audio quality for the final project. Despite the disruptions and technical challenges, the interview provided valuable insights for the project.
Mother POV - Robbie Gale Jacinto
Robbie conducted a 10-minute interview with his mother for the radio drama project, during which he focused on asking specific questions and refrained from providing any input, aiming to capture his mother's authentic responses. Following the structured interview, they engaged in an additional 30-minute discussion, delving deeper into the topics that arose. Beforehand, Robbie had informed his mother about the nature of the interview, explaining that it was for this final audio project. He emphasized the importance of clear audio quality and entrusted his mother with holding the Maonocaster Lite AM200 microphone. Meanwhile, Robbie used headphones for live monitoring while recording the interview. During this conversation, Robbie chose to open up to his mother about his recent struggles with thoughts of ending his own life. This revelation went beyond his mother's previous awareness, as she only knew of his history of experiencing such thoughts. This newfound transparency marked a significant moment of vulnerability between them.
A list of essential foley SFX needed for the radio drama was given and members of the group volunteered to record the materials. Techniques on how to record each sound is also provided. Using different materials like a toning kettler ball to achieve a body impact effect is utilized. As well as using an umbrella to imitate the flock of birds. A wind SFX is achieved by blowing directly into the mic. To achieve a better recording quality, isolating the recording area was done by using clothes to dampen unwanted noise. Appliances were also turned off during the recording process.
Some were generally easy to record like the ambient sounds of nature, busy streets, and rain. However, there were also instances where recording specific sounds were difficult. The shout foley encountered some issues like peaking due to high pitch and frequencies. To resolve this, a specific distance from the mic is executed.
The main goal was to achieve clean and decent recordings that are usable for the whole project so it was critical keeping in mind the technical requirements for this stage to ensure quality. Other SFX materials like ear ringing sourced from online resources.
To better understand what the members went through in order to produce their foley, here's a list of their experiences answering the following questions:
List of foley they recorded
Equipment used, location, and format
Summarry of the process
Challenges they encountered and how it was solved
Jordan Rae Costanilla
Having chosen from the SFX list, he was able to record foley for loud wind, the sound of impact against concrete, wood creaking, and a few extra ambiances for different settings and environments.
He used his Samsung Galaxy A73 for all his recordings, much of which was done either in his bedroom, in his building’s parking lot, along the roads around his area, or in nearby supermarkets and a McDonald’s
For the sound of Wind - Falling & Wood Creaking, Along with switching off any appliances, he was able to turn my bedroom into into more of a controlled space with clothes and blankets that dampened out any unwanted noise. He made sure to hold the mic at a reasonably close distance to my mouth in order to get a louder and punchier texture of sound to replicate the sound of someone falling. The wood creaking sound effect was done through slowly pushing a bookshelf back and forth for it to creak loud enough for the mic to pick it up.
For the sound of Impact, having too much of an echo on the floors of his bedroom made him move the recording of this effect to the outdoors on concrete. Using a 1.5kg Kettler Toning Ball as the object of impact was the closest thing he could get that had the same weightiness to actual meat.
Much of the outdoor recordings included a lot of unwanted background noise but this issue was alleviated through specific Reaper effects such as ReaFir
Daphne Sarah Simo
For the shout foley, the recording took place at home in the afternoon to minimize disturbances to neighbors. The main challenge encountered was peaking due to high pitch and frequencies. To address this, the recording setup was adjusted by placing the microphone about 2 meters away and making filter adjustments in OBS. However, the first solution didn't yield satisfactory audio quality, prompting a shift to using BandLab. This platform proved more effective for recording the shout foley, especially in terms of synchronizing with other tracks.
To create the flock of birds sound effect, two types of umbrellas were used: one made of cloth and another made of plastic. Different speeds and angles were experimented with while opening and closing the umbrellas to capture varied sounds. An issue that arose was the metallic sound produced by the umbrellas, which needed addressing. A potential solution lies in post-production adjustments, where forensic fixes could be applied to lower the frequencies and mitigate the unwanted metallic elements.
Argenielly Diana
Recording ambient sounds is generally easy. But the downside of it is that there isn't much control on what’s going to be recorded or not. Ally recorded a total of 4 ambient sounds which are nature, morning ambience, busy street, and rain sound.
She used a condenser microphone for recording the ambient sounds. For the nature ambience, the gain knob is turned a little bit high in order to get the most out of it. It is recorded in a private compound near a church which is full of trees and an abandoned rice field because it was made to be a memorial. She recorded in different locations like open field, under the trees, in between those two, and one near the main road to capture a bit of background noise from the street.
In recording the busy street ambience, the gain knob was turned a bit lower because the output is peaking at 0 level of gain and it hurts to listen to.
As for the rain sounds, she had two methods of recording. One with just the microphone and another with an umbrella. The first one produced a more full ambience of the rain. She then recorded another one under the umbrella to capture more of the individual droplets of the rain and higher frequencies.
Anna Porsche Gutierrez
She recorded ambiences that were possible for her to replicate. Namely rain ambience, minimal street ambience, and busy street ambience. Since she had to record in locations that were more tricky to set up in, a phone recorder was utilized for these.
For the rain ambience, she followed the instructions. Luckily, around the time she saw the assignments, she was just about to fry up some sweet potatoes. So while frying some up, she placed her phone mic near the pot and hit record. The recording lasted for a good 2 minutes before pulling away.
For the busy street ambience, It was recorded right by their gate. At around 4 to 5pm, it gets pretty busy where she's from and that's what led her to record the noise from the street with her phone’s microphone facing the gate.
For the minimal street ambience, It was a similar process. But instead of recording by the gate, it was recorded farther in the house later that evening with her mic pointed upward. This made the noise sound softer without making it seem too much like the sounds were coming from a different direction.
The main challenge she encountered was setting up. It was easier when she realized that she could still just use my phone and hold it up for a couple minutes or so.
During the music production, the equipment used for this is an Arturia Keylab 61 MIDI Keyboard, laptop, Cakewalk, sustain pedal, and speakers. The production of music was not done until the initial cut of the non-scripted scenes was done. The patch that was used for this was the Japanese Jazz Piano to give off the light and soft sound of the piano. During the time that the chosen voice recordings were combined, spontaneous progressions of chords within the key of D, mainly using the chords D and A, accompanied by different melodies, were produced and recorded directly to the Cakewalk using the MIDI keyboard. Speakers were plugged into the laptop for monitoring. The spontaneous piano sounds produced were joined with the voice tracks, to get checked by Robbie. After approval, the produced music was polished and recorded separately.
It was not smooth work, and a lot of challenges were encountered to achieve this. Due to the unavailability of personal equipment, Katherine was required to travel to her church, where she could sign a liability form and use the equipment. The recording also faced some challenges, like the sustain pedal not working on the DAW, which was fixed by using the transform controller and adjusting the pedal tool.
Due to the unscripted nature of our recordings, Critical Listening was the first and one of the most important parts of our post-production process. We had to ensure that not only were the chosen pieces of dialogue appropriate for the planned narrative, they also had to carry the necessary weight and emotion we desired. This process was led by the team of Robbie, Kath, Hanz, and Daphne; who listened to a total of 195 minutes worth of recordings, taking down note of interesting moments and usable segments.
For this initial round of listening, the main focus was dissecting the long recordings, disregarding moments that wouldn't fit with the idea of "Loved ones talking to the Listener." To be more specific, this meant selecting portions where the person interviewed directly addressed the interviewer. To reiterate, emotions didn't play a major role in our decisions yet, so we listed it down even if the person's delivery was a bit too casual or rather emotionless. While listening, we also adopted the mindset of thinking through these voice lines in isolation, ignoring their context and instead processing them with the notion of cutting them in post. We also paid close attention to moments of emotional expression, such as crying and audible happiness.
After taking those notes, Robbie finalized which parts would be used in the final cut of the project. Starting with skimming and listening to some of the recordings again to recheck if we missed any other notable parts the first time around. After which, he ran through the listed timestamps to check for any significant recording issues that may render the clips unusable; such as background noise masking dialogue. Once the unusable clips were discarded from the list, the delivery as well as their place within the narrative was finally considered.
Sticking with the flow we had in mind, the clips were divided into two categories: Before Death [BEF] & After Death [AFT]. Those that were considered "Before Death" voice lines were where the Interviewees expressed significantly positive dialogue towards the interviewer/listener; these lines mainly drew from the first four questions we asked. The answers were often about fond memories or our value to that person, and these pieces of dialogue were a good way to setup the notion that an individual has people in their lives that love and care for them. At the same time, in term of literary techniques, they were a good way of juxtaposing the depressing and somber tones of the "After Death" category.
"After Death" features the reactions of the interviewed to the final question. As they confronted the idea of our immediate loss, they honestly and willfully expressed their thoughts, which led to audible moments of vulnerability and expression. A majority of the used recording came from this question, with exception of some who asked additional questions. Robbie opted to select parts of the recordings where they expressed significant regret, denial, confusion or contemplation; such as when they asked what they could have done differently or when they simple don't know what to do.
Once the desired segments were chosen, they were marked with their timestamps, providing a clear roadmap for subsequent editing. The notes were then passed on to the team for them to individually conduct forensic fixes, trimming recordings, removing unwanted elements, and minimizing background noise from their own recordings to provide workable splices that are necessary to create a seamless audio experience. Each member was made to clean up and process their own recordings to be ready for the final compilation.
Each member had a different workflow for accomplishing these edits based on their respective programs. Although, for the most part, the methods used to treat the audio were fairly standard. To demonstrate, the process, here is a depiction of how a member treated his recording their recording in Audacity:
First off, highlight a portion of recording with room tone or noise, to prep the noise reduction effect in the audacity. This setups the audio to be rid off any unwanted noise, so that effects that increase the volume or certain frequencies can be effective.
Once "Get Noise Profile" is pressed, the list of dialogue segments, along with their timestamps, is consulted; these corresponding values are then inputted into time-based selection interface of the program. This ensures that only the needed part is affected by destructive effects and edits, particularly, for the first effect, the noise reduction.
For portions of the recording that are too quiet, an amplified effect is applied. The new peak amplitude is set to -15 for standardization. Once the dialogue is loud enough to be heard and understood, it is put under a filter curve to remove any unwanted frequencies or to bump up desired ones.
Specifically, two factory presets were used to bring out more of the interviewee's voice. A Bass Boost preset, which increased the lower frequencies, and a treble boost to increase some of the higher frequencies. The mid-tones are left relatively untouched to maintain a natural sound their voices.
After getting each member to clean up their contributions and provide other recordings like Foley and music scores, Robbie managed the arrangement of interview recordings using Adobe Premiere Pro 2020, ensuring clear and dynamic voices. Additionally, he was also in charge of applying ambient sounds and matching them to scenes and characters for an immersive experience.
CREATIVE CHOICES
A careful attention to detail in adding the appropriate SFX and foley sounds in the final project was done to ensure that the desired mood and vision for the radio drama. It was also taken note of how it should fir seamlessly in the dialogue tracks to make it sound natural so balancing the mix with proper cutting and volume level adjustments were utilized. By doing so, the overall audio quality and experience was enhanced.
DIALOGUE
In reference to Figure 9. Finalized Voice line Time Stamps, these are the following SFX sounds added over the dialogue:
O. Jacinto - house ambient was added in the mix
I. Natividad - a piano melody made by Kath is played on the background
II. Gutierrez - the dialogue track was EQed on the mid frequencies and a modulation was applied in order to put the audio on the sides. There a two walking on pavement tracks on this part. The first track is panned to the right and the other is softly playing on the background. This is to give the impression that the second person is walking with the person talking. A wind ambience and minimal street ambience was also added.
III. Velo - a restaurant ambience was added in the mix
IV. Diana - the dialogue was spaced in between cuts and a soft nature ambience was added on the background
V. Simo - a faint sound of footsteps is audible in the distance getting louder and louder before the dialogue is heard. This is to tell a character running towards the second person's coffin.
VI. Constanilla - a bedroom soundscape is added on the track and faint sounds of ruffling sheets and pillows in between dialogues to depict movement during the conversation.
VII. Certeza - room tone
In between these initial dialogues follows a transition of the second set of dialogues in muffled voice effect. A contrast is evident in this transitions for a past and present scenario in which the second person is lying on his deathbed. Listening to the words of his loved ones through the glass of the coffin. After that, the scene transition to the funeral.
FOLEY
Our final project is heavily dependent on Foley. There are three major parts implemented in doing the Foley. The first part is the suicide track which is also cut into multiple parts:
Footsteps and Environment Interaction
The second person's footstep is heard getting louder and louder. It reaches a mute to open a door. Then the audio transitions to the outside of the building by stepping foot on a gravel surface. A white noise is also added on the mix as the door opens. The footsteps then plays softly and low as it walks the distance to make it seem like the listener is left at the door of the building. Footsteps on a metal railing topped with movement of chains are mixed together to indicate that the person stepped up on a higher surface of the building.
Non-diegetic sounds: Heartbeat, Wind Riser, and Ambience
A rotary speaker effect is added on the heartbeat track. There is a mirror change implemented on the heartbeat and footsteps. As the second person reaches for the door, the heartbeat gets louder. This is done to imply that the person's decision is final. A wind riser is added on the mix as the heartbeat gets louder. Then the beating goes silent for a transition on the last heartbeat which is loud.
The ambient sound is divided into two parts; rooftop and bottom of the building a busy street ambience. The building ambience is only composed of wind sounds. The second part is achieved by applying EQ on a busy street ambience lowering the high frequencies to push back the sound and make it distant. This ambient sound is then duplicated and an echo effect is applied. To achieve this echo, a reverb is added. The visual of this reverb effect is set to a high vertical space and a narrow vertical space. This is done to create the illusion that the busy street ambience is at the bottom space and not in front of the second person. The ambient sound is in between -10db to -20db in general.
Suicide
The Foley in this part is composed of three major tracks mixed together; ringing sound, white noise, and heavy breathing. The ringing sound is panned from right to center which is mixed together with the ambient track. An absolute silence then follows it to indicate the pre-suicide moments of the second person. An abrupt sound of wind cuts through the mix to indicate a moment to pull back the second person into reality. Speed and volume of the wind during the fall is intercut before it reaches the impact sound.
Impact
There are four sounds utilized in making the impact sound. A chicken falling on cement, wet sound, a skull crack, and pavement. These four tracks are mixed on top of each other and a hard cut is applied at the end. This is an indication that the second person died. 'You' would not have gotten to the last moments of the fall so making use of the hard cut was necessary.
The second part of the foley is the commotion and ambulance track that cuts between the dialogues of the interviews. This is fairly short and simple cuts in the track that follows the dramatic pace of the storyline. The third and last part of the foley is the burial scene at the end.
Jordan took on the crucial task of editing the final burial scene, guided by Christian's vision for the audio. Christian provided a detailed description of the desired atmosphere: muffled exterior sounds of cries and falling soil, as heard from inside a coffin being lowered into a grave. To bring this vision to life, Jordan employed a minimalist approach in Reaper, applying key effects like panning, EQ, and Pitch Correction.
For minimal panning, Jordan used subtle adjustments to create a sense of distance from the listener, effectively conveying that the source of the audio, the cries, was further away.
Low Pass EQ played a pivotal role. By skillfully keyframing low-pass filters with progressively lower frequencies on specific sound clips, Jordan achieved the effect of muffling the sounds. This technique contributed to the creation of a claustrophobic and ultimately silent atmosphere, simulating the sensation of being buried alive.
Pitch Correction proved instrumental in achieving the desired tone. By lowering the semitones, as suggested by Christian, Jordan altered the pitch of certain elements. This resulted in heavier, more resonant sounds, effectively addressing any initial sharpness or lightness.
Through these meticulous editing techniques, Jordan successfully translated Christian's vision into a chilling auditory experience, heightening the dramatic impact of the burial scene in the radio drama.