MMS 172 Assignment 1: Pre-production

Project Concept Statement

Voice acting is something that I have been interested in and wanted to try for a while now. The interest came from my other interest which is watching anime. I am particularly drawn to original japanese subbed episodes rather than the english or filipino dub, as I find japanese VOs more expressive. Because of this, I also began to like short audio dramas, ones that I find on youtube or spotify. I especially like POV roleplay audio dramas where the listener is also a character in the story and where the character in the audio is speaking to the listener. I find these types of audio dramas really fun and interesting because of the immersiveness and the fact that I get to be a part of their fictional world, whether it be fantastical or supernatural. So for my audio project, I will be making a short POV audio drama in a fantasy setting with an original script, complete with ambient music and SFX for action and environment visualization. See the video below to further understand my project concept.

Project Plan

Firstly, I would have to complete the script before moving further. Having a completed script will be helpful in planning my sound design as I decide music and SFX cues to include in the track. The dominant sound in the audio will be the character speaking dialogues which will be played by myself. The protagonist, or the listener, will also have a sound in the audio. For example, in a fight scene, there will be a secondary voice letting out a grunt (suggesting that the listener had taken an attack) or a ragged breathing (implying exhaustion or anxiety). This will appear once in a while during the story but only on a minimal scale. This is usually not the case in POV audio dramas where the protagonist listener is always silent, but I wanted to apply what I see in first person video games where the character being played is letting out occasional expressive sounds. I decided on this little addition to make the audio more interesting as I find silent protagonists boring in long-term listening. 

Logistics 

SFX will either be foley or imported depending on the availability of materials required to produce a certain sound (e.g. sword, armor, rain). Use of music will be minimal and will only be included for implying tension and change in mood or emotions. The main vocal track will be myself and the secondary vocal track will be a friend of mine.

Production Area

Living in a studio-type apartment close to the street with two other people is not an ideal recording environment. For this reason, I will be occupying a friend’s bedroom as my production area for this project. It's a location with a significant distance from the street and any traffic and it is generally a silent household as well, so I don’t have to worry about the noises outside and inside the house. For the bedroom with four concrete walls and tiled floor, I will be using blankets or fabric around the recording area as DIY acoustic treatment. For audio mixing, I will be at my own place with a fairly simple set-up, just my laptop and a desk.

Equipment

• iFKOO RK MM1 microphone

• AMD Ryzen 3 Windows 11 laptop

• Audacity for DAW

For audio monitoring, I will primarily use my laptop’s built-in speakers, as I do not have access to wired headphones or desktop speakers. The only earphones available to me are wireless Bluetooth ones, which has bad latency. However, I will alternate between using both the wireless earphones to check clarity in voice, ambient sound, and effects, and using the built-in speakers to monitor sync and overall mix balance without delay. Though if I am able to procure wired headphones in the coming days, then I will be switching to that.

Signal Flow

Signal inflow

Signal outflow

For tracks that require recording, the audio will be collected by the iFKOO RK MM1 microphone and directed to Audacity through my laptop's built-in sound card. Considering my setup and project goals, I will not be using an external audio interface. For tracks that will not be recorded and are instead imported will go directly to the DAW. With the current limitations of my setup—lack of studio grade equipment and proper monitoring device—I will be carefully recording my audio, doing multiple takes if needed, and cleaning up noise in post-production.

Time Table

Above is the plan for the progression of the project. The timeline for each stage is overlapping because I expect to go back to previous stages for changes and revisions wherever I seem necessary. I will reserve 3 weeks each for script and planning, practice and recording, and mixing. And the final week for finalization and publishing. Script and planning will include drafting and completing the main script along with a sketch or plan for strategically placed music and SFX. Practice and recording of the tracks will take place simultaneously. The best recording from the practice will be used for the next stage. Mixing may be the most difficult stage because of my lack of experience in using the interface and editing audio in general, so I will be maximizing my time here until the publishing stage.

Recording and Mixing

I will be recording four tracks:

• Vocal track (main and secondary)

• Ambient/environment SFX

• Imported SFX or foley for action

• Music/instrumental texture

As previously stated, my recording and mixing locations will be two separate places. Tracks that require recording (vocal and foley) will be done first at the recording location (friend's room). Tracks that are imported will be acquired at the mixing location (my place). Other than the SFX and music, I will also be using the DAW to apply effects such as reverb in the vocal track to imply the space of the setting, or make it sound like the character in the audio is speaking from a certain direction. Basically, I will be producing a binaural audio.

Publishing

I will be publishing the final output in YouTube with simple visualization, just enough to give the listeners a preview of what the POV audio drama is about. 

Self-reflection

This will be the first time I'm doing this kind of project. The most experience I had with audio editing is layering out music and voice overs that were recorded using my phone. I'm really excited for this project because I get to do something that I've always wanted to try before. This project is the push I was waiting for to make a POV audio drama. Of course, as excited as I am, I'm also feeling a lot of nervousness, fearing that I may not be able to execute and produce an output that matches my expectations. However, I will do my best to face the challenges that I may encounter and produce a work that I can be satisfied with.