For this project, we were assigned to create a 1-2 minute film with just audio and no visuals through sound effects and foley sounds. We were randomly paired with a partner to develop a storyline that can portray a location that can be layered with various sounds. We had to make at least for sound effects as foley sounds created by random objects using a "foley stage".
While creating our outline, me and my partner decided we would portray a storyline that is in a rather quiet place but has opportunity for a lot of layering audio. We came up with the story of a teenage girl getting a doctor's appointment and it ends with her focusing on the clock because she is annoyed how she still has to go to a pediatric clinic with little kids. To effectively plan this project we used a outline that helped us picture what sounds we wanted to include and which ones we would need to make from random objects in order to create a good story: Soundscape Planning Outline.docx
We broke down this story into five scenes that our project will flow as: arriving to the clinic, walking to checking check in area, checking in, going to sit down, and finally, waiting to be called up. We knew we had to incorporate the usage of kids crying, sneezing, and coughing to give the illusion you're in a pediatric clinic office as well as other key factors to indicate the character's attention to everything around her. For example, when walking by the kid sneezing and playing with blocks you can hear the kid's movie playing in the background and u can hear crying from the examination room. Using Adobe, we used the editing technique of selecting a room reverb in order to make it sound like the crying was coming from outside the waiting room in order to bring life to the illusion of waiting in a clinic. Also, the kids sneezing and coughing was a good way to layer these sounds along with the background noise of the receptionist desk, also known as the check in area.
After choosing which four sounds we would create using foley sounds, we decided that these sounds were mostly background noises except for the clear indication that this is a teenager walking. For instance, the walking we saw that most audio effects used high heels, and I thought it would be better to utilize a ink bottle and a piece of paper to indicate she's walking in sneakers and give the story a more realistic approach. In addition, the background noises used were putting on gloves using rubber, getting hand sanitizer by squeezing a wet paper towel, and a ticking clock by hitting a role of tape and a screwdriver that added dimension to the audio project. This is a video of the foley sounds that were created: RomeroSeoane_foley_per7.mp4
Lastly, something that I believe was done very well was the brainstorming and different techniques used to layer these sounds and give a audible sense of actually being in the pediatric clinic. I believe it's rather clear that you're in a doctor's office and it relates to kids in some way because you hear sneezing and you're checking in. On the other hand, something that could be improved was the use of words in our project, when checking in we used 6 words to portray the sense of being asked if you have an appointment and to sign medical slips. This was really difficult to make it concise so we don't waste 7 words, however, this problem can be avoided next time if the sound can replace the words. For example, when asking to sign a piece of paper instead of saying "sign" it could be more effective to tap the clipboard with a pen to indicate they need to sign the forms.
Final Project: RomeroSeoane_soundscape_per7.mp4