Sound Design for Animation - Case Study Example

 Sound Design for Animation - Overview and Progression Some of us may remember the days and silent movies like the movie of Charlie Chaplin. Now we have movies that were called “walkie talkie”. the difference is apparent and it is the sound. To have appropriate sound with a visual affect is what we may call as sound design for animation. A cartoon film without sound or a feature film without sound will be a boring experience. Hence, the sound design is an important part of the filmmaking project. However, the bond between sound and animation is a very special one as the motion elements and the audio track have to match and share a very intimate bond like relationship, that may not be necessarily required in case of a motion picture. Here is a brief description of the requirements for creating such a special bond: Synchronization While the animator has total control on both the visual and sound effects, the coordination between the two is required to be of the highest degree, wherein the image and the sound shall be placed with accuracy. This has to be coordinated to milliseconds, where there will be no virtual difference apparently visible. Doing so creates a mental fusion between sound and visual elements. The forging of the two elements in such manner is called “ Synchresis” which is the amalgamation of synthesis and synchronization. The examples of such synthesis can be the sound of ping-pong balls etc. that may provide human footstep noises. Music and animation relationship As the bond o relationship between animation and music or sound need to be very strong, the coordination is achieved by certain basic mathematical calculations, so that both move forward at a predetermined speed. Here, the rhythms of musical composition are measured and fitted into bar units of certain time lengths coordinating with the visual elements. Therefore, the visual elements and sound compositions become common pillars of a structure having excellent patterns. As a gifted animator, the film producer or director needs to be more talented and creative to give the audience more than expected new pattern of themes and rhythms, accompanied by individual notes and instruments. Such a person understands the underlying psychology of a musical composition and then he consciously manipulates the visual patterns, movements etc. to give a wonderful story. The visual medium should flow the pattern of music and the flow of both these elements should appear to be in the same direction, while giving a mixture of delightful output. The nusic has to mirror the creation of animation patterns, so that both look two sides of a coin. Every step of either the visual or the musical element has to compliment each other in perfect harmony. Therefore, a strong bond of relationship between the two is the basic requirement for any animation film to remain successful in the current competitive environment. Energy from sound effects The energy produced by the synchronous sound effects is used as a source of kinetic energy. Inmost of the cartoon films the sound tracks are mainly constructed from pings or kerthuds etc for energizing a scene. This is a good example of kinetic energy usage. Sometimes such sounds are recorded beforehand and then logged on to the scene like a voice track. This is called a pre-synchronous process. While there are various types of animation sounds, we will discuss here mainly the three such types.—pre, post and non-synchronous sounds. Pre-synchronous sounds The pre-synch creation of sound is done when music and sound effects of a particular action is required before the images are produced. Thus, the animation produced is said to be “shot to the track”. Whenever the requirement of a precise synchronization between the picture and sound is there, the pre-synch process gives the best results. While the voices are recorded in a pre-synch mode, the result is a highly entertaining animation for the audience. The most difficult phase in the animation film is for the animator to decide on pacing the events and action. It is difficult to determine the extent of every incremental movement. Pre-synchronization helps for solving such difficult problems while shooting. In this process as the voice is recorded, filtered and finally logged, then the voice log determines pace events, as same have to follow in relation to these logs only. Therefore, all dramatic and surprising sound effects are recorded before the actual shooting. Every instrument counts are logged to accompany a particular movement in the visual animated event, thus matching the movement of a particular pace or action with the sound of a particular instrument. Post synchronous sounds Here it iss the reverse of the above as the images are shot before the sound effects are recorded. The visuals are the determinants for the sound tracks and effects, as they are done to finish the outer orientation of the animation film, established by the visual shots. In this case, the primary source being the visuals that determine the pacing of events, sound tracks can be added during postproduction phase as well. Actions like a door closing or a gunshot or a telephone ring can be recorded in this manner, as they will require a particular sound effect to be added to that action frame. For all those who are starters in the animation film shooting, the picture is the first thing that they will like to shoot. Once the visual jobs are completed and the picture is finished, the sound effects, music elements etc are then added. As it is believed, that the sound effects make almost 70% of the total animation film, the musical tracks are added as per the choice of the animator to greatly enhance the impact of show. In addition, it is easier to add the sound track to an already “locked in” animation picture, as various ready made sound effects are available to suit any action pace and visual event. Non-synchronous sound As the events in the animation film production require precise timing for both visuals and sound effects to match together in a split second precision, the non-synchronous mode of the sound design may not fit for the animation film shooting. Sound Designing The design of sound for any film strikes our mind with the loud gun shots and other still louder musical notes. However, this is not the kind of good sound designing. The visuals are always the determinants for the sound tracks to be synthesized with them for making a better sound animation or feature film. Films like star track etc. had such principal in mind when several sound effects were tested to select a particular sound track for the particular event or a pace. The first step in design of sound track is the scratch track. This is mainly a mental exercise and a scratch track is usually built during the script or story telling process itself. The track has to start in the mind. Innovative thinking as to which track that can deliver in a better way along with the pace of movements in the picture produces often a good sound and musical track. While designing for sound for any film or event the following parameters should be kept in mind, as they are the basics of a good sound design; Sound strength or magnitude There are metrics, which determine the strength of a particular sound track. These include loudness- measured in terms of sones or phons, speech interference level ( SIL ) and the weighted sound level (dBA). These measures are set for the good sound, which can differentiate from the noise, for an animation film. Annoyance value There are set perceived values given to the annoyance levels meant for various events including the animation filmmaking. These values are measured by the amount of noise, roughness and sharpness of sound and other bothersome aspects of the sound that are calculated in terms of ‘PNdB’ Harmonious value of sound Although harmonics can be measured in terms of sound physics and calculated in mathematical counts, real harmony of sound is produced by the grit innovation and creative thinking. The sound has needs to match with the picture and the pace of animation to have a harmonious output that is entertaining and delighting for the audience. While designing such a sound track, the tasted and the choice of targeted audience is always taken into account. The sound needs to be tested in a preview show that can highlight any mismatches between the visual and the sound elements. This can result in replacement of a particular harsh and violent sound effect by a gentler one. All these parameters are pre-determinants for producing a good quality of sound. The basic rule applicable to all the events and film making projects including the animation films, is to produce a sound track that is acceptable to the audience In the current environment of competition, .the audience is always hungry for more excitement and surprise, while anticipating an event or a pace in the film. Even for the cartoon and other films where the audience may be the kids or young adults, the anticipation level for every future action is great. Hence, the demand for the visual and sound effects to surpass those anticipations is a challenge to the animator of today. While the gentle notes of sound may be liked at certain times, the audience does expect loud tracks at other times in the film show. However, there has to be zero tolerance to the noise level. In short the sound quality is the reflection of listeners and viewer’s reaction. Therefore the quotient of SQ should be very high to achieve mathematical accuracy while presenting an animation film for matching its visual and sound effects. However, not all sounds can be applicable to all situations and sometimes there is need for harsh sounds as well. An example of this can be a motor or a truck whose sound is certainly to be harsher than that of a refrigerator or a air conditioner. Therefore, the application of the sound effect is to be decided by the event and event has to match the sound effect. All this should result finally in the perfect acceptability of the audience. High acceptability will certainly mean repeated viewings and more profits for the animator. Sound and Editing Editing sound for animation films means many challenges that may require sometimes-exaggerated sound effects. For example in an animation film, rthe opening of an eye may not be just an event of open and shut movement of the eye. The timing for both can be separate and different. An eye opening may be an eye-popping event also which will require a louder sound than what is required for the eye-closing event. In addition, there is a wet sound effect of the eyelids until they meet each other while closing the eye. These minute details have to be studied precisely to obtain the right sound chord for the action. Sound editing has to be different for different events and also it will vary from the film to a TV serial. While the sound track has to be regular and uniform throughout all the episodes of the animation, the feature animation film may rewuire a different kind of sound track. As music helps express motion, the conveying of the events make a challenge on the production of matching musical and sound counts. If the character in the animation is in fast action like zipping around, shooting carelessly, or running etc. the accompanying sound needs to be fast and loud enough, without any noise, to carry the action. Sound is supposed to be the “walkie talkie” of the animation film, thus the sound element can make or mar the film. As indicated above, almost 70 % of an animation film is made of sound only. Hence, it is very important that the musical chords, the sound effects and the intrumentalization—all of these—support the visuals of an animation feature to carry the event and its pace in a manner that is delightful and exciting for the audience. 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