Project Reflection
Homeworld Gems
The Plan
Sofia Ranger is a fifth trimester animation student. She along with her peers, Paige Hamilton & Rebecca Jones got in touch with me through a mutual friend. They had begun work on an animation which in their own words would, “introduce a trio of new characters to the Steven Universe world.”
For those who are like I was, unacquainted, Steven Universe is an American animation which is broadcast on Cartoon Network.
Naturally, their animated trailer would need both music and SFX, and this is were I stepped in.
The brief required “ominous background music; hard bass with chiptune pings.” I was instructed that the music should change in sync with the characters, as their story was told.
Further, 2 main instances of SFX were needed; a metallic banging noise and a loud thud, but others would be added.
Honing In
The music I would use as my reference is below. I really liked it and instantly started experimenting at home.
I met with Sofia a day later and had with me a completed sketch to show her. After hearing it, she decided that it was close but not yet worthy of a cigar. The vibe was correct and the ominous atmosphere was sorted, but it needed far more chiptune. Also, she really wanted the music to help define the characters’ personalities. This would be a challenge, as the animation is less than a minute long. I had some ideas of how I could tackle this though.
The first idea, was to take the main synth line which we had both agreed worked, and simply have different timbres of synth play the MIDI note. The next idea was to have a series of distinct sounds, fire off when each character appeared. Perhaps, lasers or bleeps.
The idea I eventually settled on though, was a trio of short musical phrases which I feel quite nicely capture the personality of each character.
I had a page of paper and on it was each character and their defining traits. I took my Shure Beta 58A and experimented. I wanted three short phrases which were distinct yet still made sense as a collective.
The result is below.
Mix Analysis
It’s worth mentioning my creative process, or at least the one I’m beginning to favor here. As I just mentioned, I have a microphone which I use like a pianist would his keys. I record myself humming and beatboxing, loop the audio, stack it on top of each other and hopefully create something cool at the end. I’ll then take that audio and use Ableton’s built-in ‘convert to MIDI’ function. This analyses the audio and spits out MIDI notes. This saves me time and gives me a MIDI template which I use with my synths.
On this project though, I started with an arpeggio preset; a simple 1 bar loop. This informed the mood of what would follow.
What came next can only be described as wee-woo’s. Here is the original vocal loop followed by the MIDI which it would eventually become.
Next were the drums. I wanted to go full, classic game sound here to help drive the chiptune theme. I paired a standard kick and snare with some chippy bleeps as my percussion.
Finally came the pièce de résistance, the main theme. Again I’ve cut the original audio together with what it would become.
Analysis of Work
First the negatives.
Ultimately, the SFX were poor, especially in contrast to the music. This is purely down to bad time management on my end. I spent too much time on the music and not enough time planning how I would make the SFX. Eventually, I used the same Beta 58A vocal mic and recorded myself banging various hard surfaces in my bedroom. The sounds were passable after heavy processing but is a glaring point of weakness.
Further, the timing of the SFX assets is not in sync in the final cut. I had a ‘beta’ version of the animation which I used as my template. I synced the music and SFX in ProTools to try make life easier for the animation team with that version. The final animation was different though and so the placement of the SFX assets is out of time.
That situation could have been avoided by simply sending the SFX assets as individual files so the animators could align them themselves. Furthermore, following up after the assets were delivered would have allowed me to ‘proof read’ the audio before the final cut was published, spotting the error.
Onto the positives.
I was really happy with the music. This came down to early and thorough communication between the project lead, Sofia and I. We met regularly and were able to iterate and fine tune the results. In this sense, our teamwork and communication was particularly strong and I’m pleased I could deliver the music they wanted.
Publishing
The final cut is up on YouTube,which I have linked below. It will also be on display at the SYNERGY: Student Exhibition on Wednesday August 23rd. Current SAE students, alumni & staff along with industry professionals will be able to see and hear it. Hopefully there will be some critical feedback gained from more experienced voices.
