Animation Tag Attack: Long Distance Collaboration – Part 2

File Fallacies

In the first part, I talked about developing a plan with the producing animator. It was a little bit “spotting sessions” and a little bit “overall aesthetic.” I was pleased to be brought in with plenty of time to complete the work, because I knew this wasn’t going to be a simple project. Well, I suppose it could have been if I wanted to slack off…but where’s the fun in that?!

Ignoring the aesthetic challenges presented by 12 different visual styles, there were some head-ache inducing technical challenges brewing just beneath the surface. Continue reading →

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Animation Tag Attack: Long Distance Collaboration – Part 1

The Groundwork

I recently finished up work on an animated short called “Animation Tag Attack” (referred to as ATA from here on out). The piece is an interesting take on the idea of “round robin” storytelling. The organizer of the project, Christen Bach, started out by creating a short animation (only about 25 seconds long). The idea was to pass it off to another animator, who would continue the story from where Christen left off. Each animator became the writer and director of their respective segment, but had no control over what came after. After the 11th segment was completed, Christen pulled all the animators together to talk over the story thus far, figure out what the unifying threads were, and to decide how to end the story in the 12th and final segment; a segment that he was to produce. The project would begin and end in his hands. It was right after this that I was brought into the project. Continue reading →

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Ideas for the Use of Loudness Metering in Game Audio

Last week, I put together a short post to try and help clear up some of the basic confusion surrounding “loudness metering”…specifically, what the primary differences are between ITU-R BS.1770, ATSC-RP A/85 and EBU-R128. At the end of the post I mentioned that, instead of trying to implement standards from the broadcast industry (since EBU-R128 has been such a common topic of conversation), I think the game audio community needs to find its own application of loudness metering. I wanted to put forward some ideas as to how loudness metering could be employed in games in a manner that better suits the unique situations housed within the medium.

Before I begin, I should throw out a disclaimer. I work in audio for television and film, not games. Because of friends that I have in the industry, and personal experimentation with some of the common tools used in game audio, I have some understanding of the production environment and workflow associated with games. I don’t claim to be an expert. This article is posed merely as a “what if” to the audio professionals within that industry. These are just some musing that I’ve toyed with over the last year and a half. I expect there to be problems I haven’t considered with the following ideas, but I do think they are a step in the right direction…an approach designed exclusively for game audio. Continue reading →

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What the Hell Do All These Letters and Numbers Mean?

For as long as these specs have been trotting around the audio community now, there still seems to be a lot of confusion over ITU-R BS.1770, ATSC RP A/85 and EBU R128. They’re nowhere near as radically different as some people think they are. So, let’s see if we can clear up the air around these collections of random letters and numbers.

The one that gets thrown around the most in discussions is EBU R128. It’s creating this odd feedback loop where everyone mistakes it for the ideal in loudness metering, and then we all continue to talk about how it can be applied in other scenarios and sections of the audio industry. What we really should be talking about, is ITU-R BS.1770.

Continue reading →

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Ideas in Sound Design: Deprivation and Barriers – Part 2

Cross-posting both here and on DesigningSound.org.

This article is the follow up to Part 1 of Ideas in Sound Design: Deprivation and Barriers. I’ve gathered a selection of media to discuss the ideas presented in the original article. I will focus on three films and one video game trailer: Saving Private Ryan, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Fight Club and Mass Effect 3′s Take Earth Back (extended version). I’d first like to state that the interpretations I’ll be outlining simply reflect my personal perspectives on the films and/or scenes in question. I do not present the single interpretation, merely a single interpretation. If you have an alternative view that adds to or diverges from mine, then I encourage you to say so and share with the rest of the community. Second, I do not mean to exclude mediums beyond the linear cinematic (hence my attempt, perhaps a weak one, to include games by the inclusion of the Mass Effect trailer). My selections were based on pieces with which I was familiar enough with to allow me to coalesce my thoughts in an expedient manner.

Finally, the ideas of “deprivation” and “barriers” are not exclusively the purview of sound editing or design. They belong to the mix as well. And beyond that, the director, the DP, the scriptwriter, etc…but that broad a swath is beyond the scope of this article. The point is that contributions to a piece’s depth come from many places. So, I credit the below examples to all of their respective principal sound artists (Supervising Sound Editor, Sound Designer, Re-Recording Mixers), to the best accuracy that I can.

Continue reading →

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First Field Test With the Neuman RSM-191

As mentioned in a previous post, I recenlty acquired a Neumann RSM-191. I haven’t had much of a chance to get out and test it yet, but I knew there was one opportunity I couldn’t pass up. Every year, the city of Arlington has a local Mardi Gras parade. I thought it would be a great opportunity to put the mic through a few paces, not the least because my wife is part of a Brazillian percussion band that was at the head of the parade. The band is called Batalá, in case you’re interested. There are chapters of this band all over the world, and they’re all extremely active in their local communities….and extremely loud.

Continue reading →

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Ideas in Sound Design: Deprivation and Barriers – Part 1

Cross-posting both here and on DesigningSound.org.

I’ve had two ideas take obsessive root in my brain recently. They’re not new concepts, nor are they new to me. My first introduction to them was 8 years ago now, but I find myself pondering them with the regularity that my dog wants food. [Now? Now?! ...........Nooooow?] They’re worth talking about in a public space, because I hope they’ll stimulate some engaging conversation in our community. There’s also the hope that said conversation will filter and focus these ideas into greater resolution for myself. If it helps others in the process, so much the better. These two concepts, as spoiled in the title, are deprivation and barriers.

I plan to cover these ideas over two articles. In this, the first, I’ll lay out my thoughts and musings on concepts introduced to me through the writings of Walter Murch and Michel Chion. They are two different arguments, yet I feel they are closely related and augment one another. In the second article, I’ll examine several scenes under the frameworks I present here.

The concepts (paraphrased):

  1. Deprivation of sensory information causes the viewer to extract greater meaning from art. (Murch)
  2. The Voice defines the barriers it transcends. (Chion)

Continue reading →

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Gear Lust and eBay

list of pictured gear at bottom of post

I’ve done pretty well in the past purchasing professional items on eBay. In fact, everything included in the picture above (about 1/2 to 2/3 of my total kit) is a piece of gear that I’ve purchased second hand through eBay auctions or “Buy it Now.” After my most recent purchase of a Neumann RSM-191, I took a look at the patterns that characterize how I made all those purchases. I identified what my consistent habits are, and thought I would share them as a little guide to acquiring gear through the online auction site.

There are two extremely important ideas that have very little to do with eBay itself:

1. Discipline
2. Patience

Continue reading →

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