It's Only Make-Believe

Jun 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Mike Levine

What do you mean?

Again, like a vacuum tube or something that you would never think you'd want from an acoustical space, but something that may manipulate the sound in very unique and odd ways. That's something I've been using for a couple of years now, again, [and] it's pretty much an amazing thing. I also still use a lot of classic reverbs — a lot of Lexicon and TC Electronic stuff. It really depends on what you're trying to create. With Riddick, I used musical instruments to create the core of the design, rather than going with stuff that's more predictable.

So that it's a more original sound?

Yeah, just something a little bit different. And again, we're kind of audio photographers — constantly going through life listening for sounds. For example, my washing machine at my house sits above a downstairs bathroom, and when the washing machine is on, it creates this interesting resonance in the bathroom. It feels like a starship or a submarine, or something to that effect.

Do you carry a recorder around all the time in case you hear something you want to capture?

I've got a couple of recorders that I could grab at a moment's notice. I did a submarine movie a couple of years back and recorded a Jacuzzi with spinning jets that I had in my house. And that was the key element to the sound of the torpedoes' blades. I bought an underwater microphone and recorded Doppler byes with it. And it's just basically a Jacuzzi jet, but against picture it gives off a different illusion.

How about Foley artists — is it their job to put in the regular sounds, like the footsteps and door slams? And what's the difference between a Foley artist and a sound designer?

The Foley artist, location recording, and manipulating sounds are all tools for the sound supervisor/sound designer to use in creating a sound track. When I create sound effects on the Foley stage with the Foley artists [or Foley walkers], I will take the results and combine them with the design to help add definition, detail, and many times something interesting and new. I will, for instance, create a really big explosion — I move the room. But let's say that during the explosion there's dirt that falls on metal. Or I want to crack something before the explosion. I want to enhance it with another level of detail. I'll do that on the Foley stage. Most of the time, the designer will create sounds and combine the artistry of the Foley walkers to add a level of detail.

So how would you define the Foley artist's job?

Foley artists and their recording engineers work in studios that are filled with everyday objects that they know will make specific noises. They also have a multitude of shoes and surfaces so that they can re-create sounds, movement, and footsteps in sync with the picture. In their bag of tricks, they know that if they grab, say, a Whippoorwill branch, that they can create whooshes that sound like a boomerang. And they've got an arsenal and a knowledge base to create sounds based on the junk that they've collected. For example, we've simulated snow by using baking powder to get the right crunch and texture.

From a sound-design standpoint, how does working on a video game compare with working on a film. Is it similar or totally different?

We're using similar artistries, but the release format is a bit different. In film, I'm trying to create a blend of sounds as part of the storytelling — like an aural painting. It's something you observe.

With video games, you are trying to create each individual sound event, which, when combined in an infinite number of ways, will be able to create another aural experience — something you partake in. One difference is that there's a lot more repetition in a video game. When you watch a film, the sound goes by in a linear fashion; you only hear those tracks at that given time within the movie.

In a video game, the player will hear sounds over and over. You need to be very conscientious when you create a sound or a melody that will be heard again and again that the end user won't get sick of it. In terms of sound quality, we treat games the same way we treat movies.

Do you have some advice for those who are interested in developing their sound-design chops?

The main thing I tell people when I give any lectures about sound design is to listen. Everybody has learned how to stop listening. [Instead, they] filter out those things around them that they find distracting. When I interview young sound designers, one of the things I ask them is to name five types of rain. Some answer, “Rain, I don't know: rain, more rain, heavy rain.” I am looking for people who can hear and have an attention to detail — things like rain tapping on the window, rain hitting puddles, rain going down the gutter, the rhythm of the rain. Is it a slow drip-drip like a relaxed southern afternoon shower? Is it heavy pelting against a wood or plastic roof? All these sounds add to storytelling. You have to deal with sounds that evoke childhood emotions and that take you to a special place. I tell them to listen to the birds; listen to cars going by. Listen to anything that's machinery around your house. Listen to thunder and the way it echoes in the area that you live in, and how it slaps against the wall behind you. It's really stopping and relistening to everything around you. It's creating an aural vocabulary.

So like your example of the Jacuzzi jets or the washing machine that sounds starshiplike, people should listen for sounds in their home that can be used as raw material for sound design?

Yes. There is stuff that you can do in a home that would just blow your head away. Like taking [electric] razors and putting them in metal bowls and recording them. Or using the windows in your house on a windy day and opening them a little bit to make it sound like a wind storm or a hurricane or wind whispering across the wing of an aircraft. There are endless amounts of sounds that you can come up with.

Do you generally recommend using stereo mics or stereo miking for capturing remote sounds?

It really depends. It's the same thing as music, like saying when you mic a drum set or a guitar, what do you always use?

Good point.

I come from a music background, and I draw parallels between both industries. For example, when you're recording a gun, it's got a low thump that's kind of like a kick drum. So maybe I'll use an AKG D112 or an EV RE20 or a Sennheiser MD 421. I'll then use other mics to capture other frequencies that guns can make. Or maybe when I record glass breaking, which is kind of like percussion, I'll use a small-diaphragm condenser mic or a ribbon mic similar to overheads on a drum kit. I know it sounds corny, but I feel lucky to be able to be creative and work consistently on projects that I care about. I get to make noise for a living.

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Mike Levine is an EM senior editor.

SCOTT GERSHIN: SELECTED CREDITS

Films:

Underworld Evolution (Screen Gems, 2006)

Herbie Fully Loaded (Walt Disney Pictures, 2005)

The Chronicles of Riddick (Universal Pictures, 2004)

Team America: World Police (Paramount Pictures, 2004)

Blade II (New Line Cinema, 2002)

Shrek (Dreamworks SKG, 2001)

American Beauty (Dreamworks SKG, 1999)

Godzilla (Tri-Star Pictures, 1998)

Braveheart (Paramount Pictures, 1995)

JFK (Warner Brothers Pictures, 1991)

Games:

Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (Capcom, 2007)

Transformers: The Game (Activision, 2007)

Onimusha Dawn of Dreams (Capcom, 2006)

Need for Speed: Most Wanted (EA Mobile, 2005)

Devil May Cry 2 (Capcom, 2003)

James Bond: Everything or Nothing (Electronic Arts, 2003)

James Bond: Nightfire (Electronic Arts, 2002)

Mechwarrior series (various publishers, 1994-2002)

A full list of credits can be found at www.IMDB.com.