Master Of Animation, Games & Interactivity
Master Of Animation, Games & Interactivity

The theme of this week was ‘SOUND’. We discussed the importance of sound in animation. There are two main types of sounds: diegetic (visible source) and non-diegetic (invisible source). 

For this week I want to work on my project for Studio 1. I want to choose sounds for scenes 1-3, analyse which type of sounds I need in every particular moment.

My work is a surrealistic animation about mystical forest and its inhabitants, my goal is to show relationship between characters and a place, flora and fauna. Sounds should help to define characters, add humour and atmosphere if so highlight the role of the environment. 

For my animation I use:

Diegetic sounds: 

licking a face, dropping an apple, kicking an apple, sounds of steps, grabbing an apple, swallow an apple etc.

Character sounds: 

slimy, sticky, rubbery character - sounds of stretching slime

Non-diegetic sounds:

Sounds of transformation from the one character to another (atmospheric abstract mystical sounds), sounds of the mystical forest (ambient sound effects of the unseen world), putting an apple into a stomach creates an illusion of an apple falling into a deep hole (a metaphoric exaggerated sound)

I’m attaching a video ( https://youtu.be/oMzk80tOzfw ) with the examples of sounds, which I select and search for my animation. As my story is surrealistic non-diegetic, sounds dominate diegetic. I also use exaggeration very frequently to add humour to simple actions, such as licking a face. 

In addition, my weekly premises were:

- A chalk drag squeakily across the blackboard to annoy his sister

- A huge block of stone crash on the ground with a squeaky high-pitched scream, then shake off and walked on 

- Suddenly he heard the crunch of smashed paper and water splashes. He went to the swimming pool and saw how she wrapped something in a hurry and threw them to the water one by one (the example of unseen story)

- There is nobody here. Only sounds of breaking ice pierce his hearing and brings a feeling of estrangement and freedom (atmospheric)

As a preference work I'm introducing a great example of importance of the sound, it is a stop-motion animation 'Distortion' by Guldies. https://youtu.be/tZqIQmdSa1E Abstract clay objects are perceived absolutely differently according of added sound. So the same cubes acquire characteristics of different materials, sometimes its an ice, a glass, other time they are felt like a slime or a plastic. In the moment of falling and cracking of the clay ball the sound is between a wood or breaking chocolate egg. Sound effects inform us about the change in materiality, texture of objects. Without sound this animation would lose its sense. 

About This Work

By Yana Fidan
Email Yana Fidan
Published On: 28/04/2022

academic:

production

mediums:

animation

scopes:

minor work

tags:

Animated Narratives, studio 1