Unit 7

(Sorry this post was supposed to go before but there was an error due to the limitations of video uploading on tumblr so it’s out of order and in a link instead.)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_vEn5UgD9SEiDuw7gruSgIxGY1tap9gQ/view?usp=sharing

(If there’s an error with playing the video, you may need to download it.)

I have been really interested in the character GLaDOS from Portal 2 and the way her voice sounds so intimidating and cold whilst also remaining quite human at the same time (as she did used to be a human).

I wanted for that to be my voice, so at first, I wanted to test out GLaDOS’s voice with the first layout sounds that I had prepared, and I like the qualities of it but my tutor told me that it was a little too disconnected from what the piece was supposed to be about and that I should do one of my poems. I wasn’t sure what to do because even though I think that’s a brilliant idea, I wasn’t sure how I was going to do that, but after a bit of research I came across this software called Melodyne that people had said could distort voices to make them sound just like GLaDOS. I was a bit skeptical however due to the fact that I didn’t want to use my own voice because I hate the sound of it, luckily with this software, I can edit it to the point where it sounds so far removed from my voice that I can actually listen to it without cringing.

(My own voice manipulation in previous video)

I chose to participate in the PPD experience instead of the PPD placement and I collaborated with Nikita from my pathway as well as Mathilda from painting and Monique from MA painting. We set up an exhibition called ‘Netflix and Chill’ at ‘The Flying Dutchman’ in Camberwell. The title of our exhibition is what we came up with first and foremost. We wanted a title that people could instantly recognize, something catchy and appealing to our generation. We also knew that we wanted to create a sense of a chilled out space, so we figured the popular catchphrase of Netflix and Chill would work well.

Managing money throughout this was probably the most challenging and difficult aspects of this process. First of all, we knew we didn’t want to spend too much money because we’re poor and we don’t have any.

When looking at gallery spaces we realised that hiring one out for even a day could cost anywhere from £200-£400 a day and that was just not something we were prepared on paying. Then we came across The Flying Dutchman and we realised that it was a perfect space, it was only £70 a day and it fit with our criteria of it having a chilled out vibe as it was a pub.

Then we needed to figure out how much we were going to charge each artist which was pretty simple enough, but we were down to the wire in how many artists we were going to have, but we figured £12 per artists was a fair and decent amount.

There wasn’t a vigorous process when it came to selecting artists for the exhibition because we ended up needing to take all of them to cover our finances, there may have been one or two that we declined because their work really just didn’t fit, but other than that, we took everyone, luckily we had enough space.

Advertising was an integral part of our process and we used a lot of it so that varying audiences would be exposed to our exhibition.One of the main ways we got the word out was through various posters that we hung up in all the UAL campuses and varying other art related places.

Social media was probably the best way to advertise such as; Facebook and Instagram as you can invite people and also implement new hashtags along with photos that everyone can see, of the spaces and of the artworks.

The issues I personally faced during the PPD experience were communication issues with my teammates, not just in failure to communicate certain things but also not being able to get along all the time. I also found managing the money very stressful as that was what I was in charge of, dealing with the artists money and keeping it safe, but another teammate took some money herself and I never saw it until we demanded it from her, that was tough and it was an ongoing battle for weeks even after the exhibition had ended.

Alien Isolation has some of the creepiest and annoying (in a good way) atmospheric sounds because they can be so loud and they’re everywhere you move which scares the living crap out of you to the point you’re too scared to move. Alien Isolation also does that trick where the closer to danger you are, the louder the music gets and vice-versa, kind of like a hot and cold system.

Eventually I chose that I wanted to use the sound from these video games as I believe them to have the best atmospheric scores, something that I think will incorporate nicely into my use of spoken word poetry. I’ve played these games before but I think it will be useful to play them from the beginning again so that I can obtain the best sounds and know that I didn’t miss any out.

Oddly from what I have found, the best sounds in video games come from the menu screen, I think it creates a sense of anticipation to pump you up before you play the game and I know that I want to use one of the title screen sounds from Portal 2 as there are many throughout the course of the game, it’s like this mechanical operatic sound that’s so wonderfully haunting.

The only place where I belong. Because life outside of these worlds are the worst.

Everywhere I turn, anxiety grips me. People are too unpredictable and so fickle.

Here in these imaginary realms I can know Every character, Every plot-line, Every backstory.

It’s right here where I don’t need to feel so insecure,

She feeds on my anger, My pain Until I have nothing left

I know she loves me But why does she hate parts of me? The parts that make me Who I am.

There are places called ‘Foley Studios’ where sounds for video games and film are organically created. It’s not just about creating sounds for integral moments, it’s creating sounds for nearly everything and anything, from a character’s walk cycle to the sounds of their clothes moving and it’s done in such amazing and unusual ways.

Foley recording is an integral part of any video game and can present quite a few challenges. It’s vital that the sound matches the imagery perfectly in otherwise there will be no making sense of what’s going on around you.

This video of sound design in Pinewood Studios shows and describes Foley recording in gaming, even showing how the sounds were created for one of the games that I own: Alien Isolation.