Sound Design: Comparing the Approaches and Techniques of Contrasting Genres

Charlotte Pollock

BSc (Hons) Music Technology

A project submitted in partial fulfilment of the award of the degree of BSc (Hons) Music Technology from Staffordshire University

Supervised by Marc Estibeiro, May 2021

School of Computing and Digital Technologies

Abstract

This paper provides a study of the relationship between sound design and genre. Key research topics include genre-specific sound design approaches and techniques, the relationship between sound and emotion, and how to practically apply these concepts. With a specific focus on sound design in the action-adventure and horror genres, this study provides a foundation for determining how to promote the intended atmospheres and emotions in an audience.

Using the concepts learned in the research, the soundtracks for two video game clips of contrasting genres have been produced as a demonstration of these concepts. These soundtracks are used to study audience response through a survey. This survey involves questions based on individual experience, such as emotion and tone-based questions.

Results suggest that extremely high or low-pitched tones, sudden dynamic changes and childlike sounds used over horror visuals are effective at promoting fear and anxiety in an audience. On the other hand, the results suggest that the use of a balanced frequency spectrum, consistent dynamics and nature sounds are effective at producing feelings of calm and relaxation.

Introduction

Sound design can be described as the practice of creating sounds for various media, including film and television, video games, radio and theatre. This process involves gathering sounds through audio recording and digitally creating sound effects that cannot be sourced from real-world sounds, using synthesisers.

The recording process within sound design can often be unusual. When capturing the sounds needed for a project, the sound designer will perform the actions of the characters seen on a screen and synchronise them with the picture. One of the most common examples is recording footsteps in sync with the character’s movements. This process is referred to as the art of “Foley”, which was named after the man to whom the practice is credited – Jack Foley, (1891 – 1967). (Viers, 2008).

Foley is only one part of the job, however. Another task that a sound designer may undertake is collecting field recordings. A field recording is the name given to any audio that is captured outside of a recording studio. Some examples include a recording of rain sounds, the general sound from a particular place, or a room tone. Recordings such as these are gathered to create ambiences.

Ambience is all around us, everywhere, at all times. It is also referred to as atmosphere. Put simply, ambience is the collection of sounds within any given space. It can include - but is certainly not limited to – wind, rain, thunder, rustling leaves, wildlife, aircraft, machinery, and the hum of household appliances. The human brain is naturally trained to tune these sounds out in order to focus on the more important sounds, such as someone talking, or a song someone is listening to. (Brandel, 2019). Capturing ambient recordings is imperative to the creation of a realistic sonic environment within audio-visual media. Without it, a scene can feel unnaturally quiet and take the audience out of the story as a result.

Another job of a sound designer is to edit, mix and master the sounds recorded. This process involves adding digital effects to the recordings, such as equalisation (to mould frequency content) and reverberation to produce realistic sounds. This procedure is concerned with manipulating recordings to create the desired sound and enhancing the audio quality as a whole. (Hanes, 2018).

Sound design is an essential, yet often underappreciated practice within the sound and film industries. It plays a crucial part in telling a story and without it, film, television and other various media would be severely lacking in how ideas are presented and how the desired emotions are portrayed to their audiences. When done effectively, the sound design in a piece of media will reinforce the overall tone and atmosphere and create an immersive experience for the audience. (Kench, 2020).

The purpose of this report is to explore the approaches taken to sound design depending on genre. Specifically, the approaches and techniques used will be compared and contrasted in order to investigate how genre affects them. In addition to this report, two soundtracks for two video clips will be produced as an illustration of the concepts explored and evaluated. These clips include footage from the Mojang-Microsoft sandbox game “Minecraft” (PhoenixPlays, 2017) and the Apple inc. IOS horror game “Eyes” (TapGameplay, 2018).

Whilst there are published books, papers and articles discussing sound design and its elements (Ament, 2014; Cross, 2013; Viers, 2008), there is a significant lack of professional writings exploring how genre influences sound design. Therefore, it is important that this research is carried out and this report is produced in order to fill the gap within this field. It is also worth noting that this report may provide individuals within the industry with a better understanding of approaches and techniques that can be undertaken for the sound design of contrasting genres. As a result, this may improve said individuals’ efficiency and skill sets for future projects. Perhaps the techniques used for each soundtrack in this project can be utilised for sound design projects in the future.

Aims & Objectives

The main aim for this project is to produce a comparative report discussing the approaches and techniques applied to sound design within different genres. In order to achieve this aim, it has been broken down into objectives.

To produce this report, relevant research into the chosen topic must be undertaken. This research must be collected from reliable sources to ensure that the text produced is credible and trustworthy. These materials include reputably peer-reviewed articles, books and research papers published by well-established authors (Ament, 2014; Fenske & Hackner, 2017; Filskov, 2007; Viers, 2008).

The secondary aim for this project is to produce the soundtracks for two video game clips to a professional standard, as a way to demonstrate the findings within the report. The objectives for this aim include the recording of Foley, dialogue and ambience; digitally creating sounds effects using synthesis and software plug-ins, and the editing, mixing and mastering of the audio to a professional standard, which will be in stereo 2.0.

Research

When researching this topic, it is somewhat difficult to find sources that specifically compare and contrast sound design of different genres. Although there are many academic papers written about sound design, and even sound design in particular genres, there seems to be a significant lack in academic material specifically comparing and contrasting such genres. Therefore, it was necessary to explore these concepts individually and draw conclusions from the sources as a whole, analysing the key themes and identifying connections in the literature.

A common theme found within the research is the idea that sound design is a tool for enhancing storytelling and making the audience feel the desired emotions within the narrative. A seminar paper by Vesna Dakic describes sound effects as being a tool to “enhance the tension in a film and suggest to the audience how to feel.” (Dakic, 2009). This idea is reinforced by filmmaker Sam Kench, who describes sound design as “a way to enhance the visual storytelling,” and providing “life, authenticity, and dimension” to a story (Kench, 2020).

Another shared trope which was identified in the literature is the concept that sound design must adapt to different styles of media. Kench (2020) discusses how “different films call for different styles of sound design,” and how different genres of film “require a completely different approach when designing their auditory side.” This can also be said for video games – and various media – as well. Referring to the sound design of the 2017 film “It”, sound designer Paul Hackner states that “sound design has to shift focus to create scale and heaviness.” (Godowsky, 2017). In this instance, Hackner is expressing how the sound design for the “It” creature had to be approached differently to other areas of the film to achieve the perfect monster, however this can once again be connected to the concept of sound design having to adapt to certain ideas to achieve the desired outcome.

To further this point, Nick Metcalfe asks the question “is it intended to be comical and light-hearted, or dark and foreboding?” (Metcalfe, 2014). This once again demonstrates an awareness of how sound design must adapt to certain styles. Metcalfe also goes on to discuss how, once the intention of the narrative has been discussed with a director, a sound designer can begin to brainstorm ideas and experiment with different techniques.

With all of these sources in mind, it is clear that there is an awareness of how the approaches to sound design are different depending on the style or genre. They do not, however, go into any great detail about specific approaches and techniques appropriate to contrasting genres. Therefore, the question as to how this is achieved is appropriate. This will be explored in greater detail within this paper.

A recurring theory within the research is the concept that extremely high-pitched and extremely low-pitched sounds produce fear. In an academic study lead by Professor Daniel Blumstein, he proposes that sounds found in the higher end of the frequency spectrum awaken our primal fears by mimicking the sounds of animals in distress. To our distant ancestors, this could signal the presence of a potential predator. (Blumstein, 2012). In another study by Blumstein in which he studied the sounds of distressed animals, he proposed that “non-linear” sounds (sounds with sudden changes in pitch and volume), cause fear in humans because “upshifts would naturally be associated with a sudden increase in vocal cord tension; something that might happen when a mammal is suddenly scared.” In summary, high-pitched sounds are similar to that of scared creatures, which signals danger to us. (Blumstein, 2010).

This idea is reinforced by a report posted to the Journal of Neuroscience, where a study was carried out to find what the most unpleasant sounds to the human ear are. The results showed that the most “disagreeable sounds” were found in the frequency range of 2,000 Hz to 5,000 Hz. (Nordqvist, 2012). Doctor Kumar, the leading researcher of this study, explains how “this is the frequency range where our ears are most sensitive,” and that this range includes “the sounds of screams, which we find intrinsically unpleasant.” (Kumar, 2012). The sounds of screams are naturally associated with distress or danger, which once again links to the idea of such sounds awakening our primal instincts.

Referring to a video by YouTube.com user “Sideways”, he proposes that humans are “biologically hardwired” to recognise very low-pitched sounds as threatening because of the associations with the sounds of predators. Such predators like big cats and wild dogs produce low roars and growls, so we instinctually associate these frequencies with danger. (Sideways, 2016). Following on from that, another YouTube user known as “12tone” explores the idea that the midrange is where the human voice typically sits, so extreme high and low vocalisations create feelings of uneasiness because they are not natural, human sounds. (12tone, 2016).

Another interesting point made in this video is the idea of “cognitive dissonance” (first proposed by Leon Festinger in 1957). “Sideways” explains that by using sounds associated with “innocence” and “comfort” alongside scary visuals creates discomfort because of the conflicting concepts. The audience are seeing something frightening, but are hearing what they associate with safety, therefore uneasiness occurs as they experience the juxtaposition. This is why it is common for films and video games in the horror genre to include childlike sounds such as children laughing, music boxes, and lullabies. (Sideways, 2016). This idea is reinforced by an online article discussing how to create effective horror soundscapes. The author proposes that “vocalizations … (especially children’s voices)” are a key to creating “ghostly sounds and ambiences.” (Andersen, 2015).

In contrast to using sound to create fear, in games such as “Minecraft”, it is used to create a light-hearted, relaxed environment. According to Doctor Robert Harley, nature sounds (wind, flowing water, birdsong, and so on), relax us because of their consistency in pitch and volume. This, in turn, helps reduce the fight-or-flight response (proposed by Walter Bradford Cannon in 1915), as the brain recognises these sounds as “non-threatening.” Therefore, they help us to unwind and relax. (CEENTA, 2018). This is why the natural soundscapes used in “Minecraft” create such a laidback gameplay. Their consistent pitch and volumes, as well as their familiarity, create a non-threatening game environment.

In a video discussing the effects of white noise and ocean wave sounds, psychoacoustics researcher Peter Brandstätt proposes that these such sounds help us to relax because they do not carry any important information, so “our brains infer they don’t need to do anything and tune the noise out or register it subliminally.” Due to the “non-threatening” nature of these sounds, “we can just relax”. (Deutsche Welle, 2019).

This concept is supported by an academic study on the effects of natural verses artificial sounds on the brain, the results of which suggest that artificial sounds are “significantly more distracting” than “naturalistic familiar sounds.” The results of this study showed that, when listening to the naturalistic sounds, subjects’ heart rate and breathing rate decreased, whereas the artificial sounds seemed to increase these bodily functions, suggesting that naturalistic sounds are generally more relaxing. (Gould van Praag, 2017).

This study also had participants rate their subjective experience when listening to a set of different soundscapes, which were made up of artificial and naturalistic sounds. The “naturalistic familiar sounds rated as more pleasant than both the artificial familiar … and the no-soundscape control condition.” (Gould van Praag, 2017). This also reinforces the idea proposed by Brandstätt that the sounds of waves at a beach are familiar and therefore have “positive associations”.

Sound consultant Julian Treasure confirms that natural sounds relax us in his TED conference. In this talk, he uses birdsong as an example, explaining that “most people find it reassuring.” He explains that this is due to an evolutionary instinct that has been developed “over hundreds of thousands of years,” that allows humans to recognise “that when the birds are singing, things are safe.” This suggests that nature sounds, birdsong in particular, is associated with safety, which is why they are relaxing to us. Treasure also makes the point that when the birds stop singing “you need to be worried.” Here he is referring to the presence of predators in the wild; when birds, and many other creatures, sense a predator they go quiet in order to hide from them. (Treasure, 2009).

In terms of dynamics, it is understood that consistency creates a laid-back sound environment because there are no sudden volume changes to startle an audience. In contrast to this, abrupt changes in volume cause a startle response, or “jump-scare” as they are often referred to in the horror genre. An academic paper exploring the use of sound design to produce fear in video games showed a “large difference in anxiety due to the volume of sound effects between low volume sound and medium volume sound, as well as between low volume sound and high-volume sound.” The data from this study showed a large increase in fear responses to sound effects which were significantly louder than the rest of the sounds in a game. “This implies to game designers that the louder they create a sound effect, relative to other sounds, the more effective it is at promoting fear in a player.” (Toprac et. al., 2010).

In non-horror genres, the sounds used are often from everyday life, including footsteps, interactions with everyday objects, ambiences like rain and wind, and so on. These sounds are used to create a realistic auditory experience, and due to their familiarity, do not pose as threatening or anxiety-inducing. On the other hand, the sound design within a horror game is focussed more on creating unrealistic and unnatural sounds to scare the audience. Sound designer Asbjoern Andersen discusses the use of time stretching, reversing, pitch shifting, and adding long reverbs and delays to create “ghostly sound effects and ambiences” with an “other-worldly touch”. He goes on to say that “sounds that can’t be directly classified, like reversed, stretched sonic events and very high or very deeply pitched sounds” are the key to creating unsettling soundscapes. (Andersen, 2015).

This could play a part in the “fear of the unknown”; a phenomenon found in all humans and most cognitive creatures. We fear what we do not understand as a primal instinct because the unknown could pose a potential danger. (Carleton, 2016).

To further this point, in a book titled “The Sound Effects Bible”, the author talks about how pitching a sound “insanely low” creates sounds that are clearly unnatural and therefore creepy, or “unearthly”, as he puts it. Here, he says that pitch-shifting for horror effects can be used in extreme ways, “say -50 semitones”, to achieve classic horror sounds, but “for real world sounds, pitch shifting should be used in moderation.” (Viers, 2008). This implies that the horror genre is heavily based in non-reality, therefore very unnatural sounding effects can be used to scare an audience, whereas genres that are based more in the real world require natural sounding effects to maintain realism.

Distortion is also commonly found in the horror genre. In an academic paper exploring distortion within horror, Nils Ryborg and Carolin Svensson explore how “distortion can be used to create a feeling of eeriness and fear in humans in video games.” In this paper, the researchers propose that “proper use of distortion, or non-linearities” can be used to “draw more attention to certain sounds” in a video game, whilst also linking this to the idea that these ‘non-linearities’ “appear to be used to communicate terror” within nature. (Ryborg & Svensson, 2014). This can also be linked to Blumstein’s study on non-linear sounds in distressed animals, where he discusses how these sounds put us on edge due to their associations with danger.

In another video by “12tone” discussing the use of distortion for horror, he proposes that this effect induces negative feelings because it generally does not occur naturally – it is a “triumph of modern technology” – therefore, it puts an audience on edge because “deep down in our subconscious, we know the things we’re hearing shouldn’t actually exist.” (12tone, 2018).

Industry Research

For additional research, Emmy-nominated Foley artist Stefan Fraticelli of “Oddio Studio” was contacted via the social media platform Instagram. (See Figure 3). Two questions were sent to Fraticelli as research for this paper:

1. Do you believe the approaches to sound design differ depending on the genre of the product you’re working on?

2. How do the approaches to sound design differ, specifically in the horror genre, compared to other genres?

For the first question, Fraticelli described how “as the content is very different” between genres, “the needed sounds are very different as well.” This shows an awareness that sound design does differ depending on genre due to the sounds between genres being different from each other. Fraticelli goes on to give examples of how sound design is different between genres by explaining how the sounds “in dramas” are generally intended “to be as realistic as possible, whereas in comedy or horror there is more freedom to make the sounds larger than life or over the top.”

This supports the theory that sound design within the horror genre is largely based in non-reality, where digital effects are used to heavily manipulate sounds to a point where they cannot be replicated in the real world, whereas sound design in other genres is often based within reality. Sources such as Andersen (2015) and Viers (2008), which have previously been mentioned explore this idea, describing sound within the horror genre as “other-worldly” and “unearthly.” They discuss the use of effects such as time stretching, reversing, reverberation, delays, and pitch shifting to create these unnatural sounds, with Viers proposing that pitch shifting can be used to pitch sounds “insanely low”, whereas “for real-world sounds, pitch shifting should be used in moderation.” (Andersen, 2015; Viers, 2008).

When answering the second question, Fraticelli discusses how Foley practices differ based on product genre. He says horror-based Foley often “can’t be created using the exact props in the scenes” as many elements need “to be built creatively rather than literally.” The example he gives is a character’s finger “being bitten off” in a scene. Obviously, this cannot be done in order to capture the sound, so other items have to be used, such as “hard pasta, celery” and “BBQ chicken, etc. to make organic sounding scary gory elements.” This once again supports the theory that the horror genre, as well as other genres such as science fiction and comedy, feature sounds that are unnatural and unrealistic, whereas other genres require more realism for the approaches to sound design.

Listening Analyses

Minecraft

When analysing the sound design of Mojang’s “Minecraft”, there are various themes that are used to create what is commonly described as a “relaxing” game environment (Fulton, 2019).

The first point is the minimalism of the sound design. The game heavily relies on soundscapes and music to create the laidback environment it is known for. The ambiences mostly consist of nature sounds such as wild animals (birds, cows, sheep and pigs), rivers and streams, crackling fires and rain. These sounds not only create realism, but also serve as a way to calm the audience due to their familiarity and consistent pitch that is said to be perceived as non-threatening sound (CEENTA, 2018).

Additionally, all sounds are relatively quiet and consistent in volume and pitch. There are no extreme highs or lows like in a horror game, as most sounds are made up of midrange frequencies. There are also no sudden sounds intended to cause jump scares. Referring back to “12tone” (2016), he discusses how “the midrange is where the human voice typically sits”. One particular source also supports this statement, explaining that “the human voice spans a range from about 125Hz to 8kHz”, with the average fundamental frequency of a male voice being 125Hz and 200Hz for a female voice (Russell, 2020). With this in mind, a conclusion that can be made is that the midrange frequencies of “Minecraft” give the calming effect because we perceive them as non-threatening.

Another point that can be made about the sound design in this game is that the vast majority of sounds are sourced from real-life sounds and maintain their realism even after the editing and mixing process, whereas horror sounds are often heavily processed to sound unrealistic. Previously mentioned in the article written by Asbjoern Anderson, sounds that “can’t be directly recognised or classified” are unsettling to the audience. Therefore, the opposite can be applied here – sounds that are familiar to the audience create a relaxed atmosphere.

Five Night’s at Freddy’s

An interesting horror game in terms of sound design is Scott Cawthon’s “Five Night’s at Freddy’s” (Cawthon, 2014). Upon analysing the sound design within this game, it is clear that the game relies heavily on ambience to create an eery gameplay. The game consists of many low-pitched tones and noises such as the hum of electrical appliances (generators, electrical fans and lightbulbs), low drones, wind and distant voices. This can be linked to the theory that low-pitched sounds produce discomfort in the audience because of the primal instinct that low frequencies imply potential danger.

Another interesting point about the sound design of this game is the use of sounds associated with childlike innocence, both in the soundscape and for the characters themselves. Many characters’ vocalisations include childlike giggling, and a music box plays just before the player is about to die in the game. The use of these sounds creates the previously discussed ‘cognitive dissonance’ as the audience is seeing creepy visuals but is hearing sounds related to innocence and safety at the same time. Therefore, the conflicting concepts create confusion and unease in the audience.

The random, distant sounds of metallic banging and ringing, low-pitched and high-pitched noises within the soundscape is a particularly clever device as their positions in the sound field create the idea of them coming from unidentified sources and places. They are very quiet in terms of dynamics and are panned off-centre to give this effect. The use of this device may cause the audience to feel anxious because they cannot identify the sound sources or where the sounds are, which means they could be a potential threat.

Finally, the sound design in this game is generally simplistic and has quiet dynamics. That is, until one of the characters of the game attacks, then the sound used is sudden and loud. The use of simple sound design and quiet dynamics up until this point means the jump scare fully pays off in terms of catching the audience by surprise and scaring them.

In conclusion, the sound design of “Five Nights at Freddy’s” makes great use of what is perceived as silence but is actually full of ambiences containing subtle frequency changes and noises that subconsciously cause anxiety and fear. This perceived silence also plays a big part in the payoff of a jump scare.

Critical Appraisal

Many research sources used for this thesis can be described as reliable sources. These include the books “The Foley Grail” (Ament, 2014) and “The Sound Effects Bible” (Viers, 2008), as these are written by experts in the sound design field and would have undergone quality checks during their production. These kinds of sources are also peer-reviewed by various other experts to ensure credibility.

Academic papers and journals were also used to conduct the research. This includes, but is not limited to, “Causing Fear, Suspense, and Anxiety Using Sound Design in Computer Games” (Toprac, 2010), “Sound Design for Film and Television” (Dakic, 2009), “Distortion in Horror: A Look at Alternative Ways of Creating Fear” (Ryborg & Svensson, 2014), and two studies on the sounds of distressed animals (Blumstein, 2010 & 2012). All of these papers and journals are written by experts in their field, so the credibility of their research is undeniable. The journal articles are published to reputable scientific journals, such as “The Royal Society” (est. London, 1660), which is the United Kingdom’s official national academy of sciences, and “Scientific Reports” (Nature Publishing Group, 2011), which is an online journal of the natural sciences that is peer-reviewed, and quality checked by specialists in the field.

The theory that natural sounds are relaxing to humans due to their consistency in volume and pitch was written by Doctor Robert Harley, MD and posted to the “Charlotte Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Associates” (CEENTA) website (CEENTA, 2018). This theory is also backed up by various other sources, such as the paper by Cassandra Gould van Praag (and others) accounting a study on the effects of natural versus artificial sounds on the brain (Gould van Praag, 2017). Psychoacoustics researcher Peter Brandstätt also discusses a similar concept in the video titled “Why the Sound of Waves is so Relaxing” (Deutsche Welle, 2019), and sound consultant Julian Treasure discusses this concept in his 2009 TED conference (Treasure, 2009). Therefore, due to this theory being proposed by qualified experts, these sources can be deemed as reliable.

The online article titled “What is Sound Design for Film?” by Sam Kench is also a reliable source as the author is an internationally awarded screenwriter and independent filmmaker (StudioBinder, 2020), so it is clear he has the required knowledge and skill to write a credible article about sound in the film industry. Additionally, the website it was published on ensures that all articles are peer reviewed before publication to ensure reliability.

The article accounting an interview with the sound designers of “IT” (2017) is a credible source. It was published on iZotope.com; an award-winning audio software company, and the interviewees, Kris Fenske and Paul Hackner, are award-winning sound designers whose works include highly successful films such as “Fast & Furious 6” (Lin, 2013), “The Hunger Games” (Ross, 2012), and “The Revenant” (Iñárritu, 2015).

Method

Once the research was gathered for this project, a plan was put into place as to how this thesis would be conducted.

The horror soundtrack for this project, “Eyes”, will include the use of low-pitched and high-pitched sounds in order to scare the audience due to the associations with danger and contributions to cognitive dissonance, as informed by the research (12tone, 2016; Sideways, 2016). The listening analysis conducted on survival-horror game “Five Nights at Freddy’s” clearly demonstrates that the use of noises in the low-end of the frequency spectrum is essential in creating an effective auditory experience in the horror game genre.

Another concept that will be utilised for the creation of the horror soundtrack will be the use of sounds associated with childlike innocence. These include children’s laughter, singing and music boxes to create an eerie sound environment through the theory of cognitive dissonance, which was discussed in the research sources (Festinger, 1957; Sideways, 2016).

The idea that unnatural sounds create fear is something that will be experimented with for this soundtrack. Audio effects such as time-stretching, reversing, pitch shifting, and distortion will be used on recordings to create the unrecognisable and unearthly sounds associated with the horror genre. As informed by the research, the more unrecognisable a sound source is, the more fear it has the potential to create due to the subconscious associations with danger (12tone, 2018; Anderson, 2015; Viers, 2008).

In terms of approaching more realistic sound design, the soundtrack for Minecraft will be approached with more natural sounds. Recordings will not be heavily processed like in the horror genre. Instead, more natural effects like subtle equalisation and reverberation will be used to create a realistic auditory environment. As discussed in The Sound Effects Bible, creating real-world sounds requires pitch shifting used in moderation to maintain the natural sound (Viers, 2008).

In addition to this, natural soundscapes will be used. They will be gathered using a Zoom H6 handheld recorder (Zoom Corporation, 2013) and will include sounds such as birdsong, rivers and streams, wind, rain and wild animal sounds. In the research section, it was found that natural sounds are calming due to their familiarity and consistency in pitch (CEENTA, 2018), and this is exactly the kind of soundscape that would like to be achieved in this project. In contrast to this, the ambiences in the horror soundtrack will be darker and more unnatural to create an unsettling soundscape. This will be achieved through heavy processing of recordings, using time-stretching, pitch shifting and reversing.

The dynamics in the non-horror soundtrack will be kept rather consistent, meaning there will not be any sudden sounds that could cause a jump scare like in the horror soundtrack. Referring back to linear and non-linear sounds, it is appropriate to use sounds of consistent volume and pitch to maintain a relaxing auditory environment in the Minecraft clip, whereas the opposite of this should be utilised in the Eyes clip to keep the audience on edge and to startle them where appropriate (Blumstein, 2010).

In order to analyse the success of these soundtracks, a survey will be conducted. This survey will be created using Google Forms and will include questions based on emotion and atmosphere to assess if the soundtracks evoked the desired emotional responses and tones. This survey will be posted on various social media platforms, such as Facebook (Zuckerberg, 2004), Twitter (Dorsey, et. al. 2006) and LinkedIn (Hoffman, 2002) for people to participate in.

Results

Eyes Soundtrack

The first part of the horror soundtrack that was undertaken was the ambience. Creating the soundscape first allows for an easy workflow, as this sets out a basic foundation to build upon during the sound design process.

As informed by the research, sounds that are not natural or “other-worldly” are the key to creating a horror atmosphere. This can be achieved by heavily manipulating sounds, using time stretching, pitch shifting, and long reverbs and delays. (Andersen, 2015; Viers, 2008). With this in mind, the atmospheres in this soundtrack were creating by first recording everyday sounds with a Zoom H6 recorder (such as household appliances and outdoor field recordings), then loading them into digital audio editor Audacity (The Audacity Team, 2000). Using Audacity, these recordings were heavily time stretched and equalised to create highly atmospheric ambiences.

These ambiences were then pitch shifted very low using Logic Pro X to give them an “unearthly” touch, which is discussed within the Sound Effects Bible (Viers, 2008). In addition, this was done with the theory in mind that low-pitched sounds cause uneasiness within humans due to the instinctual associations with predators. (Sideways, 2016). Finally, they were given very large and long reverberation times, which Andersen (2015) describes as a technique to give sounds an “other-worldly touch”.

A similar concept was used for the sounds that occur during the creature’s point of view within the video clip. The idea behind this was that there should be different ambiences for the parts of the game where the creature’s point of view is shown, to emphasise the difference in the characters’ perspectives. The player is someone who is trapped in a house haunted by an evil entity, so they are lost and afraid. This is why the ambiences used are there to evoke feelings of anxiety and put the audience on edge. The entity in the house is an evil character who is there to scare the player, so the sounds used for the creature’s perspective have the role of emphasising the power and supernaturalness of this character.

The sounds used for the creature were very unnatural, making use of Logic Pro’s synthesiser plug-ins under the “soundscape” category. These plug-ins included “Ambient Modwheel” and “Dark Percussive Layers”, both of which were programmed using the low octaves of the keyboard, as well as being strongly reverberated and delayed.

These various layers of ambience create within the soundscape an overall unsettling feeling. The combination of unnatural sounds along with low frequencies, and long reverbs and delays work together to create an eeriness and creepy atmosphere which keeps the audience on edge throughout the video clip.

This soundtrack also makes use of children’s lullabies, such as “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary” and “Ring a Ring o’ Roses.” These were used to create cognitive dissonance in the audience. The use of sounds associated with innocence over the unsettling visuals creates uneasiness due to the conflicting concepts. (Sideways, 2016).

A large amount of reverberation and delay was used on these recordings to give them a classic horror sound. This choice was influenced by an online article discussing how to create a “spooky Halloween voice.” In this article, the author discusses how the use of reverb is “essential” for horror ambience, so putting your vocal into a space is key to achieving a great horror effect. He also describes the use of delay as “confusing the sonic image”, which is scary because it “breeds uncertainty” in the audience by making them question where the voices are coming from. (Messitte, 2017). These concepts were applied to the recordings of the lullabies, as well as pitch shifted to add extra scariness to create ominous vocals.

“Jump scares” are also used in this soundtrack during the parts of the video where the creature gets closer and at the end, attacks the player. These jump scares are achieved through a number of techniques. The first is through the use of dynamics. The dynamics used for the jump scares are suddenly loud, compared to the dynamics moments before the event which are quieter. This was influenced by the academic paper discussing how to create fear in video games, in which the researchers conducting the study found that there was an increased fear response in the participants between low volumes and suddenly high volumes. (Toprac et. al., 2010). The moment before the first jump scare includes a sparse and quiet soundscape, with only the ambience, some rattling sounds and a building heartbeat present, but when the jump scare happens there are suddenly various vocal tracks and television static which are loud in volume, and the sounds that were already present get louder using automation.

The second way in which this effect is achieved is through non-linear pitch. When the creature attacks at the end of the video, there is a high-pitched violin stinger and a female scream. The frequency content of the sound beforehand is made up of low and midrange frequencies, so the sudden upshift in frequency gives an effect which is startling. Professor Blumstein’s 2010 study inspired this technique because, through his study, he proposed that non-linear sounds cause fear because upshifts in frequencies are naturally associated with the sounds of scared creatures. (Blumstein, 2010). The suddenly high-pitched stinger causes shock as the fight-or-flight response kicks in due to the instinctual awareness of danger with high pitches.

The scream was added as this would naturally occur in the event of an attack. The use of the scream is also a way of invoking fear as these sounds are the sounds of distress, which makes the human fight-or-flight response kick in. Screams were found to be one of the most “disagreeable sounds” to the human ear in a study by neuroscientist Doctor Kumar, who described them as sounds “we find intrinsically unpleasant.” (Kumar, 2012).

Distortion was added to various sounds in this project to give them a classic horror sound. The use of distortion is very common in horror soundtracks, as it gives the sounds an unnatural feel, which innately scares us. The academic paper discussing distortion within the horror genre was influential on the choice to use it within this project, as it concluded that distortion creates non-linearities which naturally cause fear. (Ryborg & Svensson, 2014). Blumstein’s research on non-linearities, as well as the video by YouTube.com user “12tone” discussing distortion in horror, also emphasised the importance of using distortion for this soundtrack, as it can be used to awaken our primal fears and fear of the unnatural. (Blumstein, 2010; 12tone, 2018).

To sum up, the fundamental reason behind why these techniques were used for this soundtrack was to create a soundscape that scares the audience. If an audience’s reaction to a piece of horror media is that of anxiety and fear, then the sound design was successful, and the overall goal was achieved.

Minecraft Soundtrack

The sounds used within the Minecraft soundtrack consist of various nature sounds, including rain, wind, thunder and birdsong. The intended purpose of the soundtrack is not only to make the video realistic, but also to create a relaxing sound environment. According to the research (CEENTA, 2018; Gould van Praag, 2017; Treasure, 2009), nature sounds relax us by slowing heart rate and breathing rate, as well as having connotations of safety which further calms us. For these reasons, many nature recordings are used throughout the soundtrack.

The wind and rain sounds are present all the way through the video. Equalisation has been used on these tracks, making use of a low-pass filter when the character is indoors. This was done to mimic the behaviour of real-world sound in which high frequencies are lost over a distance, or when there are barriers blocking these frequencies. In this case, the walls of the room are the barriers. Within the game, the walls of the character’s home are made of thick stone. In the real world, the thicker a substance is, the harder it is for sound waves to pass through it; therefore, the thick stone walls would absorb (and reflect) a lot of the high frequencies of the rain and wind sounds because of their short wavelengths, whereas more low frequency waves would pass through because of their longer wavelengths.

The bird sounds are present when the character is outside, as they walk through the forest. This was done to make the forest scenes mor realistic, as well as creating the comforting effect that Treasure discusses in his TED Talk about how humans have evolved to associate the sounds of birds with safety. (Treasure, 2009).

The combination of these sounds creates an overall realistic sound environment, as well as a laid-back and relaxing soundscape.

When using effects such as pitch shifting, the settings were used sparingly. This was done to maintain realism within the piece, as the video game is based within the real world. As informed by the research, effects should not be used too heavily when creating real-world sounds so that they still sound realistic, even after editing. (Viers, 2008). Some of these include the sounds of footsteps and closing doors, which have been de-tuned by only about two to four semitones at maximum. In addition, reverberation has been used in a more natural way, with parameters such as reverb size, decay time and reflections being set moderately in order to create reverberations found in the real world, rather than setting them very high to create unnatural reverbs found in horror genres.

Another technique used to create a relaxing sound environment was maintaining consistency (in both pitch and volume). According to Harley, MD (CEENTA, 2018) and Brandstätt (Deutsche Welle, 2019), the consistency in pitch and volume of natural sounds is relaxing to us, as these sounds reduce the fight-or-flight response. In addition to this, the study by Toprac (et. al.) found that participants were startled by sudden changes in dynamics between quieter sounds and louder sounds, so the dynamics within this soundtrack were kept consistent, with volume changes gradually rising or falling, and only by several decibels at most.

Finally, the frequency content of this soundtrack was kept rather consistent. In horror genres, it is common to have extreme high and low frequencies, which often change suddenly to create a startle response and eeriness. In contrast to this, the frequencies used in this soundtrack are quite balanced across the frequency spectrum, rather than just heavy high and low frequency content. This was done to reflect the concepts discussed above, in which consistent pitch is perceived as non-threatening by our brains and therefore is comforting to us.

In summary, the overall purpose of this soundtrack is to be realistic and relaxing. If the audience’s reactions to this soundtrack include positive feelings and relaxation, then the soundtrack was successful in achieving its goal.

Survey Results

To analyse the success of the finished products, a survey was created and sent out to the general public. In this survey, participants were asked to watch both video clips and answer questions based on their experiences. This included a range of questions on the kinds of emotions each clip made them feel, the overall atmosphere of each video and if they believed the sounds used suited the aesthetic of the videos. A total of 37 people participated in this survey.

Such questions were asked in order to investigate how successful the sounds used in each piece were at provoking the intended emotions and atmospheres. This information can also be used to examine the techniques and concepts explored in the research.

Overall, the results seem to suggest that both soundtracks were generally successful at providing high quality sound design and provoking the intended emotions in the audience.

With regard to the Minecraft video, which was intended to be laid-back and relaxing, 50% or above of the participants agreed that the video was relaxing, had a laid-back atmosphere, and made them feel at ease. (See Figures 4, 5 & 6).

Over half of them also chose the “disagree” or “strongly disagree” options when asked if this video made them feel anxious, scared or on edge. (See Figures 7, 8 & 9).

With regard to the horror video, which was intended to be unsettling and scary, 50% or above of the participants agreed that the video was scary, had an unsettling atmosphere, and made them feel anxious. (See Figures 10, 11 & 12).

More than half of them chose “disagree” or “strongly disagree” when asked if this video made them feel relaxed, happy and laid-back. (See Figures 13, 14 & 15).

Finally, 88.9% of the participants agreed or strongly agreed that the sounds used in the Minecraft clip suited the aesthetic of the video, whilst 91.7% agreed or strongly agreed that the sounds in the horror clip suited the aesthetic of that video. These results suggest that the sound design for both pieces was done to a high quality, with only room for a few improvements. Overall, it seems the sound design was a success. (See Figures 16 & 17).

Conclusion

When reflecting on the success of this project, it is clear that the aims and objectives were achieved.

The first aim was to produce a report exploring the differences between sound design approaches and techniques depending on genre. To do this, the objective was to carry out relevant research in this field.

This aim was successfully achieved as detailed, scientific research was gathered to produce this report and much was learned throughout the process. The research allowed genre-based sound design concepts to be compared and contrasted, and it is believed that this report has filled a gap within this field as a result. As previously mentioned, there was a significant lack of academic work in this area, so the existence of this study presents new information on the chosen topic.

The secondary aim was to produce the soundtracks to two video game clips of different genres. One of these was a horror game called Eyes, and the other was a clip from the sandbox game Minecraft.

This aim was broken down into three objectives. The first was to record Foley, dialogue and ambience to a high standard using professional microphones and studio environments. This objective was achieved as fully planned out studio sessions took place in the first few weeks of project preparation in order to begin the mixing stage. All recordings were completed fairly quickly, giving lots of time to mix the tracks as well as focus on the report writing.

The second objective was to digitally create sound effects that could not be created through Foley recording. Some of these included the sound of the player collecting the eyes and the sounds the creature made in the Eyes video, the explosions and the video game experience sounds in the Minecraft clip.

The final objective was to edit, mix and master the soundtracks to an industry standard, in stereo. This was done successfully as both have sounds that suit the visuals, clear audio, and the mastering was done to -16 LUFS as this is the norm for gaming content (Owsinski, 2019).

Evaluation

Throughout this project, time management was very strong. The Gantt chart, which was created at the beginning of this project, assisted with prioritising tasks and keeping on track within the limited time frame. (See Figure 2).

The first objective for this project, which was to record Foley, dialogue and ambience for both soundtracks, was completed rather swiftly. This was down to spending a significant amount of time in the studios and using that time responsibly. Recording sessions were very organised, as a plan was created prior to each session that included a list of sounds that needed to be recorded that day.

The editing, mixing and mastering stages of both soundtracks were also done within a good amount of time. This was once again down to good time management and organisation.

Overall, the soundtracks were produced to a good standard, with mixing and mastering done to a professional quality. This is supported by the results of the questionnaire, in which 88.9% of the participants stated that the sounds used in the Minecraft clip suit the style of video, and 91.7% of them said the same about the horror video clip. (See Figure 16 & 17)

The results of the questionnaire suggest that both soundtracks mostly achieved their overall goals of producing the intended emotions. In terms of the Minecraft video, which included sounds intended to create a laid-back atmosphere and feelings of relaxation, the majority of the participants agreed that the soundtrack made them feel relaxed, at ease, and has a laid-back atmosphere. In terms of the horror video, which included sounds to create a tense atmosphere and feelings of fear, the majority of the participants agreed that the soundtrack made them feel scared, anxious and had an unsettling atmosphere. (See Figures 4 to 15).

Another strength is the quality of the research conducted, as it was done in large detail, using credible, peer reviewed sources, and as a result, a detailed report was produced. Much knowledge was gained from producing this report and this knowledge will be extremely useful for future projects.

Finally, a professional website was produced to display the work produced in this project, as well as past portfolio work for potential employers or collaborators to find. The website is clear and organised, featuring a short biography page, contact page and CV.

Gathering research for this paper posed difficult at first because of the highly specific nature of the principal aims. This was a problem because the first attempt at research was done by searching for sources that specifically compared sound design approaches to genre. There are very few texts that actually addressed this specific area. Therefore, the problem was solved by researching sound design approaches and techniques more broadly and separately from each other, then drawing conclusions from them as a whole.

In summary, the results of the survey suggest that the sound design for both clips was mostly successful at achieving the intended purpose, but with some room for improvements.

One aspect that could be improved is the use of sounds with positive connotations. In the question about whether the sounds used for Minecraft provoked happiness or not, there was a high quantity of people who answered with “neutral” (38.9%). (See Figure 18). It would have been preferred to have a smaller percentage of people choose this option, and more with the options “agree” or “strongly agree”.

To improve this, further research should be conducted on sounds with positive connotations and then this should be applied to the sound design to provoke more positive reactions in the audience.

Unfortunately, the sample size for the survey was rather small, with only 36 people participating in it. This means that there are not enough responses in order to conclude anything significant about the project from the results. A possible way to improve this and increase sample size could have been to offer an incentive for taking part in the survey, such as a prize draw.

Another useful way of getting survey participants would have been to promote it on campus, either through flyers or word-of-mouth. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions, this was not possible.

Although the sample size was significantly small, it is believed that the results themselves are reliable, as the questions were answered immediately after watching each clip, so the answers were fresh in each participant’s mind. Additionally, the Likert Scale was used for every question, which is a powerful and appropriate format for sharing the intensity of emotion in terms of response to something (in this case, the two videos). This is perhaps one of the best question-and-response formats there is for this particular project, as the main purpose is to explore how different sounds influence emotions. (McLeod, 2019).

If this project was to be re-done, something that would be done differently is the way research was gathered. As previously discussed, sources would be gathered and conclusions would be drawn from them as a whole in order to compare and contrast concepts, rather than looking for extremely specific sources. This would mean that the research would have been carried out much more efficiently, saving valuable project time.

Further study into this topic would involve assessing the unexpected results that occurred during the survey. The unexpected results for the Minecraft clip include: six participants agreeing that the Minecraft clip made them anxious, one agreeing it made them feel scared, and nine agreeing it had an unsettling atmosphere. (See Figures 19, 20 & 21).

The unexpected results for the horror clip include: one participant strongly agreeing the video made them happy, one agreeing it had a laid-back atmosphere, and one strongly disagreeing that the atmosphere was unsettling. (See Figures 22, 23 & 24).

Whilst these results did not significantly affect the overall results and conclusions, it would still be beneficial to assess them in order to gain an understanding as to why they occurred. This would potentially serve as a way of improving the results of this project and enhancing personal skills in the sound design field.

During this project, much was learned about how different types of sounds affect human emotion. It is now known that different sounds have certain associations in our minds, which can often be traced back to distant ancestors and evolution, and that these associations cause different emotional responses in the name of self-preservation.

These newly learned concepts will be applied to future projects, which will greatly benefit the quality of the products produced. The psychology behind sound also provides a better understanding of how to apply certain sounds to a project and how to achieve the intended audience reaction.

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