WOODEN MECHANISM SOUND FX

THE ADAPTABILITY OF MANUAL FX DEVICES

SSI

THE GEAR TRAIN

The Gear Train involves five large cogs and ten small cogs. The handle on the left can be engaged or disengaged from the train, providing two gear ratios. The three "squeak cogs" on the top dowel are rosined and can be individually engaged or disengaged, allowing us to add a range of squeaking when needed.

Like most of our devices, we designed The Gear Train to be a multi-functional sound effects device. This particular device has supplied sounds for cartoon soundscapes, primitive mechanisms, a pirate movie, and industrial factory scenes, to list a few. Because of this adaptability, we find these kinds of devices to be well worth the time it takes to make them. So, what factors make devices like this so flexible?

PROCESSING AND DESIGN TWEAKS

We are building these devices to pair with modern sound design tools and the artistic potential these tools provide. We prototype and record as we build, running process tests and adjusting our design as needed to keep things on the right track. Something as simple as pitch shifting offers quite a bit of range:

RADIATORS / RESONATORS

In some FX devices, a sound-radiating surface or resonating cavity is incorporated into the design to project volume and shape the sound of the device/instrument. These surfaces and cavities are tailored to the device and become defining characteristics of the sound. In the example above, we are mic'ing a styrofoam cooler, not The Gear Train itself. The cooler is functioning as our sound-radiating device, but we have not integrated it into the build. By design, we can couple The Gear Train to a collection of stand-alone radiating/resonating objects (soundboards, soundboxes, drum heads, styrofoam coolers, trash cans, and so on). These surfaces impact the source's sound to a surprising degree. Coupling the device to a styrofoam cooler or wooden platform is preferred for something like a wooden mechanism. However, we can just as easily couple this same device to metal plates, trashcans, or washtubs for metal factory gears. In short, we gain a lot of adaptability by deciding how to pair a particular sound source device with a specific sound-shaping radiator/resonator.

This approach can extend beyond the studio as well. Devices can be taken to the field and coupled to structures, platforms, guy wires, water tanks, and so on. This pairing results in something specific and unique. We brought a collection of props and devices to a drop tower attraction to pair with the ride vehicle while recording in the shaft. By doing this, we were activating the same surfaces that guests hear vibrate when the ride is in motion. The recorded sounds that play through the attraction's audio system are consistent with the sounds that the ride vehicle physically makes, resulting in a convincing sonic vocabulary.

PROPS AND DEVICES FOR ON-SITE DROP TOWER RECORDING

DEVICE ENSEMBLES

Pairing the gear train with other devices provides a further degree of adaptability. 

WOOD MECHANICS SESSION

In most cases, we don't attempt to build devices that are complete sounds by themselves. We instead work to create things that bring a particular characteristic to a broader sonic composite. In a wooden mechanism sound, The Gear Train conveys the notion of an "organized mechanism." At the same time, something like The Wine Barrel Tumbler brings a broader range of wood motion, friction, rolling, and (when pitched) a nice sense of size and resonance:

THE WINE BARREL TUMBLER

We can add something like The Grit Tray for presence and articulation:

THE GRIT TRAY

The resulting sound is an ensemble of custom built devices interacting with various radiating surfaces, playing back at different pitches:

All very specific, adaptable, and flexible.