WRANGLING CACOPHONY

CONCEPT SKETCH FOR WHIMSICAL FACTORY  

Ben Herrington

Sonically speaking, some immersive experiences have the potential for descending into absolute chaos: dozens (sometimes hundreds) of unique sound sources, rapidly changing show environments, variable timelines, tricky acoustic spaces, an extremely high concentration of content, and overwhelmed riders.  These are just a few of the challenges to consider.

Early sound concept sketches for these projects work to establish the mood and tone of the soundscape, and they also allow teams to evaluate sonic density and pacing. They help teams to explore and assess the role sound will play in their experience, and they raise strategies for ensuring that key audio objectives can be met without becoming cacophony.

CARTOON ACCENT SOUND FX

The concept sketch in the video below is an example. It represents a factory scene soundscape in an attraction styled as a whimsical cartoon. The scene involved dozens of unique sound sources, specific story beats, and complex show action set pieces that sound had to support.

90% of the sounds in the soundscape sketch are performed physical devices and instruments we pulled off our shelves.

SSI MANUAL FX STOREROOM

We selected each device to occupy its unique slot within a densely packed frequency spectrum, working each sound into its own space.

SSI "HACKSAW KALIMBA ON CRANK"

SSI "PVC ENGINE"

ACTUATOR WITH RESONATOR

By organizing everything into a jaunty little rhythm, we could add a bit of order to the chaos and develop fun cause-and-effect relationships:

The sketch prompted the project composer to ask us to develop additional tonal elements for the scene — which led to the development of The Powered Pan Pipe:

SSI "POWERED PANPIPE"

Although the sketches themselves don't typically find their way into the final product, they provide a critical framework that informs the entire project duration.  They mark the beginning of a cohesive sonic vocabulary for the project, and effectively set the stage for a clear design strategy and productive collaboration.