Portland product photographer and artist David Emmite teamed up with Digital One to have fun with sound for animation. What started as a creative outlet during the pandemic, turned into a great excuse to experiment with sound design, music, and foley with no rules. If you want to know more about the process, see the notes on each video. Click here to see more of David's work.
Life in a Vacuum, Series
For this single part of a whole series, David was the one who determined the bowling alley environment, which is a classically rich palette for sound design after all. Making the cliche country music was also satisfying, despite it being largely buried in the mix (any more presence felt forced and disrupted the reality of the scene).
This animation immediately screamed "hundreds of channels and nothing to watch." The trick was creating a dozen or so different "programs" that were intelligible as various TV archetypes that could be recognized as such in about half a second.
This was the first animation for what then became the Vacuum Series. The immediate idea was that the sound should be reflective of the vacuum seal process, ie, the sound design inspired by the props would be constricted and attenuated as the air was removed from the bag. After all, you need a medium for sound waves to travel through!
This specific piece stands out from the collection, as it blurred the lines between what is and is not reality. The music specifically begins outside of the environment, transitions to coming through the cassette player, then is ultimately stopped by the spread of sunscreen as the air is depleted from the bag. When the bag re-inflates, the music returns to full fidelity just as it started.
Initially it wasn't clear what the environment for this needed... but David suggested some ideas that inspired the final "seedy casino" ambience. The original attempt was to recreate a bustling Bellagio scene, but that didn't quite feel right. Maybe it's the Parliaments.
Other Works
David suggested some sort of 1970s music to accompany the otherwise expected sound design of a roaring V6 engine. After listening to some Herbie Hancock's Headhunters, Sly and the Family Stone, and the Starsky & Hutch original theme, a sound direction (no pun intended) for the music was created.
Because there wasn't as much to represent visually, this was an opportunity to create some music that enhanced the mood of this animation. Leaning into something bright to match the energy of the colors, and lighthearted and cheerful to emulate the sensation of flight.
Whatever audio put to this had to be as calming as the animation itself. Therefore any mechanical sound was out. Using the sample-based music to envelop the visuals, so to speak—the sound of birds in a field is worked through the music's side-chain compression to feel cohesive.
The original direction for this animation was simple: hum of a light when the bulb switches on and a playful twinkling effect for the round particles interacting. However, the duality of black/white, on/off, stasis/motion had inspiration about opposites. Exploring the contrast of whispers and a chorus of voices. there is an eeriness when seeing this animation for the first time.
This vintage 1970s textbook seem related to the sci-fi classics of the same decade. The intention was to create sounds reminiscent of analog synth machines. The SFX of the spheres departing the book was inspired by its paper material and the idea of large cosmic bodies.
For this animation, the intention was to contrast the large-scale event it was based on against the small-scale recreation David cleverly devised. The occasion seemed to call for some Big Hair, inspirational 70s rock.
Gentle sound design for a subdued animation. Still, creating a sense of space was one of the goals because the fading light alluded to some unseen environment in the surrounding space. The musical element was also meant to emphasize a feeling of unknowing verging on unsettled.
Every moving piece in this animation was deliberately sound designed. A real mechanical heart would have to be very organized and intentional in its design in order to work effectively, so the audio should follow suit.
The intention was to juxtapose the small-scale sound design with more dramatic, intimidating music. The sound of the wheel spinning is close in perspective and the bubbling sound of the toy surfacing are light and realistic, as opposed to exaggerated, huge crashing of waves. Meanwhile, the music is brooding and ominous with smooth rounded tones like a shark gliding through water. Yet there is the occasional punctuated stab—another note taken from the shark.
There was something oddly eerie about this animation so the sound should support that feeling. The flashing lights, the stethoscope, the numbers on the paper, they suggest something outside the frame of view. You may also notice the panning of the radar tone is more exaggerated than the movement of the sub itself. This replicates the feeling of listening through something like a stethoscope with which perception is disassociated from the actual position of the listener.
Digital One actually HAS an aluminum Christmas tree AND spinning color wheel. Naturally we had to use them for authentic foley. Not to mention, it was great to have an excuse to take it out of storage when 2020 seemed to put most holiday traditions on hold.
The music is inspired by the original tree's contemporaries, ie, electronic artists of the 50s and 60s such as Laurie Spiegel. the music is titled, "O, Technobaum".
While designing sounds that made sense for the "squishing" of a woodblock, the musical component was more important. A synthesizer tone was created that intentionally sounded like the ball, constant, but with some movement to represent the spinning motion. Utilizing volume and EQ automation representing the squashed block, further marrying the musical element into the animation. This is almost somewhat of a precursor to the Vacuum Series.
The inital audio contribution to this animation was a bit too political. Eventually, the decision to focus on the idea of a nuclear-era robot somehow interfacing with a smartphone. Thus, the happy medium of sounds from a noisy dial up internet modem.
A short animation to depict what a blunder of a year 2020 had been. The music is inspired by the prolific John Williams, composer of the original 1978 Superman theme. It seemed important that the crash be represented musically, as well as with sound effects.
The sound design and music support this concept of slowly revealing the tangible production behind an imaginative piece of visual art.
8-bit animation called for 8-bit sound design. Sounds like it would be easy, right? Funny how much work goes into making thing’s lo-fi.
What could geometrically-shifting steak possibly sound like? Well, a knife would be essential in realizing these beef cubes. Additionally, the working title David used was also in French, so there would never be a better time to attempt to compose cliche Parisian accordion music.
A very pertinent visual in more ways than one during the summer of 2020. The audio shouldn’t be too distracting or else it might detract from the impact of the visual component. Only paper was used to foley all of the sounds you hear in this animation.
We wanted to blend the two ideas of this animation into one; a turntable playing a vinyl LP and historic sailing. Therefore the ship-needle triggers the sounds of high-seas exploration which also sound as if they're being filtered through an old speaker cabinet, despite that you are seeing the scene play out in front of you.
The intention for this sound design was to add life to the very cool flame effect David created, and a narrative to the piece overall. A candle doesn't light itself, so this had to include the shuffling of matches at the start.
It was compelling to compose for the three specific instruments in this animation: upright bass, piano and clarinet. The perspective shifts should be represented in the sound design as they would if you moved around this object in real life. You know, because tiny people in a mason jar playing New Orleans style jazz is so realistic.
A feeling we all know: being stuck in a less-than-pleasant situation and feeling like you don't have the means to handle it. At surface level, this animation called for the sounds of the ocean, a storm, maybe the creak of a boat. Something more needed to be incorporated in order to emphasize the visual element of the lightning. As the animation progresses, the music takes an uplifting tone... because we certainly all needed that in June 2020—the original postdate.
The version of this animation had harpsichord music and some stern “humming and harring” from the pensive Napoleon. David suggested we simplify it and that was the right choice. After all, it's not as if statues are out there making a lot of noise...besides it’s fun for an unknowing viewer thinking they're looking at a still image until the first movement.