This is the sound list I received at the beginning.
There are three sections of sound to be produced, the first is the music section, the second is the sound effects, and the third is the ambient sound.
Week 6
This week I’ve been working on ambient sounds of streets and the waves and the music of romantic music. Firstly the ambient sounds, the streets and the sea waves are instrumental ambient sounds that I’ve recorded before with my recording equipment, so I’ve just used them—the road sounds I recorded last year in London. I recorded the sound of the waves on the beach in my hometown.
The next part is the music. This is an example of what they show about romantic music.
The main instrument used to play ‘Rose’ is the Irish Whisle, and I looked up a lot of works on the Irish Whisle. So I started with the idea that I could use the same instrument to make romantic music, but the logic didn’t have the Irish Whisle. I tried to use a similar instrument instead—for example, the Chinese xiao. Because the whistle originated from the Chinese xiao, which was introduced to Europe in the 11th century, I tried to compose with the Xiao, but it sounded strange and particularly dissonant. I switched again to black pipes or flutes, but it was still weird.
During this period, I found a similarity between ‘Rose’ and the tune Down By The Salley Gardens by Joanie Madden in 1996. I investigated further down this line and found that Down By The Salley Gardens is a poem that some musicians have composed. I found the style of these tunes to be very romantic, so I collected them all for reference. I also thought of it differently, or maybe I could not care about the instrumentation and use the right instrument. So I changed it to the piano and added some cello underneath for accompaniment. The result is quite good.
Week 7
This week I’m responsible for the ambient sounds of a baby crying. The sound effects include seagulls, wings, ice cream and bubble popup sounds.
I found the ambient sound for the baby crying online. The sound material is available for use! So there are no copyright issues.
Week 8
This week I’m responsible for the mini-game sound seffect. The sound effects include a Hit sound, a ticking clock sound, and some other sounds that I find interesting.
The sound effects are mostly done with plugins. Only the ticking clock sound is the sound of the stopwatch I recorded.
Week 9
This week is the last week that all the required sounds have been done. It’s just an addition and refinement to the previous sounds. I also re-listened to the sounds I had done before and saw what needed to be changed.
The project was quite interesting. When I first saw the sound list, I thought I needed to make a lot of sounds, but when I did it, I found that there weren’t that many. I felt that I was able to finish it quite quickly. I also learned a lot from communicating with the MA students, and I improved my communication skills. I enjoyed the group work. Especially when they ask me to do something, I can be more aware of what I am capable of. When they ask me to do something, I can also learn where I am lacking to change.