While it is more intuitive for us to be drawn to the visual aspect of films, those imageries would not possess the same intensity of emotive significance without the presence and influence of cinematic sound design. These sonic elements possess the potential of contributing to the formation of a sonic landscape which is meant to make the viewing experience as immersive and believable as possible. Below are some existing movie clips I have taken the opportunity to design the foley and compose original scores for.
Toy story (Foley)
This foley design was a part of my university assignment where I challenged myself to create and record a majority of the sounds from scratch instead of using pre-recorded samples from sound archives. Here, I have chosen to focus on the element of magnifying the sounds as if the listener were experiencing the sounds occurring from the perspective of the toys. Designing the aural landscape for the Toy Story clip, which portrays a series of events from the perspective of small beings, truly taught me the powerful impact foley and sound design have on cinematic visuals.
Joker (Score)
I have always been immensely fascinated with the eerie beauty of this scene and wanted to experiment with composing a score over it. The stark contrast between the general darkness of the diegesis overlapped with the graceful dancing of the Joker is what makes this scene so disturbing. I tried to encapsulate this essence of unease in my score.
Frankenstein (Score)
I wanted to experiment by merging vintage visuals from Frankenstein 1931 with a modern soundscape. This juxtaposition of the old and modern emphasizes on the impact of sound on our perception of visuals.
Down the Rabbit Hole (Sonic Theatre)
At university, I conducted a group-led live experimental performance titled ‘Down the Rabbit Hole’. It was a thirty minute long experimental sonic theatre performance inspired by the narrative of the famous children’s novel ‘Alice in Wonderland’ by Lewis Carroll. While I do not have footage of the live performance, here is a shorter recreation of the composition. This piece attempts to sonically illustrate a narrative structure by creating auditory imageries.
I have taken a theatrical approach where I created each character as an embodiment of sonic elements. And they ‘enact’ via sounds. Through this method of sonic drama, I tried to create an immersive auditory virtuality allowing the audience to participate and freely wander in that space. In this short recreation, Alice wanders the mystical forest of Wonderland, and has a brief sighting of the white rabbit. While he scatters off in a hurry, Alice’s curiosity leads her to chase him and in the process trips and falls down the psychedelic rabbit hole. After her spiralling fall, she encounters the mischievous Cheshire cat after which she awakens back to reality.