Sound Story

Sound Story

    Me and my fellow classmate and friend Afifa Risha collaborated to create the Sound Story together, recreating a scene of going to a restaurant using WeVideo and Capcut to edit the sound and the Foley stage video. We exported the media off of these websites, which took a few minutes, and emailed it to the teacher to present our Sound Story. We emailed the audio but had to upload the Foley stage video on YouTube for it to be viewed since the file would not work on the teacher's computer.

    I learned how to layer audio and export videos on WeVideo. One technique that was useful was fading the audio in and out to create a seamless transition of sounds instead of a rough cut, which substantially helps demonstrate that the scene is changing and time has passed. Another technique was using a mic to block out other noises, which allowed for the crisp and clear audio of the sound we were trying to create. Furthermore, the use of music definitely played a large part in the imagery of the scene, as the jazz music allows the audience to paint a picture of the restaurant since this type of music is commonly heard in these places. The addition of the jazz background music, dishes clattering, and people talking really pulls the entire scene together.

    The main difficulties were communication since we could not meet up in person to record the videos or discuss, so we had to manage everything virtually. We are both quite busy people, and we take similar rigorous courses that require substantial amounts of work. With all this work, we found ourselves procrastinating and communicating late at night after we finished work and were exhausted, so we felt rushed to finish it. We found ourselves both individually making the Sound Story audio because we did not know the other was doing it, and the website we were using did not allow multiple people to share and work on the same audio. Eventually, we figured it out, and I was in charge of the audio, and she worked on the video. We were also unsure how to make the Foley stage sounds and utilized traditional methods to make the noises.

    Unquestionably, I would do the Foley stage sounds differently because it lacked creativity. We decided to use objects that made the actual sound, like a hairdryer noise being made from turning on a hairdryer, instead of using unconventional techniques. For example, in this one Sound Story made by another student, they made the sound of food sizzling by scraping a plate on the ground, while we made it by cooking steak with butter, which is the literal action to obtain the sound. Additionally, I would probably not choose to do the restaurant scene again and instead choose an arcade since many distinct sounds are associated with it, making it easier. Our restaurant scene had to combine lots of different scenarios, such as getting ready, driving there, and eating, which made everything cut short and seem rushed. I would love to incorporate the sound of inserting the coin and arcade music when you begin playing to win the prize since I enjoy going to the arcade.