Sound: adding emotions to artwork - CreativeMindClass Blog
Phil Brookes is a music creator and sound designer hailing of Wales. He worked in collaboration with TedEd, Greenpeace, Tate, Medium, Passion, Strangebeast, and more. The music and sound design were also featured at major festivals such as Cannes, BFI London, GLAS as well as Giffoni with multi-award-winning films.
In this interview it will be clear what Phil came about becoming a musician and check out the valuable tips on how to get started in the realm of sounds. Also, dive into the acoustic details of an enjoyable Socks project that he created along with Eva Munnich.
Phil Brookes' background
I'm a music composer and sound designer who hails from Wales in the UK.
From the time I can recall, I've always been drawn to music, sounds, and even voices. Falling asleep in front of the washer as young children, and being captivated by its drones (appropriate for the kind of project I'm about to discuss!) is my first sound memory.
I started mimicking funny accents and voices.
My father was an obsessed music lover and would make use of devices to record sounds that he would sing, adding effects such as delay and reverb on his voice for the sake of having fun. I used to imitate him and other people such as Jim Carrey and Robin Williams using a dictaphone to duplicate all of the humorous accents and voices they would make up.
Prince
My older brother played guitar, and it was his love for music and specifically the multi-instrumentalist Prince that really rubbed off on me. When my brother moved out, he left his guitar in the car, and, as an adult, I used it to teach myself enough to start writing or recording songs. Challenging myself to create the sounds that I seen on records or TV and then making my own sound in the material already available.
That passion for using whatever resources I had in order to produce or recreate sounds continues to inspire me to push myself today. I am awestruck by the challenges of learning as I create and my preferred method of writing is in the moment. Improvising, experimenting, jamming.
I learned piano for myself and synth to create the music to 'But Milk is important'.
My passion for animation led me to The University of South Wales in Cardiff, where I met an amazing animator called Eirik Gronmo Bjornsen. He came back to Norway and produced a movie featuring Anna Mantzaris called 'But Milk Is Important'.
I taught myself piano as well as synthesizer to compose the soundtrack as well, and in the time since I started making the film I've taken on sound design roles as well, and I haven't stopped creating.
The X-Files Project, aka the "Socks Project"
Recently, I was collaborating alongside the incredible visual artist Eva Munnich for the very third of the three Lemonade Insurance projects I've created the music and the sound design for.
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The Lemonade videos are funny fifteen to thirty seconds of short animated videos that are designed to be looped. Eva's project had a strong sci-fi/extraterrestrial theme to it, and so she had some great ideas about music and sound.
Nine times out of ten, I'll make the music first, as the atmosphere I create can be a source of inspiration musically.
We've also spoken to Eva about the process of creating visuals and animation for this X-Files project. Read the interview with Eva Munnich.
The voice, Eva liked the voices I'd performed in a previous TedEd animation I made together with Lisa Vertudaches.
In the animation, I had pitched up my vocals significantly. The animator thought that this could be suitable for the specific sock and wanted me to shout "yay" in this voice. When I recorded this "yay" I kept the recording in motion and then added "seeya" shortly before the sock had entered the UFO.
Eva loved it and it stayed in. The rest of the voices were created improvised in the same way I observed them.
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If the washer were to speak, it would be low.
To contrast the high voice of the sock, I decreased my voice in the direction of washing machines; since the machine is large and I thought that as if if it had some voice, it'd possess some depth. I mingled these sounds together with the foley before mixing the sounds ready for the music to be added on.
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I loved the X-Files music as a kid.
Musically, Eva thought it would be cool to have music that was inspired by The X-Files theme of The X-Files, which I enjoyed immensely since I loved the music when I was a child!
As with the majority of projects I've been involved in I'm working with an animatic (almost like a moving storyboard) which the animator provides me, so I can gain a sense of timings, etc.
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I enjoy sci-fi films and soundtracks for games.
I enjoy a variety diverse genres of music, and this includes sci-fi films as well as game soundtracks. So along with reference to in the X Files theme, I had an idea of what instruments might work well within the genre.
I used mainly synth-based instruments drones, bass, and drones for the base of the sound. Layering drones was about capturing the appropriate atmosphere and capturing the beam that emits from the UFO to abduct our little sock.
I then created an impressive drum by layering two kick drum samples with a delay and reverb. I also added a delaying synth that pans from left to right in order to make the music seem more immersive. The final synth I played using was the 6-note pattern that repeats itself all through.
Whistling is an excellent human element to add to the music.
The time was right to draw inspiration from the X-Files and incorporate a delay piano melody and whistle. I am a fan of whistling, and it to be a fantastic human element to add to a piece of music. I initially recorded some bass guitar parts too, but I felt it was not the right tone I was trying to achieve.
Piano pattern
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An alarm
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Making an environment in just 15 seconds can be challenging.
I really loved working with Eva the way she worked, and her short-form approach is really exciting and fun to create within. Even though it's short, it is still quite a bit of work, and poses its own set of difficulties.
Creating and establishing an atmosphere in 15 seconds with the music can be a challenge, as well as composing a melody that doesn't sound like it was recorded in a hurry is quite an accomplishment also.
This is a challenge I enjoy however, and, since Eva's animated, I've worked on two more really fun Lemonade projects! There are the procedure videos on my site and my Instagram.
Ideas on how to begin adding sound to visuals
If you're looking to begin using sound in an image, there are now more innovative methods to achieve this than at any time before. there's no better time to do this than right now.
- If you're a person with a creative drive, follow it to the point where it will lead to. One of the best ways to begin creating is to make stuff that you enjoy and then display your creation to others.
- Send messages to budding filmmakers who are in the same boat with you.they constantly seek assistance with sound and you might forge a working partnership.
- It is necessary to begin somewhere. I was making ambient music before I even considered the possibility to work in film, and thankfully there was an animation department in my college, but prior to this, I'd made and recorded enough music and sound to make it logical for me to follow the path that presented the opportunity.
- Meet others who are creative; that's what collaborating is all about. If you are fortunate enough to live in an area that has films nights, festivals or other events, attend them and get to know people.
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