WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.820 --> 00:00:06.300 Speaker 1: Hello, this is Steven. So for today's developer commentary number three, 2 00:00:06.800 --> 00:00:11.480 Speaker 1: I wanted to go over a couple different things. So we'll talk briefly about the story 3 00:00:11.560 --> 00:00:15.920 Speaker 1: I just released, which was Soul Binder. And then I wanna talk about the upcoming 4 00:00:15.980 --> 00:00:20.720 Speaker 1: production schedule and a little bit about what's coming up next. And then I wanna 5 00:00:20.800 --> 00:00:26.560 Speaker 1: save the rest of the time to talk about really how I think about sound a-as, 6 00:00:27.580 --> 00:00:32.439 Speaker 1: as it pertains to story. So we'll talk a little bit about that at the end, and how I 7 00:00:32.500 --> 00:00:38.460 Speaker 1: think about sound design and how it contributes to the story. So first off, uh, 8 00:00:38.600 --> 00:00:42.820 Speaker 1: Soul Binder just came out. Uh, as per usual, there's not a lot of sound design 9 00:00:42.880 --> 00:00:47.520 Speaker 1: lately, which saddens me, but I really wanna keep a production schedule. I've got an 10 00:00:47.580 --> 00:00:51.840 Speaker 1: arbitrary goal of how many stories to release in one hundred days, and I really 11 00:00:51.880 --> 00:00:57.280 Speaker 1: wanna hit that goal. So you'll-- as I've mentioned in the past, you'll see after 12 00:00:57.340 --> 00:01:01.900 Speaker 1: these twelve stories are released, uh, the next two coming up, by the way, are 13 00:01:02.620 --> 00:01:07.800 Speaker 1: Mortal Steel, which I'm working on now, uh, that's a fun one, and the last one is 14 00:01:07.860 --> 00:01:13.620 Speaker 1: Imagiserum. And after that, I'll have all twelve stories out with two episodes each. 15 00:01:14.400 --> 00:01:19.320 Speaker 1: Um, and then I'm gonna slow down. I'm gonna slow down and do some proper sound 16 00:01:19.360 --> 00:01:24.880 Speaker 1: design, really polish. Uh, and I think that's where I can kinda strut my stuff, 17 00:01:25.100 --> 00:01:30.240 Speaker 1: and that'll be a great time for critical feedback on sound design especially. As I 18 00:01:30.420 --> 00:01:36.260 Speaker 1: move away from focusing on narrative, uh, mostly writing, and I start focusing 19 00:01:36.320 --> 00:01:42.280 Speaker 1: primarily on production, uh, directing, I'll have real voice actors. [laughs] 20 00:01:42.360 --> 00:01:46.080 Speaker 1: So after these twelve stories are out, I'll probably just release a few developer 21 00:01:46.120 --> 00:01:51.560 Speaker 1: commentaries to tie you over, maybe some teaser stuff. And then I'm going to do a 22 00:01:51.620 --> 00:01:56.920 Speaker 1: full production of one of these twelve stories. Uh, right now the front runners are 23 00:01:57.780 --> 00:02:03.780 Speaker 1: probably Dust, uh, Fractality, maybe Velaxis. I think those 24 00:02:03.820 --> 00:02:08.039 Speaker 1: three are all pretty good. I know I'm gonna do Summoner's Rulebook at some point. I 25 00:02:08.080 --> 00:02:12.700 Speaker 1: don't know when. Uh, so we'll do a thirteen-episode season for each of these 26 00:02:12.760 --> 00:02:17.120 Speaker 1: stories. I'm planning on doing two full seasons, and then I have something much 27 00:02:17.180 --> 00:02:22.500 Speaker 1: bigger planned. Uh, so that's enough about what's coming up. Uh, let's talk about 28 00:02:22.540 --> 00:02:27.680 Speaker 1: Soul Binder. So Soul Binder came out. It is one of the sadder stories, 29 00:02:28.600 --> 00:02:34.420 Speaker 1: uh, but, you know, sadness is a meaningful emotion as well. Uh, not everything can 30 00:02:34.460 --> 00:02:37.980 Speaker 1: be fun and happy, although it certainly will have its lighthearted moments like 31 00:02:38.060 --> 00:02:43.200 Speaker 1: everything. I can't help myself with that. Uh, it's got a very cool magic system. We 32 00:02:43.220 --> 00:02:48.780 Speaker 1: got to see a little bit. Um, I won't give away too much, uh, but the way the magic 33 00:02:48.840 --> 00:02:54.740 Speaker 1: system works is you can take, uh, attributes of anything in the real world around 34 00:02:54.800 --> 00:02:59.720 Speaker 1: you and more or less copy and paste them onto something else. Uh, there's a lot more 35 00:02:59.800 --> 00:03:04.340 Speaker 1: to it than that, and you can combine things in interesting and dangerous ways. Uh, 36 00:03:04.440 --> 00:03:08.760 Speaker 1: but it's called binding, and I think it's cool. And it's sort of a backdrop to the, 37 00:03:09.420 --> 00:03:14.340 Speaker 1: the main story of Estus Darkwater, who is on a journey north. 38 00:03:16.260 --> 00:03:20.820 Speaker 1: Yeah. So that's Soul Binder. Uh, we'll probably hear more of that story at some 39 00:03:20.880 --> 00:03:26.060 Speaker 1: later date. Uh, yeah. And moving on to some more 40 00:03:26.160 --> 00:03:31.860 Speaker 1: general how I think about story and sound stuff. So I wanted to talk about 41 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:36.980 Speaker 1: sound in layers and how I go about creating sound for a story. 42 00:03:39.100 --> 00:03:43.280 Speaker 1: So I think about my sound in layers. First, obviously, I do the voiceover for the 43 00:03:43.320 --> 00:03:47.420 Speaker 1: narration and all of the characters first. So what I have at the beginning is 44 00:03:47.480 --> 00:03:52.980 Speaker 1: basically a long audio track of just me speaking. In the future, we will have real 45 00:03:53.040 --> 00:03:57.460 Speaker 1: voice actors, but I will continue to do the narration. So we're gonna have a 46 00:03:57.520 --> 00:04:02.280 Speaker 1: voiceover track or voiceover tracks, and then where I start from there is creating 47 00:04:02.400 --> 00:04:08.300 Speaker 1: atmospheres. So atmospheres are really your lowest layer of sound. Uh, 48 00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:14.240 Speaker 1: if you're an artist, a painter, this will be like, um, uh... it's like the 49 00:04:14.300 --> 00:04:18.959 Speaker 1: background layers, you know, painting the scenery behind it, you know, broad colors. 50 00:04:21.500 --> 00:04:26.160 Speaker 1: It's really the backdrop. So atmospheres are the bottom layer. Uh, they serve a 51 00:04:26.200 --> 00:04:31.620 Speaker 1: couple purposes like immersion. So imagine getting onto a train, 52 00:04:32.660 --> 00:04:37.640 Speaker 1: and you hear the sound of trains in the background, and you hear clinking, and you 53 00:04:37.680 --> 00:04:43.280 Speaker 1: hear people talking. Just from that sound alone, you can get a sense of 54 00:04:43.340 --> 00:04:49.300 Speaker 1: place. So it's also important for clarity. So I can communicate an enormous amount 55 00:04:49.340 --> 00:04:54.040 Speaker 1: of information simply by playing some sounds in the background. Uh, so that's what 56 00:04:54.120 --> 00:04:57.740 Speaker 1: atmospheres are for. They're for immer-immersion, uh, and for the first few seconds, 57 00:04:57.800 --> 00:05:02.320 Speaker 1: especially in a scene, they tell you where you are, uh, really where the characters 58 00:05:02.380 --> 00:05:07.280 Speaker 1: are, which is where you are, at least in your mind. So that's what atmospheres are 59 00:05:07.320 --> 00:05:11.740 Speaker 1: important for. For the first ten, fifteen seconds, uh, I play them pretty loud just 60 00:05:11.800 --> 00:05:15.020 Speaker 1: so you can hear, "Okay, here's where they are. They're in a cave. They're on a 61 00:05:15.100 --> 00:05:19.520 Speaker 1: train. They're climbing stairs," right? "They're in a crowd." That sort of thing. 62 00:05:19.900 --> 00:05:23.100 Speaker 1: Uh, so they're important for clarity at the beginning, and then they just kind of 63 00:05:23.180 --> 00:05:28.320 Speaker 1: fall away into immersion. Uh, they don't ever completely disappear. Uh, I play 64 00:05:28.380 --> 00:05:32.520 Speaker 1: around with atmospheres for other reasons as well, uh, but they really provide a 65 00:05:32.600 --> 00:05:38.100 Speaker 1: sense of place. You know, chatter in the background, people talking, shopping, doors 66 00:05:38.160 --> 00:05:42.440 Speaker 1: opening and closing, that kind of thing. So they're important for that. Uh, and for 67 00:05:42.480 --> 00:05:48.460 Speaker 1: the most part, you don't notice them. So the next layer of sound is, uh, 68 00:05:48.620 --> 00:05:54.560 Speaker 1: foley. So this is the term for people picking things up. This is stuff that happens 69 00:05:54.920 --> 00:05:59.820 Speaker 1: because people are doing things in the story. Uh, so you don't even notice it in 70 00:05:59.860 --> 00:06:05.544 Speaker 1: things like film and TV, uh, because it's just kind of- Just part of the experience. 71 00:06:05.624 --> 00:06:11.524 Speaker 1: But in sound, especially for an audio drama or audio drama audiobook, 72 00:06:12.904 --> 00:06:17.784 Speaker 1: which is really what I'm making, somewhere between the two, it happens when people 73 00:06:17.824 --> 00:06:23.624 Speaker 1: are walking, clapping, picking stuff up, setting stuff down. So it's 74 00:06:24.064 --> 00:06:28.284 Speaker 1: kind of boring, but also necessary. And what's interesting about Foley in a 75 00:06:28.344 --> 00:06:33.904 Speaker 1: sound-only medium is that I can choose what sounds I want to play. In film and TV, 76 00:06:33.964 --> 00:06:38.224 Speaker 1: they have a little less freedom there because, you know, somebody picks up a coffee 77 00:06:38.284 --> 00:06:42.684 Speaker 1: cup and sets it down, you expect it to make some sound. But because I am painting 78 00:06:42.724 --> 00:06:46.644 Speaker 1: the scene however I like, I can choose what to emphasize. So I have a little more 79 00:06:46.704 --> 00:06:50.984 Speaker 1: freedom in Foley, and there's a little bit less of it. But it is important for 80 00:06:51.044 --> 00:06:55.164 Speaker 1: immersion, but it's also important for communicating. There are some things which 81 00:06:55.204 --> 00:07:01.024 Speaker 1: are easier to say. You know, he grabbed him by the back of the shirt and pulled him 82 00:07:01.064 --> 00:07:06.544 Speaker 1: close. And then put his arm around his neck. That can be easy to say in words. 83 00:07:07.344 --> 00:07:11.784 Speaker 1: But sometimes it's easier to just say he slammed him against the wall by making the 84 00:07:11.844 --> 00:07:15.744 Speaker 1: sound of somebody being slammed against the wall. And that communicates way more 85 00:07:15.784 --> 00:07:20.444 Speaker 1: information. I don't have to tell you how hard he slammed him. I can tell you that 86 00:07:20.484 --> 00:07:24.404 Speaker 1: by the grunt that they make when they hit the wall. Do they grunt loud in pain? Do 87 00:07:24.444 --> 00:07:30.364 Speaker 1: you hear something break? Or is it just a gentle nudge, a push out of the way? I 88 00:07:30.404 --> 00:07:34.004 Speaker 1: can communicate all of that with just a sound, right? I don't have to use words for 89 00:07:34.064 --> 00:07:39.444 Speaker 1: it. So Foley is useful for that. And the next layer is 90 00:07:39.944 --> 00:07:45.184 Speaker 1: sitting on top of Foley, going up in importance, I guess. They're all important. 91 00:07:45.204 --> 00:07:50.504 Speaker 1: They serve different roles. Certainly becoming less prevalent as we go up in layers. 92 00:07:50.544 --> 00:07:56.184 Speaker 1: There's more atmospheres. There's less Foley. And even less is spot sounds. 93 00:07:57.404 --> 00:08:03.304 Speaker 1: So these are the sounds that you notice immediately. The sound of gunshots or 94 00:08:03.464 --> 00:08:09.224 Speaker 1: magic happening. These are the cool spotlight-taking sound effects. So the 95 00:08:09.284 --> 00:08:14.384 Speaker 1: spot effects, you spend a lot of time on them because they're cool and they step 96 00:08:14.424 --> 00:08:20.364 Speaker 1: into the spotlight, which is a concept I'll talk about in a second. But spot effects 97 00:08:20.464 --> 00:08:23.984 Speaker 1: are definitely the most noticeable ones. They're supposed to sort of 98 00:08:26.344 --> 00:08:31.364 Speaker 1: break into your conscious attention. Whereas Foley and atmospheres kind of fade into 99 00:08:31.404 --> 00:08:35.544 Speaker 1: the background most of the time. They certainly contribute and you notice when 100 00:08:35.584 --> 00:08:40.304 Speaker 1: they're not there. And they convey information. But spot effects are really in your 101 00:08:40.364 --> 00:08:44.884 Speaker 1: face. You know, this is the sound of like a creature growling, right? It's immediate 102 00:08:44.944 --> 00:08:49.944 Speaker 1: and important. And there are very few of them. But they're kind of what you think 103 00:08:50.024 --> 00:08:53.904 Speaker 1: about when you think about sound. Even though they're actually some of the most 104 00:08:54.404 --> 00:08:57.584 Speaker 1: uncommon sound effects. At least by volume. 105 00:08:59.244 --> 00:09:03.124 Speaker 1: So those are the different layers. And there's also voice modulation. I do this 106 00:09:03.184 --> 00:09:09.144 Speaker 1: some. So some of it is not so much creating a new sound as modulating existing 107 00:09:09.204 --> 00:09:14.464 Speaker 1: sounds. So if a character is in a cave or in a tiny room or they have a mask on, 108 00:09:14.564 --> 00:09:19.164 Speaker 1: they're going to sound different. And that's important for immersion. I don't do it 109 00:09:19.204 --> 00:09:23.864 Speaker 1: too often, but I do it some. So that's the last kind of sound design that I'll talk 110 00:09:23.924 --> 00:09:29.324 Speaker 1: about. So now that we've got those pieces of sound, what do we do with them, 111 00:09:29.924 --> 00:09:30.084 Speaker 1: right? 112 00:09:31.964 --> 00:09:35.144 Speaker 1: I don't know if you've heard this before, but it's very easy to make sound design 113 00:09:35.184 --> 00:09:38.544 Speaker 1: annoying. I'm sure you've heard it, you know, in some of my stories as I've been 114 00:09:38.584 --> 00:09:44.504 Speaker 1: practicing. It's very easy to make the sound like an atmosphere take over 115 00:09:44.604 --> 00:09:49.064 Speaker 1: everything. It's too loud. It's too intrusive. And you may not have noticed this 116 00:09:49.124 --> 00:09:53.244 Speaker 1: consciously. You may have just turned off the story, whatever you're listening to, 117 00:09:54.004 --> 00:09:58.404 Speaker 1: without knowing why. Maybe just a sense of anxiousness. And it's because the 118 00:09:58.444 --> 00:10:01.064 Speaker 1: background sounds may be too loud or too intrusive. 119 00:10:02.964 --> 00:10:07.384 Speaker 1: So that brings up the idea of telling two stories. I like to think of sound design 120 00:10:08.064 --> 00:10:13.964 Speaker 1: and the written story as two different tellings of the 121 00:10:14.024 --> 00:10:18.024 Speaker 1: same story. And they each contribute in their own way. So there's two stories. 122 00:10:18.144 --> 00:10:23.304 Speaker 1: There's the first story, which is the one that you're being told, like right now. 123 00:10:24.084 --> 00:10:28.604 Speaker 1: These are my words, or the actor's words in the case of dialogue. So if you were to 124 00:10:28.664 --> 00:10:34.324 Speaker 1: print out the script, that would be the first story. The second story is the story 125 00:10:34.364 --> 00:10:38.704 Speaker 1: being told by sound. And it's often in the background, which is the reason it's 126 00:10:38.744 --> 00:10:43.064 Speaker 1: called the second story. For the most part, the second story supports the first 127 00:10:43.164 --> 00:10:48.504 Speaker 1: story in interesting and meaningful ways. Like I've described, sometimes it is 128 00:10:48.624 --> 00:10:54.244 Speaker 1: easier to tell the story with the second story. Instead of saying, wasting all of 129 00:10:54.284 --> 00:10:58.664 Speaker 1: our time with, he picked up the coffee cup and set it back down. I can just pick up 130 00:10:58.704 --> 00:11:02.584 Speaker 1: the coffee cup and set it back down with sound. And that's the second story telling 131 00:11:02.624 --> 00:11:08.584 Speaker 1: the story. So sometimes they tell the same story. In an action scene, you know, I 132 00:11:08.624 --> 00:11:12.744 Speaker 1: can say he ran down the hallway, and then you hear some footsteps going down a 133 00:11:12.784 --> 00:11:17.164 Speaker 1: hallway, right? So they're both telling the same story. But there are times when 134 00:11:17.264 --> 00:11:22.124 Speaker 1: only the first story is happening. These are like the character's inner thoughts. Or 135 00:11:22.184 --> 00:11:27.024 Speaker 1: I'm giving some background on the world or their past, right? So in that case, the 136 00:11:27.084 --> 00:11:31.064 Speaker 1: first story is telling one story, but the second story is either muted, there is no 137 00:11:31.104 --> 00:11:36.324 Speaker 1: background sound, or it's playing some sort of atmospheric music, right? It's 138 00:11:36.364 --> 00:11:39.224 Speaker 1: supporting the first story a little bit, but for the most part, it's telling a 139 00:11:39.264 --> 00:11:44.244 Speaker 1: different story. And then there are times when the first story is not at all 140 00:11:44.284 --> 00:11:47.944 Speaker 1: important, and the second story is far more important. Like when a creature is 141 00:11:48.024 --> 00:11:53.804 Speaker 1: growling at you. It's just easier to tell the sound, the story with 142 00:11:53.864 --> 00:11:58.784 Speaker 1: sound, than it is to actually come in and write it with words. It's kind of lame. So 143 00:11:58.824 --> 00:12:02.864 Speaker 1: there's a balance there. Most of the time, the second story supports the first 144 00:12:02.944 --> 00:12:08.264 Speaker 1: story. But there are times when the second story becomes more important. That is, it 145 00:12:08.464 --> 00:12:14.024 Speaker 1: steps into the spotlight. And knowing when to say something with words and when to 146 00:12:14.104 --> 00:12:19.624 Speaker 1: say it with sound is a constant balancing act, which I am still learning. 147 00:12:21.544 --> 00:12:26.164 Speaker 1: And there are times when redundancy is annoying. He walked down the hall. You hear 148 00:12:26.224 --> 00:12:31.344 Speaker 1: walking sound effects. If you do that every time, it will be so annoying. Trust me. 149 00:12:31.664 --> 00:12:32.124 Speaker 1: I've done it. 150 00:12:33.864 --> 00:12:37.704 Speaker 1: It gets obnoxious, right? There becomes a time when the second story, the sound 151 00:12:37.764 --> 00:12:43.244 Speaker 1: story, becomes intrusive. It's ruining your imagination because it's too much sound. 152 00:12:43.904 --> 00:12:48.924 Speaker 1: So you want just enough sound to indicate what is happening, but not so much that 153 00:12:48.964 --> 00:12:53.964 Speaker 1: it's overwhelming. So that is a constant challenge, the balance between the first 154 00:12:53.984 --> 00:12:59.064 Speaker 1: and second story, knowing which one has the spotlight. Which one am I focused on? 155 00:12:59.164 --> 00:13:02.304 Speaker 1: For the most part, it's the first story. But there are times when you need to move 156 00:13:02.344 --> 00:13:08.224 Speaker 1: the sound into the spotlight. And that's something I'm still learning. But it's very 157 00:13:08.304 --> 00:13:13.744 Speaker 1: interesting. And it provides really a second channel of information that you can't 158 00:13:13.824 --> 00:13:15.344 Speaker 1: get from just audiobooks. 159 00:13:16.944 --> 00:13:20.764 Speaker 1: So there you have it. I think that's all I wanted to say about sound. So there's 160 00:13:20.844 --> 00:13:25.504 Speaker 1: sound in layers in review. I approach it constructing from the ground up. I start 161 00:13:25.544 --> 00:13:30.504 Speaker 1: with the voiceover. I add the atmospheres. And then I add the Foley. Then I add the 162 00:13:30.604 --> 00:13:35.324 Speaker 1: spot effects. And then somewhere in there, I do voice modulation for reverb and 163 00:13:35.424 --> 00:13:40.084 Speaker 1: other stuff like that. And then the other concept we talked about is the two 164 00:13:40.164 --> 00:13:44.184 Speaker 1: stories. There's the first story, which is the written story, what I sit down and 165 00:13:44.204 --> 00:13:50.084 Speaker 1: write. And then there's the second story, the story I'm telling with sound. There 166 00:13:50.124 --> 00:13:53.404 Speaker 1: you have it. Well, I hope you enjoyed that. I hope you enjoyed getting a little bit 167 00:13:53.444 --> 00:13:58.004 Speaker 1: of my thought process. I'd love to hear your feedback as I improve. Thanks so much 168 00:13:58.024 --> 00:14:02.484 Speaker 1: for listening. And you'll hear more from me next week with Mortal Steel.