Horror Sound Replacement - Post Mortem

Hey guys! Apologies for the slight absence lately! I've just recently managed to get a week off uni which I've been using to focus on other things like my internship, part time work and working my other projects! However, that will be covered in a seperate blog as this one is strictly focused on showing off the Horror Sound Replacement project that I've been working on for the last few weeks with Richard Woodhouse! So lets get started shall we?

The finished product

Below, you guys will be able to find the final product of the Sound Replacement on my youtube channel!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5xfca-cqIQ&t=4s

(Wix seems to have a problem with video attachments at the moment so when the fix comes around, I'll be sure to add the actual video to this blog)

How Richard and I worked together

As I mentioned in a previous blog for this project, Richard and I had a system going where I would be placing samples and sounds in the Pro Tools session and mixing the final product (as I was more confident with Pro Tools) while he processed, mixed and even created his own sounds from scratch in Ableton to use in the project. This system seemed to work rather well throughout the duration of this project which I'm rather happy with, having specific roles organised from the get-go meant we could immediately focus on the bigger picture. In terms of organising and booking studio sessions, this was my responsibility as the project leader. Fortunately, the sessions that were booked fitted rather well into both of our schedules and very minimal studio time was missed out on by either of us. Overall, organisation was key and if we didn't have everything planned and went in thinking it was just going to be beer and skittles - we would've been completely fucked. As I've said before in my previous project working with Richard - he is a solid dude and working with him has always been easy. I look forward to future collaborations with him on more EDM tracks where we are both out to do what we love and aren't restricted with certain tasks.

Improvements needed

Throughout this clip you'll notice a few things that seem rather off (especially when listening with headphones). Most of these things were minor volume adjustments that were not overly impactful however, there were a few processing problems such as the reverb on the light switch being cutoff shortly after starting. This is due to the fact that there was no reverb on there to begin with. The reverb you're hearing in the film is the raw reverb from the actual hallway in which I recorded the sample in with the Zoom H4n. A simple fix for this would be to, well, add some bloody reverb! The only concern I have with that is the reverb's clashing with one another once an artificial one is added. The only other problem I've had with this final version is the panning of certain elements as I tried to be a little too creative with them when it wasn't necessary. This can be heard in the tape pulling scene as the girl tears the tape on the left side and pulls it on the right.

Do I agree with these improvements needed?

For the most part, yes I do as I'm always looking for ways to further my abilities in audio and having constructive criticism coming in from my class mates and lecturer especially is really beneficial for me! As I've done practically close to fuck all in the film/audio area this was a really good learning experience for me and to hear that realistically, the slightest bit of extra work on panning and processing was all I needed was great for me! If I had the chance to go back to the day I mixed it down I would definitely take an extra minute to just get in the zone and push that little bit further to ensure the final product is really nice.

Final Words

Overall, I had a lot fun making this sound replacement however, it was very tedious and I've come to have a large respect for the people that do this for a living. Personally, I'm not sure if I'll do this kind of stuff again as I am a music producer however, I am to do this again it will most likely be a paid job as I don't believe I have the attention span to do this willingly :'). This is not to say that I didn't learn anything though as my knowledge on this area of audio has been expanded greatly. As much as I look forward to working with film producers on stuff like this in the future for jobs, I'll probably stay in the EDM and music production chair for now and hone my skills further to put out the content I truly want to create and give my followers! As usual guys, thanks for staying tuned into yet another project series that has come to an end. But don't worry! There's plenty more where this came from because my Bass House track AND Bach Remix drop on SoundCloud next week and you sure as hell know I'll be blogging that ;). Until next time!

Levels :)