Major Project 1 Intro - Horror Sound replacement

Hey guys! I mentioned in my first blog back that I'd be doing an intro to my latest project which was the sound replacement for a short horror film/trailer. Well, the time has finally come so lets jump right in!

My Team

After working really well together on our last major project in our previous trimester at uni, I'm super keen to announce that I'll be working on yet another major project with Richard Woodhouse! Although this time around, our group is strictly limited to the two of us as a duo so I'm excited to see what we can grind out together alone.

Trailer or Short Film??

At first we planned on doing a trailer for a horror film or game. However, after actually doing sound replacement and foley in class for a short 5 minute clip, Richard and I decided to take on the challenge of doing an almost 3 minute long short film! After taking a week to plan everything out and decide which film to replace audio on, we eventually came down to the film 'Lights Out' by David F. Sandberg, which can be found below!

Original Clip by David F. Sandberg - Lights Out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNbJE0y29_c&t=36s

(unfortunately Wix won't let me load this video in as a clip for some reason so simply click the link above to watch the video - Thanks!)

What are we replacing?

For the project to begin, we must first strip all audio from the clip completely, meaning we are replacing at the very least 95% of the sounds on the clip with our own original recordings. These sounds include Foley, ATMOS recordings, ADR for dialogue and slight musical composition for the background.

How will we record said sounds?

By utilising the resources we have on campus at SAE Institute, we will be using a variety of different methods to record depending on what is being created. For ATMOS sounds, we will be taking a Zoom H4n field recorder off campus to record the room sounds of the college that I'm currently living in to set the right environment for the clip. In terms of foley and ADR recordings, we will be using the C24 post production studio on campus at SAE as it contains a small room with different environment settings embedded into the floor. However, considering that there is no actual dialogue in the short film, we will most likely be recording different breathing patterns an noises as an alternative to bring the silent clip to life.

In terms of musical composition, Richard and I will be arranging a light horror themed soundtrack in Ableton Live to sit underneath the clip to emphasise the suspense. This soundtrack will most likely be comprised of dark chords, slight creepy noise recordings and risers to build towards the climax in the end.

When does it start?

the recording process for this project officially starts in two days which we will begin by recording ATMOS first. As usual, make sure to stay tuned for the latest updates on all of my projects! Super keen to show you guys the progression over the coming 4 weeks! Until next time!

Levels :)