Music to Chew Flesh By

As I mentioned the other day, we're coming up on a music and sound effects spotting session.  Usually we'd wait until we had final footage but we're doing it at the animatic stage for two reasons.  The first is the fact that our two movies have overlapping productions so that while the first is being finalized the second one has to be well underway, so getting a jump on things is the only way to get a quality job.

Audio Circus is the sound studio that will be handling effects and final dialogue editing.  An early start means they can start pulling effects.  Let's say we have a waterfall in a sewer.  They can pull a combination of sounds to cover it but they won't know how to blend them or whether additional drips or bubble pops will be needed until they see full animation.  On top of that, they really want to create some new effects for the Hellboy movies becaue in animation there are always things that don't exist in the real world.   It can be eyeballs extending out of their sockets toward a pretty girl or a creepy ghost sliding through a shot in the foreground.  Of course there are off the shelve sounds to cover those - the eyeballs get an old fashioned, "aooogah" car horn, the ghosts might get a surge of wind and there's nothing wrong with those.  But if you have the time you can experiment with different combinations.  Maybe you add a car screech leading up to the "aooogah" and blend in a cowbell.  Maybe the ghost has a bed of wind noise but you ease in several echoing cat screeches and a whale call in reverse.  If the ghosts appear several times the blend of that combination is changed - short, high pitched cat squeals for shock, whale calls, wind and unintelligible whispers for growing dread.

This is different from Foley work which you've probably seen on any number of DVD extras.  That's when Foley artists watch the footage and punch cabbages and break crates to fit the action of a fight.  What I'm talking about mostly happens inside a computer with some possible new recording for spice. 

Meanwhile, the early spotting lets Chris Drake compose character and action themes, knowing he will be tweaking them after final edit.  The slowest stuff is often the conceptual work.  What is the Hellboy sound?  Should each movie have it's own style or feel like part of a greater story.  How much of the SWORD OF STORMS soundtrack should be done with Japanese instruments?  Should the music focus on character or plot?

So that's why we "spot" music and effects.  It's not "Oo, look!  There's some music over there!" but more "X marks the spot where I want to go angry or mellow."  I've often done the spotting separately but this time we'll do music and effects together.  This lets the composer get an idea of how big the effects will be and where "clear some room on the track."

That doesn't  mean stopping the music for a big explosion, although he might use the explosion as an instrument, providing the end sting to a crescendo.  Clearing space is a necessity; there's only so much your speakers can communicate at any one pitch.  So if Chris knows that Otis and the gang at Audio Circus will be cutting in low, rumbling and grinding earthquake sounds, he doesn't want a score with Jaws-type cellos.  Your speakers will already be vibrating with low explosions so adding low notes will just cause distortion or disappear altogether.  The sound mixers will go crazy trying to make both sounds clear.  Instead, he'll avoid that part of the track and orchestrate with Psycho violins in a high register.  That way the music cuts through and even uses different speakers than the bass earthquake.

Some creative producer/directors take pains to create a full temp track with existing music.  It helps sell the movie moments.  I didn't on these movies mostly because of time, plus I didn't have a dedicated music editor.  There's hardly any music in SWORD OF STORMS but more in BLOOD AND IRON.  The only music I feel strongly about is the sequence Chris scored in the first film and a sequence where I cut in a composer's demo track that fit the action.  Even then, the demo track was one of Christopher's.

The danger of temp tracks is that producers, directors and studio execs  fall in love with them because they've lived with them for so long.  Some composers take the tracks as an indication of what the director wants but don't feel constrained by them.  George Lucas wanted Darth Vader to enter STAR WARS to the music of MARS from Holst's The Planets.  John Williams convinced George to let him take a shot at some original music which I think worked out okay.  Some composers refuse to listen to temp tracks because it limits their thinking.

Sound Effects is a whole different animal but can also help tell the story.  But that's a rant for another day.  -- Tad

Comments

[Jason C.]

I recently found about the Hellboy animated films and this blog and I cant be mroe excited. It looks like you guys are going to do a awesome job.

Hope we can hear samples of the music when they get done, or almost done.

[pyrofish]

Wow...I can feel my brain becoming smarter...you always have very insightful entries, dude.

and yeah i'd like to hear samples to.

[hb]

Me too! Can't wait to hear the music...
And so they're going with the heads huh? I was hoping they would. It is one of my mignola favorites
AHmazing...
Ditto' Insightful as always Tad...
Thanks.
P.S It appears there are bamboo trees in the background of Hb fighting the heads...Im sure thats going to be a visual mind blower

[taterpatch]

Does that sort of 'clearing space' in the soundtrack extend to voices, too? In my copy of the Rankin-Bass 'Hobbit,' for instance, there are definitely points where I can't tell what the characters are saying because of the music being too loud (well, I could look up what they're saying, because it's in the book, but you know what I mean).

Do human voices have enough frequency range that you have to clear space individually for different actors? I mean, Ron Perlman SOUNDS deep and rumbly, but maybe that's just because human ears are tuned to really small differences in that specific frequency range, and the equipment wouldn't be bothered at all.

[Tad]

The usual rule is to protect dialogue which just means playing it louder than music and effects. Or making sure the effects clear the dialogue.

[Joseph White]

I like reading your blog for the reason that it helps with some art or storywork Im doing.

You talking about adding in the non tangable ideas and feelings the character are going through when you write for animation or comics really let lose the animal for writting my story.

It allows me to feel that Im doing a professional job instead of running around like a chicken with my head chopped off.

Thanks a bunch!

Im really excited to see the movies!

[Lunchebox]

I've been following this blog for a little while, and I have to say it's really interesting to witness the animation process in progress.

I happen to be a huge Hellboy fan, so I'll probably get both the Hellboy animated movies on DVD as soon as they come out.

Since you're doing sound effects and music now, does that mean you'll be doing the voice acting soon, or did you already do it? I've always wondered about that.

[Tad]

Voice recording is done first, ideally so that the storyboard artists can hear the acting as they draw. Unfortunately, that didn't happen much on this project.

But during production, we'll change or add a line (or sequence). We'll record a temp track for the animators and then the actors will dub those lines to picture.

[hb]

wicked cool Tad...
But when can we expect the next update..
Im anxious to see one last sneak peek before I head off for summer vacation where no computer exists
If not..who cares...It'll make the wait worth while im sure. Just like the Island.

[el seth]

Okay, I'm way late on this, but what are the chances HB is saying "How's that?" in that last shot? I'm thinking pretty decent. Also, it looks awesome.