J.M. Black – Media Shenanigans!

Hello hello!

What have I been dune this week? Good question!

Dune part 2 came out at the start of the month, and I’ve been thinking about Sandworms. Let’s put some sound to picture.

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My usual sound editing setup is being repaired, so no Pro Tools access this week which is where I usually design to picture. So I’m using Reaper on another device, and it’s going okay but is also gonna be a challenge! Have customised it as best as I can, but I’m definitely feeling a little slower!

I had a few ideas for the sound approach for this one, including:

1. Approach the Sandworm as if it’s a creature in an old monster movie. Think the original Godzilla. As Dune (the novel) was published in 1965, that’s our era!
2. Approach the Sandworm as a force of nature. Focus on the environmental effects its causing over any vocalisations or creature sounds.
3. Approach the Sandworm with a mix of both – contemporary creature sound design.

As I don’t have enough time to tackle all of them this week, I’ve chosen to explore the sandworm as a force of nature.

Okay let’s go, Sandworm time!

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Sandworm redesign: Force of Nature

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I’ll be honest, a lot of the challenge was getting to know Reaper again, and setting up an old laptop to sound design on. It ended up being a pretty slow process, but we still managed to do something interesting with this.

In regards to the actual design, I wanted to focus purely on what effect the sandworm has on the environment. So I found a few sounds like a rock tomb door opening, an earthquake rumble, and I think what was an avalanche or rock slide location recording to give it the bass it needed and a kind of rocky texture that fits what the exterior of the sandworm looks like. This fits the image of the worm’s maw rising from the ground, then retracting.

A sense of distance was important too, so making sure the helicopter was loud in the mix for most of it, and some kind of desert winds were strong to emphasise the danger of being out in the open and so high up were both important elements. Of course, the focus here was mostly on the worm, but these parts of the mix helped pull focus and give us a sense of perspective. I think listening back, I pulled the bass of the rumble too far back into the mix. It should come in sooner with the visual. Otherwise I think I’ve made it feel pretty big and the worm like a force of nature in the desert!

This was a fun challenge! I might update this post down the line, as I have some alt sound redesigns of this same scene based on the other written approaches that aren’t quite done yet, but that I’m excited to finish up!

Until the next time, reader, do the sandwalk while in worm territory…

-J

Joke of the Day!

Q: Where do sandworms go to get their skin conditions treated?

A: An echino-dermatologist.