Reflections on Sound Design

Reservoir Dogs, Commode Story scene

This scene from Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs uses several elements of sound to enhance and manipulate the experience for the audience. Towards the end of this scene we see a fantastic example of the Gestalt principle in action. Using the concept of figure and ground, the sound of the hand dryer is immediately brought to the forefront of the soundscape, so much so that the other sounds are barely audible. We can also see that use of proximity and similarity between Freddy's dialogue in the bar and his voice over in the bathroom. Although both examples are him speaking, the bar music cuts off whenever it switches to voice-over, which helps create sudden tension. When he is talking in the bar, the story seems just like a regular guy sharing a funny experience. On the other hand, when his dialogue is contrasted against the silent background of the bathroom, the story seems like a dangerous encounter that could lead to severe consequences. Time is also affected by sound in this scene. As the hand dryer continues, the sound’s tone changes to make it seem like time is slowing down. So this is a perfect example of speed and loudness affecting subjective time.

Brainwashed

http://changethis.com/manifesto/66.01.Brainwashed/pdf/66.01.Brainwashed.pdf

“Acknowledging the lizard” is the idea of identifying the part of you that is slowing down your creative process, and then silencing it. One might argue that the biggest rival an artist has is himself, the lizard part of himself. The lizard is afraid of failure, afraid of change, afraid of risks. A successful artist cannot have this part of their brain controlling their lives. Another layer is “make art.” It makes sense that if you an artist, you must have art that has yet to be made. However, simply making it is not enough, which brings us to the ‘Ship’ layer. No one should let their art sit in their mind or their room where no one can see it, they have to get it out there, they have to get people to listen, see appreciate their art. The lizard will absolutely hate this, but it must be done.

I am actually surprised that I am saying this, but honestly I think that these blogs are very connected to these layers and the process of reinventing myself. My instinct is to dismiss weekly assignments as mundane, unnecessary busy work, but this blog has actually been very helpful for me. Reading these articles and writing these blogs, I have learned more about my strengths and weaknesses as an artist, and I have put serious thought and effort into reinventing myself. These assignments are stirring legitimate changes in not only the way my creative process works, but also my perspective on life in general.

 To be honest, if not for this assignment, I would have probably eaten Cheetos instead of reading this article about reinventing myself as an artist. At this very moment, instead of thinking “these are delicious,” I am thinking “I have overcome my lizard to the point where I am not afraid to make art, but I have issues when it comes to ‘shipping.’ I need to fix this, because otherwise the only thing I will ever create will be a handful of unfinished projects that no one has seen besides me.” Clearly the latter is simulating my brain in much more positive way. By writing out my thoughts in these blogs, I have brought to life ideas that I did not know were even in my mind. Once I write explicitly what I need to do in order to succeed, it seems obvious, but while it was just an idea in my head, it was vague and difficult to pinpoint.

Most importantly, these blogs have made me hungry for more self-examination and improvement of my creative process that will extend beyond just the winter quarter of my freshman year in college. It is not enough to reinvent myself and be done. I want to be constantly and consistently reinventing myself not only as an artist but as a person.  No matter how great an artist becomes, there is always space for improvement; space that the artist should constantly be filling up. This quarter, in more ways than just this blog, has started up something inside me that I will not allow to be stopped by anyone or anything. As it says in Brainwashed, we are living in a time where our opportunities as artists are virtually limited, and one would have to be a fool not to take them.

My lizard has an issue with posting this blog, but I’m just going to ignore him.

Finding Your Howl

http://changethis.com/manifesto/51.01.YourHowl/pdf/51.01.YourHowl.pdf

The second half of this article is about the story the author’s fifth grade classmate wrote. His story was that of a tiger trying to escape a cage by jumping out, but every time he does, he lands in another cage. The author of the article finds this tale to be representative of the process of finding true freedom. We cannot take the quick way out; we must deal with our cage instead of trying to escape from us. We cannot escape the cage, because it will never leave us, but we can destroy it instead.

 “When you’re haunted by the demons that’ll never let you rest

Not shy in front of crowds but shy in front of just one guest

Not dumb enough to win at the game

But not smart enough to dumb it down and take it away

It’s black and white

Like space at night

If you wanna be like us you better work every night”

-Julian Casablancas, My Drive Thru

These lyrics speak to me in a big way because they discuss the way I see the journey to success and freedom as an artist. Much like Jonathon Flaum discusses in Finding Your Howl, I have come to the conclusion in my life that the only where that I will reach a place I want to be is through a large amount of pain and hard work. In a short amount of words, Julian Casablancas says a lot about this process. The way I see it, Casablancas elaborates on the problem and the infinite hassles revolving around it, but then turns around and comments on how obvious the solution is.

The problem is the difficulty in reaching success. No matter what someone aims to do in life, there will always be obstacles. The greater the goal is, the more terrifying the obstacles are. In relation to the lyrics, these obstacles are the “demons that will never let you rest.” These demons are what pester most people into quitting, for one must deal with them in order to get where they want to go, and they are always a force to be reckoned with. These demons can be anything from people trying to bring the dream down to one’s own lack of confidence. Confidence is what I feel the next line is talking about. Often people appear to know exactly what they are doing in front of others or a ‘crowd,’ but really when they look at the mirror, they are “in front of just one guest,” and they feel terrified. I would be lying if I said that I have not often pretended to be in control while on the inside feel completely lost. But one must deal with their issues inside to get results outside. If someone does not think they cannot do something, they are right. Before an action can be done, or a goal can be reached, or a dream can be achieved, one must truly believe that he or she has the ability to do so. In my opinion, self-confidence is the most important factor in any action, no matter how large or small, but the larger the action, the more self-confidence it takes.

Next, Casablancas discusses an issue that I personally struggle with very much with many goals I take on, doing the dirty work. What I mean by that is, in order to do something great, one has to do an incredible amount of work that he or she will not consider ‘great.’ Everyone has to start from the bottom, and many people might look at work they consider ‘beneath them,’ and either abandon the task altogether or try to skip ahead, both of which lead to failure. People see the ‘game’ but don’t consider themselves dumb enough to stoop that low, but by refusing to play, they take away their opportunity to win. As Casablancas explains, if they were smarter, they would “dumb it down and take it away.” Stop being pretentious, grit your teeth, and grind through the difficult work. I have found myself many times wasting time trying to find a shortcut to a desired goal instead of buckling down and doing what I know must be done.

After all of this talk about the difficulty of reaching a goal, Casablancas is very concise when he explains solution. In his words, the solution is “black and white.” In order to be like him or other successful artists, “you gotta work every night.” All of the discussion on obstacles and goals boils down to this simple fact: if you want something, you have to be relentless. The only way to be the best at something is to do it all the time every day without ever letting up. For me, a true understanding of this concept is the most powerful tool I have as an artist. Now is the time to work towards my goals tirelessly. I’ll have time for a break when I’m dead.

Deconstructing Characters

The protagonist: The exploiter

The colors of the exploiter are red and blue. Red is to represent freedom, and blue is to represent truth. This character is all about free speech and is a huge opponent of censorship in a time when it is dangerous to have that stance. The colors have to be very vibrant, because it shows that he wants things to be clear and out in the open. This serves as a contrast to the bleak colors of his antagonist. The blue and red also work well together aesthetically as they are both primary colors. 

The lighting that the Exploiter is usually portrayed in is a sort of glowing. The exploiter should always appear as he is emitting light wherever he is. This lighting is representative of the way the Exploiter uses investigative journalism to uncover government secrets the people deserve to know about that are kept in the dark. The exploiter shines his light, and similarly, uncovers truth wherever he goes. The lighting shows portrays him as the hope for the people who cannot see through the darkness that the government has created with its lies and secrets.

The Exploiter’s look is based on several triangle shapes, because triangles are well defined and the Exploiter does not like things that are vague, because he sees vague information as a way to trick people into thinking everything is fine, when in face the opposite is true. Additionally, since a spearhead is commonly a triangle shape, it also shows how the Exploiter is the ‘spearhead’ of a rebellious movement against government censorship. The triangle shape portrays the Exploiter as a leader, someone who is not afraid to be the first to say something is wrong with the way things are.

The antagonist: Agent 001

The colors of Agent 001 are black, grey and white. This monochromatic color scheme is representative of the censorship agency he works for. This agency wants a world where the truth is not clear, and everything is a sort of a mix of lies and truth in which nobody can tell the difference which is which. Essentially, it is a monochromatic color scheme for Agent 001’s monotonous idea of a perfect world. The way his colors essentially lack any saturation at all is a striking contrast to the Exploiter’s vibrant blue and red.  Agent 001 and his employers want the world to be ‘colorblind,’ so to speak, to the dangerous methods of the government.

Agent 001 and any other agents that may appear in a story are always depicted in shadows. Agent 001 should usually be barely visible, much like the secrets he keeps. It is Agent 001’s job to keep things hidden, so he himself should always appear to be hidden. This type of lighting is representative of the way the government does not want its secrets to be brought into the light. While the exploiter is always trying to uncover something with light, Agent 001 is always trying to hide something with darkness. The two are in a perpetual battle, for their goals are completely opposite.

Agent 001’s look is based on a square, because squares are so rigid. The rigidness represents Agent 001’s unflinching obedience to his employers, due somewhat to brainwashing but also to misguided views on his past. Square is also a good shape to represent big government, because the square sort of creates a metaphorical fence, with the edges representing the law. No matter how unjust a law may be, if a citizen steps ‘outside’ of these boundaries, his motive is not taken into account, he is punished. Agent 001 does not make exceptions or bend the rules, he is rigid, like a square.