WRITTEN BY JESSEY DRAKE
SOUND EFFECTS EDITOR, BOOM BOX POST
From Back to the Future to Edge of Tomorrow, the concept and interpretation of “interdimensional time jumping” has been a key feature in sci-fi films and TV shows. Such out-of-this-world storytelling requires the support of creative and exciting sound design to immerse the viewer into the stretching of space. Read on to learn how Jessey built a unique time jump sequence.
What was your brainstorming process?
With any new character’s signature design I like to take inspiration from who the character is and what they’re all about. This character’s main concept is all about time and time travel. So keeping that in mind, I wanted to incorporate many elements of time, like clocks, bell towers, etc. and present them in an interesting way.
Could you give a step-by-step process of what you added?
There are many parts to this time jump build. I chose to start at the beginning. Builds like these with multiple parts that have a beginning and an end are always best to flush out linearly. So this one starts with a very steampunk kind of wrist watch gear clicking, and that activates the entire time jump build. From there we have the next part which I have coined as the “Clock Blast.”
This part of the build is where we have some of those time elements that I have mentioned. I have taken those and processed them so the listener can hear them and say “Oh yeah, that’s a church bell, but it sounds very unique.”
The next part of this build is the very high end, chime-type element. With a lot of magic in children’s shows, chimes are always a nice element to add in. It gives the build a nice piece that is easily recognized as a magic sound effect. But we’re always striving to be creative and stretch the predictable when it comes to sound, so I reversed and processed them to make them a bit more unique. Lastly, and certainly not least, is the end of the build that puts a button on the whole thing.
I call the ending the “Power Exit.” This is where the magic time jump comes to a close, so it needs to sound big and impactful and feel like the character is being sucked into a time portal. So for that, I created some unique portal sounds and once again added some more “time effects” in this ending to wrap it up and put a bow on it.
What would you suggest to new editors on how to go about this specific design work?
Honestly, less is more, but really try to tie it to the character. Designing signature builds is all about being creative and really hitting home what the character is all about. So I would say focus on the main concept of the character, and then really draw your inspiration from there.
Any plugins that you used that you recommend?
For this build I mainly used 3 plugins:
How did you make this unique?
Fun fact: I recorded some propane tank impacts from my parents’ summer cottage this past summer. They have this church bell-type quality to them, so they are the main church bell sound in this build. I, of course, pitched them up and then ran them through that MTransformer plugin with some auto-pitch settings. Those propane tank hits are the backbone of the build and really make the sound effect build unique. I have included those as well. Take a listen and see if you can hear them in the final build!
If you enjoyed this blog, take a look at these:
L&L: LESS IS MORE: A LESSON IN AVOIDING OVER-CUTTING
DESIGNING A BALLOON NIGHTMARE!
HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER ARMY