MAF 2016: Masterclass - Phantom Boy

The next event I attended was the first Masterclass of the visit and it focused on the sound design of Phantom Boy. The film isn't one that I had heard of before, nor was the studio Folimage, so it was a good opportunity to peg another studio in my collection. Whilst it would have been really nice to hear more about the aesthetic choices of the film and how it was made and such, the talk was actually really interesting and extremely informative about the importance of sound design. I had attended a sound design talk before in the previous year with Jan Meinema, which I found to be of a huge help to future projects, however Loic Burkhardt went into much more detail about how sound can be used and I found the talk quite intriguing.

Burkhardt started his career with an assistant job, which he stayed in for the first 5-6 years before he moved up into industry. Whilst this sounded like a long time to be an assistant, he explained that this was his form of education, as he had zero experience when he started and that it was his drive to succeed and motivation to progress within industry. With this in mind it was actually quite comforting to hear, as it reminded me that it will take time to get to where I want, but with perseverance and a little patience I will make it.

From here Burkhardt moved on to talk about the sound design within the film. Loic believes that there is a huge difference between hearing and listening and it is up to the sound designer to make an audience listen rather than just hear. He illustrated how sound works and how different sounds have different uses by showing us clips from the film, first without sound and then with, so we would see a clear difference. The effectiveness of adding sounds and music was quite significant and very clear to see because of the stark contrast between no sound and sound, but it was the subtle differences in the rain sounds that made it really work for the scene, as they drew you in and made you feel as though you were really there. Within the scene shown to us, there were a number of different perspectives that the rain was heard from. Loic explained to us that when the perspective was from the characters point of view, the rain needed to sound harder to make it sound as though you are running through it yourself. However, when the camera is looking in on the character and the shot is wide, the rain should sound lighter, as you are higher up from the ground. It is different again when the character gets into the car, the rain changes to sound as though is it hitting a tin roof to simulate the effect of rain hitting a car. Although these are very subtle differences in sound, when listened to it is very clear how much they effect the overall viewing.

Loic also spoke about how effects of ambient and foley sounds. Unlike live action film, when you create an animation it is utterly silent, meaning that you have to create the sounds you want yourself which can often lead to the sounds sounding inauthentic and simulated. This however leaves sounds for animation open to the opportunity to be extremely adventurous and creative. Burkhardt explained that he has had to create a number of different sounds with objects that you wouldn't necessarily consider, but to no be afraid to experiment, as sounds are extremely important to telling a story, as they tell aspects of the story that are unseen.

Overall, I feel that I have taken a significant lesson away from this talk and I feel as though I understand the importance of sound on a level that will aid me in my future projects, especially Extended Practice, as I will be able to consider the sounds I use in my film and how they will tell my story.