What challenges did she face?

• She has good observation skills, however she needs to strengthen her understanding on sound design and creation, and how certain materials/props create certain sounds.

How did our program help her?

• She learnt to understand the roles of sound in conveying emotion and storytelling in music and in film.
• She learnt about description of human voice, description of interesting sound effects, description of general sounds
• The professor worked with Lisa to identify emotions through non-specific dialog in the environment and to connect that to music.
• The professor provided a step-by-step sound analysis and detailed description which evoked Lisa to think deeper into the subject.

Matched professor in Sound Design:

She is a picture and sound editor whose television credits include the Emmy-award winning series.

“I will write a reference letter based on her work ethic and genuine interest in the subject.

She had good observations about her own surroundings, then when we moved to the world of film, she sought out and found some really excellent examples of animation utilizing unique approaches to their soundscape.”

Lecturer from NYU Tisch

Excerpts from the student’s work

Step-by-step sound analysis & description

“Lifted” Film Sound Description
At the beginning of the film, a soft and quiet melody is played. The melody is played from a music box and it brings an emotional sense of nostalgia and calmness. Along with the natural sounds of crickets in the background, it creates a quiet spacious vibe of a wide field. After a few seconds of quietness, the music dies down but the cricket sound is still present. Then a swing pops up, and the squeaky noise of the swing alters the mood of the scenario. Transitioning from a peaceful and quiet mood to a slightly suspicious and horror mood, from the squeaky swings.

Then moving on to the next scene of the character’s house, a sudden light appears with a loud surprise from a orchestral piece. I believe the trumpets are the first instruments to appear, with the loud introduction it creates a sense of wonder and excitement. The trumpet starts with a single ff note and then the violins come in with a vibrating sound. The violins continue with the sound, creating a suspension and intriguing vibe of the scenario. The scene creates an emotional sense of excitement and fear at the same time.

The excitement from the violin contrasts with the abrupt loud noise from the woodwind instruments. Then moving along the bass instruments come in with percussion. The rhythmic beat of the bass and percussion creates a sense a danger and stronger sense of fear. Watching the character move towards the window, it accentuates the anticipation and enhances the dramatic mood. Not knowing what’s next, the bass and percussion creates excitement and fear. Then as the character moves closer to the window, the tempo of the orchestra increases along with the percussion.

As it increases, it creates a feeling that something grand is taking place soon. Accentuating the anticipation of the next scenario, the whole orchestra suddenly stops with a bump on the wall.