Sound Effect Creation

Some of the sound effect in 'The Grey Ending' clip were taken from the original piece, however this process was very difficult as it required a lot of editing and polishing up of sounds. Most of the sound effects taken had either unwanted noises or music in the background and this required a vast amount of processing and filtering to remove. In most cases this was almost impossible, therefore I decided to create the rest myself, making them as similar to the original as possible. Although the project is not aimed towards sound effects within film and solely focuses on the music aspect, I felt it was important to include some sound effects within the final project clip which would be utilised for the questionnaire and end of year showcase. The sound effects would allow the music to have more purpose and emphasis throughout the film, drawing upon  many of the researched literature which stated that the soundtrack has to blend in with the sound effects and dialogue and serve as a vehicle for emotional influence rather than a stand alone piece. They would allow the viewing experience to feel more natural and would present people with a clearer insight of the films plot.

Sound Effects.

1. Wind Sound Effects - Several wind ambience layers were produced in order to fill space between each musical theme and to prevent unnatural silence, the wind effects also provided emphasis on the films outside setting and added to the chilling atmosphere. The wind effects were produced by utilising various layers of pink/white noise filtered at varying frequencies. the filters were then automated back and fourth across the frequency spectrum of each recorded noise and subtle changes in volume were applied to provide a more authentic and realistic wind sound. 
2. Liam Neeson's Footsteps In Snow - There was a total of seven footsteps for Liam Neeson, each recorded and edited slightly differently to add to the authenticity of the film. The Snow footsteps were actually recorded on hard grass which provided a crunching sound similar to that of snow. The footsteps were then processed and mixed slightly to make them seem more realistic. several footsteps which were recorded were reversed and added to the beginning of other footstep effects to simulate the character dragging his feet across the snow before finally taking a step. This technique worked effectively and added to the realism. 
3. Wolf Footsteps In Snow -  The wolf footsteps were recorded and edited in the same way as the Liam Neeson footsteps. 
4. Hospital Equipment Beeping Effect - The hospital equipment sound effect beeps were recorded from an Audi Q7's reversing sensors alert call. The cars beeping sounded very similar to that of a heart rate monitor, therefore it was recorded and edited to suit the video. The spacing of each beep was adjusted to emulate the heart rate and the beep was slightly pitch shifted to a higher register.
5.  Hospital Drip Sound Effects - The drip sound effects were recorded by simply utilising a dripping tap which dripped into a basin of water, the recording was slightly altered in pitch and EQ was applied to emphasis the sound. 
6. Knife Stabbing Into Snow - The Knife sound effect was captured by stabbing a large kitchen knife into a bag of salt. the salt emulated the sound of the knife penetrating snow. The effect was slightly equalised but did not require much editing as the sound of the salt sounded very close to snow. 
7. Watch Beeping Sound Effect -  The watch beeping sound effect was the same sound as the hospital heart rate monitor effect, however it was pitch shifted several semitones higher to make it seem smaller.
8. Watch Shaking Sound Effect -   The watch shaking sound effect was captured utilising a metal watch. The watch was recorded being put on and the recorded clip seemed to fit very well with the piece. The sound was then equalised to fit better into the mix. 
9. Watch Clip Sound Effect - The watch clip was recorded alongside the shaking sound effects utilising a metal watch. The clip required no alterations to its sound. 
10. Bottle Sound Effects - When the character wedges bottles between his fingers in the latter part of the clip the slight sound of bottles tapping against his knuckles can be heard. This effect was produced by taking an empty bottle and lightly tapping on its neck. The sound created was very faint and therefore a high amount of gain was used in the recording process. This made background noises more prominent and therefore the effects had to be slightly filtered and cropped in order to remove these anomalies.
11. Tape Sound Effects -  The tape sounds were recorded using normal scotch tape, the sound emphasises the larger real of tape seen in the picture. The tape was recorded in time whilst watching the film as to emulate the characters movements. The effects were then processed and matched in time with the film. 
12. Glass Smashing Sound Effect - The glass smashing sound effect was produced by covering up a bottle with a dish cloth (to ensure safety) and smashed using a small bodied hammer. The sound of the glass fragments moving was also recorded. The smash sound was layered several times with each layer in the mix utilising different EQ settings to provide more punch and pop to the impact. the fragments of glass were then layered over the top after the initial impact to simulate the glass shards scattering. This effect was processed several times in order to make it powerful and realistic sounding. 

The listed sound effects and dialogue and sounds taken from the original clip can be found at :  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1m8db7o1oiztlbj/JnUCnvsD1u