Audio

1. Audio
Olivia Waller

2. Existing Products Research
• Fear on Four – The Snowman Killing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gbbuQXSqRo&list=PL76MoB89vfkk0Mic2r2ntviYReKX8E6Fn
– There is sound effects used at the very start, they use sound effects of knocking which
starts off quiet and slow and gradually starts to get faster and louder this helps to get
the audiences attention. This helps create tension and makes it more scarier for the
listeners.
– There is a wind noise heard which suggests that the story starts off outside which helps
to keep the whole thing scary and keep the horror theme going. The sound effects all
fade in with each other making it sound scary and creates a good creepy theme to the
audio.
– The performance of the whole thing is very repetitive, by this I mean when the kids are
talking they repeat what they are saying which I think makes the dialogue more creepy
and builds tension to what is going to happen and why they keep saying the same thing.

3. Existing Products Research
• The Mourner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2v471C4uws
– A sound effect used is a camera click as if someone was taking a photo. This helps to set
the scene and create a photo in your head.
– The performance in the audio you are able to see who the two main characters are and
from their voices you can see who is the more innocent character. There is a woman
who is narrating and she helps to set the scene from the characters and can see who is
the good character and who is seen as the bad character of the audio.
– The music in the background is quiet and is not used as the main focus but used to
create a scary atmosphere and keep the audio creepy.
– The voice speaking in the audio is monotone but isn’t boring, it helps to create fear and
build tension to the audience.

4. Existing Products Research
• The Forbidden
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xXeMYfTPbA
– The start of the audio shows straight away that the audio is a horror as it is loud and
uses lots of noises to suggest something is happening.
– A sound effect of a scream is used to act as if the start of the audio is a nightmare and
then this is the start of the performance.
– The performance is at a dinner party with 3 other people and is talking about the
nightmare that she keeps having which makes the story become more creepy as it starts
to scare the guests which sets the creepy scene.

5. Existing Products Research
• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQtoiB-Xn9I
– Lots of sound effects are used on this audio at the start as it helps to set the scene of the
audio being outside. Some of the sound effects used are, a dog barking, birds and horses
this gives the impression that it is older with horses being a sound effect used on the
audio.
– The narrator is monotone but this helps to keep the story creepy.
– There is a noise in the background which helps to make the audio scary, however this
does not take the focus off of the narrator but adds more of a spooky feeling.
– There is a part in the audio where 2 sound effects merge into each other which will be
good to include into my audio as it makes it more scary and effective.

6. Bibliography
• . Fear on Four – The Snowman Killing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gbbuQXSqRo&list=PL76MoB89vfkk0Mic2r2ntviYReKX8E6Fn
• The Mourner https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2v471C4uws
• The Forbidden https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xXeMYfTPbA
• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQtoiB-Xn9I

7. Ideas

8. Story
• First Story
A family member buys a party game for the birthday present but it is from an usual place. They
use the game at the party thinking it will be boring and not fun for the friends however when
playing the game they start to really enjoy it. When the game is won something bad happens.
The story is told in 1st person as they are talking about the experience that happened to them and
how it effect them.
• Second Story
The person is having bad dreams which suddenly start to come true and start happening to them
in real life.
They start off slightly scary with just seeing a familiar person but gradually get worse and worse.
This story is also set in 1st person as they are going to tell the story as it is happening.

9. Idea Generation/Initial Reaction

10. Idea Generation/Initial Reaction

11. Proposal
Working Title:
Scary Piñata Audio
Audience:
The Primary target audience is young adult ages 18-24, I chose this as the primary one as I think they will enjoy my audio
the most as it suits them the most and will appeal to them. The secondary target audience is teenagers ages 13-17 as I
also feel they will appeal to them. People this age enjoy horror and scary things suggesting that this is something that will
appeal to them and something they would enjoy. The primary gender I have chosen for my audio is Female as it has a
female narrator so I think it will appeal more to the primary gender. The Secondary gender is male as it will also appeal to
them, they will enjoy the content and will give them a thrill. The Primary social status for my audio is middle class and my
secondary is working class as I feel these social statuses will relate to my audio the most and enjoy it as the content is
easy to follow and thrilling to listen to. I think the Psychographics for my product is Socially Conscious Type B as I think
this is the one that works best for my audio as they are self sufficient so they will enjoy the content.
Project Concept (approx. 200 words)
The concept of the project is to make a horror audio, I am going to take inspiration from a video I listened to during
research, it is about a birthday party and a birthday present going wrong and ruining the party, I am going to include
different sound effects to make it seem realistic and effective, I would also like to include Foley as I think this makes my
product more complex and detailed. I will also put royalty free music in the background as I think this makes it more
creepy and gives scary vibes for the audience.
During research I was able to learn how to a horror audio is suppose to sound and build tension for the audience to keep
them listening and entertained. Also it gave me a good idea on a layout for my audio to make sure it is all laid out
properly and all runs smoothly.

12. Experiments

13. Foley
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kR4Yi89pRw0&feature=emb_logo
When we first did the project we struggled with the
audio recorder. We went off and recorded round
college but didn't’t use the recorder properly causing
our audio to sound bad. This meant we had to go and
record it all again. This time was a lot better and the
audio turned out better and could use this for the
experiment.
I manage to include a sound effect for everything that
happened in the video and tried to make it as realistic
as possible.
Something I could of done better is to blend the
sounds together better as I think it would of made the
whole thing smoother and make it look more realistic
and effective.

14. Recording
• Write about your experiences of recording in different places.
– I only recorded in one place which was my car, this was a good place to record
as is a small space and keeps the noise out so that the recording didn't’t have
any background noise and was produced to a good standard.
• What effect did it have? How will this influence your project?
– It helped to make the audio be good quality and has influenced my project by
making sure I record my audio in a quiet place so that there is no noise. This
helps it to be good quality and make it sound better altogether.

15. Planning

16. Script Draft
• It was Friday the 13th of July, my birthday. All of my friends were coming to my
house, a gathering arranged by my family. The weather was dry, dank and muggy,
yet my parents were certain it had to be outside. I was excited.
• Grandparents had in house since move
• Thought it was perfect for the party
• Gave it to kid
• When the kid touched it it was unsettling
• Time passes, kids arrived weird vibe
• No one went to that side of the room
• Ate food, played other games
• Time for piñata
• Blood comes out

17. Sound Effects
Sound Effect Needed How I Will Create the Sound
Kids laughing and playing I have 2 ideas I can use for this sound effect, I will either use free
sounds from the internet or make my own sound by doing them
myself and changing the pitch.
Gasp I can do this sound myself and get other people to do it also so
that I can overlap them so that it is layered to build.
Scary Music Royalty free music
Bat swing I will get this sound off free sound from the internet as I think it
will be a hard sound to make.
Swoosh/splat I will use free sounds for this sound as I want it to sound good
and I think they will have good options for my to use to make it
sound effective.
Screams/whispers I will either get these online or make them myself.

18. Actors/Locations
Actor Role Location for recording
Me Narrator College studio
Erin Mum College Studio
Harry Granddad College studio
Freddie Grandma College studio

19. Music
Band Name Track Name Link
Ryan Creep MELANCHOLIA https://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=u9WsZoceais
Dark Piano The Tall Man https://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=-PeEfMP-6wk
Dark Magic Music Salem’s Secret https://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=QdIYVXCfrQM

20. Resource List
Resource Owned/Cost What sound effect will it be used for?
Audio recorder Owned by college This is the main resource I will be using for
my project.
ZapSplat Cost I am planning on using this resource for the
sound effects I would like to use in my audio.
FreeSounds Cost Another website I will use for my sound
effects as they are free and can download as
many as you need.
People Owned I will be making my own sounds so I need
people to help me make them sound good
and effective.

21. Production

22. Daily Reflection Day 1
Day 1 I added my recorded audio and put it onto Premiere Pro to start editing my audio and
cut out any parts that were too long to help it all flow better.
I also listened to music I wanted to include as I thought it would be easier to find music
once I heard what my audio sounded like altogether.
I used a pitching effect on my recording to make my voice sound lower and more scary to
create a creepy ambiance.

23. Daily Reflection Day 2
Day 2 I started to find sound effects that would fit with my audio and added them into to
see how they would all sound and rearrange them so that they all sound good and fit
well in my audio.
I got most of my sounds from the website FreeSounds and created one myself with the
audio recorder.

24. Daily Reflection Day 3
Day 3 I asked for teacher feedback to see what else I could add to it to make it better. I got
a list of things so this day I added all the different things into my audio.
One of my things to do was add a jump scare at the end so that is what I showed in the
screenshot to show that I have done that but also added the rest.

25. Daily Reflection Day 4
This is the final day. This day I added the final touches, made sure that everything was
smooth. I then added a photo for the audio as when using Premiere you have to include a
photo and then that was my audio finished.
I exported the video and uploaded it to YouTube and blogger.

26. Evaluation

27. Research
• The strength of research was on YouTube you are able to listen to various
of different audios helping you get different ideas and it also helps to
make you see what different parts you could include to make it good and
suitable. This helped with my product because this is how I got the idea
for my final product. I used a audio that had been created and made my
own version. I was feeling very unmotivated before doing this so it helped
a lot.
• A weakness of research was that I didn't’t break the research down
enough all I listen to was the audio I didn't’t look at how they use their
voices in different ways or how they use the sound effects. This is
something I could of done better as I think looking into this would have
improved my audio to make it sound realistic and effective.

28. Planning
• Planning was helpful as it helped to sort out all my sound effects and
actors I need for my audio. A list of all the resources I needed helping me
to be more prepared for when making my audio. I was also able to sort
out a draft script for my audio which helped to create my final product as I
could put all my ideas into one place and make it into my overall project so
this helped to plan my product easier and get all the things I needed to
include.
• A weakness of planning was that I was struggling to come up with an idea
so I went with the first idea that came to my head so I had not thought of
any music I wanted to include, I could of improved this part by listening to
music that I think would have fitted with my project as this would of made
my audio more planned and faster to make.

29. Time Management
• I think I managed my time well I completed all the work that needed to be
done and was uploaded to blogger. I think I was able to complete my work
to a good standard. I think I rushed my Foley experiment a bit so I think if I
had more time I would of made that look better and created better links
with the sounds and the video.
• When I did the nursery rhyme experiment I picked a hard nursery rhyme for
the task, if I had more time I would of restarted and picked a different one
so that I could make it more effective. I used Audition for this project, I
haven’t used this software before so I think if I had more time I would’ve got
more practice on it.
• If I had more time to produce my product I would of created more of my
own sound effects as I think some of them would have been easy to make
and some of the sound effects don’t sound realistic.
• Practice more on the software Audition as I think sometimes it can be easier
than Premiere Pro and will be good to know how to use both of them.

30. Technical Qualities
I am going to compare my product with the first story in this YouTube audio. This is where I got
the inspiration from for my product.
• A similarity of both audios is that they are both set at a kids birthday party and is about a
present being not what they thought.
• A difference of both audios is that the YouTube one is about a clown head and it getting stuck
whereas mine is about a old piñata that is full of blood.
• Another similarity is that they are both set in first person and have the person who had the
scary thing happen to them talking about there experience.
I think that my overall product is complicated and detailed. I used loads of sound effects to help
set the scene and make it more scary. One sound effect I made myself which brings the foley
method into my audio. I had me and some of the actors gasp and used this sound in my audio.
The other I got off the internet. I recorded my audio on a audio recorder provided by college
making it a lot easier for me to record.
https://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=QhmURS2tC0g&t=1342s

31. Aural Qualities
I think my overall product does sound good and is creative as it was a original script that I
have written myself, this makes it more creative. An aspect of my audio that I like is my
final script, I think a lot of work went into as it is the main product. I tried to make it scary
but also build tension which I think I did well throughout.
An improvement I would do is making more of my own sound effects to include more
Foley techniques as I think this would of made my product more detailed and complex.
• A strength of my audio is that the I like how it turned out, I think it sounds good and
creates the tension for the audience.
• A weakness is my sound effects as most of them are off the internet which makes it less
creative and less realistic.
• Another strength is that the audio is in the right time space needed, it is almost 4
minutes long making it meet the target needed for the project.

32. Audience Appeal
My primary target audience is young adults ages 18-26 as I think this is a good age range
that will appeal to this audio the most. The secondary target audience I would say is
teenagers 13-17 as I think they will also enjoy this product.
I think the scariest part of content will appeal to the primary audience as this is the main
part of the audio so this is the most enjoyable part and I think the primary audience will
enjoy this content the most.
There is a jump scare at the end of the audio and I think my secondary younger
audience will enjoy this part of content as it will give them a thrill and it will be
enjoyable for them.