MAKE A MONSTER

 

King Kong’s original bellow was supposedly a mix of tiger growl and lion roar played backwards at half speed, the Rancor in Return of the Jedi was a slowed-down chihuahua, and Chewbacca was a stew of badger, bear, and walrus.

Mix together at least THREE sounds (at least one animal and one inanimate/inorganic object), altering at least one (i.e. slowing it down, speeding it up, playing it backwards) to create the shriek/roar/yawp or indecipherable language of a made-up monster/species. Decide what your monster/creature looks like and try to evoke a specific picture with your final sound. Can the listener tell what your creature looks like by the noise it makes? That's the goal.

Attach your recording to a black frame and post it in the Comments section of the relevant entry on the class's FB Group page, Billy Lich & His Bucket List. (But find, too, an image that matches the sound; have it ready, but don't reveal it until the class guesses).

AUDIO STORY

 Please post your FULLY PRODUCED 5 - 10 MIN SOUND/AUDIO STORY in the Comments section of the relevant post on our class FB page, Billy the Lich & his Bucket List, by class time on WEDS. MARCH 26:

Again, for the purposes of this class, a "Sound or Audio Story" is a short story (with 1st, 2nd, or 3rd person narration) "dynamized" with sound effects and music. It can have a couple lines of dialogue, but should be mostly, if not entirely, narration. Before it's recorded, it will look like a short story, that is to say, a prose story (whereas the second project, the dialogue driven "Ear Movie," will look like a dramatic script). Think audio book. 

The sound effects illustrate the narrative (versus the "ear movie," in which the sound effects propel the narrative). You can't use a DIEGETIC sound effect unless it is declared by the text of the story (naturally, NON DIEGETIC music does NOT need to be articulated by the text). The story need not be "complete" (many podcasts are serialized); indeed, it can be Part 1 of a larger story. Can you get under the listener's skin? What can you do to guarantee your listener will tune in again? Consider an unresolved or ambiguous ending. A cliffhanger.

Your piece should contain MOST of the following: opening/closing music, 1 bridge, 1 sting/stab, 1 bed, (at least) 3 isolated sounds, 1 animal sound, 1 weather sound, 1 sound from an inanimate object (like a phone or a grandfather clock), nondiegetic music under the narration (in addition to opening/closing music), one real world sound recorded yourself, one real world sound recorded yourself but standing in for something fantastical, and one fade in/out. Your piece should feature only ONE actor.

CHOOSE BASIS/TEXT FOR SOUND/AUDIO STORY (and bring it to class):

Choose your favorite response to the many in-class (and extracurricular) writing prompts: 1. Owning Your Dragon/Vampire, 2. Sound Effect Chain (when I played seven or so sound effects -  ex. thunder, a gunshot - and you had to connect them with a story), 3. Nothing is As Scary as a Closed Door, 4. Xan Amazed/Scared, 5. The Mysteries of Harris Burdick (the Chris Van Allsburg slide show), What's in a Name (Street/Pet)? Or ones I simply suggested: Cursing/Enchanting a Sacred Artifact, Setting an Inexplicable Event in a Sacred Place. Or choose something entirely new/different (as long as it's original).

Note: The story need not be finished, but should be well underway; you'll have time to work on it in class. Ultimately, it'll be at least 3 pages (double-spaced, 12 pt Times New Roman).  At some point during Wednesday's class, you'll have the opportunity to workshop it with two or three peers.

THE CHRONICLES OF HARRIS BURDICK

Pick a picture from the Harris Burdick slide show (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KPcLu8ZroU.) and use it as a springboard for a story. 

You may use the title as your title and the caption as your first line (or a later line), but it's not required. Think about what happened immediately before or after the moment frozen in the picture. How did the fantastical event change the character or characters depicted? Are the characters cruel or kind, smart or dumb? To replicate our classroom experience, turn down the volume of the slide show and play the LoTR soundtrack found here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SBQvd6vY9s). Consider how the mood of the music - rousing, melancholy, dire, chipper - changes how you interpret the picture. 

Bring your responses (which, roughly speaking, should run 250 words) to class and be prepared to share them.

HELLO? SFX & 1 WORD

 

Produce a :30 - 2:00 "story" using only sound effects and ONE word.

 You may repeat the one word as many times as you care to (and it may be said by multiple characters or in different tones). How many sound effects do you need to paint the picture properly? Consider loaded language, emotionally charged words, repetitions that disconcert: Help; the first time a baby says Mama; saying Hello (over and over) and not hearing a response. 

Post your completed "story"  under the relevant heading on the FB Group page  (before the start of class). Again, to easily post audio on FB, it needs to be attached to an image (i.e. turned into a video). 

FREE SOUNDS

 In class you were assigned a particular sound (an explosion, a dog bark, a sword being unsheathed). Go to a free sound effects website, hunt down the assigned sound, then choose the best version available, a clean, tight sound that does what you want it to do. 

Post it in the Comments section of the appropriate heading on the class's FB page. Again, to easily post audio on FB, it needs to be attached to an image (i.e. turned into a video).

Two decent sites for free sound effects are freesound.org and https://mixkit.co/free-sound-effects/.