Sound and animation or why this blog exists

Water.  This photo I took at the Lachine Rapids, in Montreal.  I was swinging the camera through the air to try to echo the sense of movement and fluid energy of the waves of the river Saint Laurent in a still shot.  There is stillness and movement, lines soft  in the background, and also detailed lines in the foreground.  I like abstraction.  My style of animation often involves the abstract, hinting at meaning rather than shouting or deliniating a particular response.

As an animator, when I compose music for animations, I also choose to allow room to explore the visual, the movement without grounding it too much in cliche or traditional music and sound.   As an example, here is a short film I made in the winter in Montreal in 2010.  

Watch Out, You Might Fall   

The music is sparce and almost crunchy in texture.   Strangely enough I wrote the music in Australia, and called it Cicada, as it sounded dry and desert-like.   The crackling sticks reminded me of ice when I was in Canada.  The sounds reflected my sense of delight at the winter but with a dark edge which the forest in winter also holds for me, seen in the final visuals.  There may be a gargoyle.  And some sticks breaking, glasses ringing, chopsticks on speaker boxes, humming and more.

This blog exists to explore the conversation between animation and sound in animated films.  Each entry will look at one animated film and consider the impact of the sound and visual elements as they relate to each other, with a view to how sound designers create a whole world in animated films.  I am particularly fascinated by pushing the boundaries in experimental sound and animation, writing my own soundscapes and music, asking questions that free me to be more open and more creative in my work, and spreading the energy to other animators, sound designers and the community.