MUSIC FOR ANIMATION: WORK IN PROGRESS

Some recent music composition for an experimental animation piece. The film is all about imagery that shifts, drifts, and dissolves. The visual presentation is somewhat lo-fi, yet expansive and abstract.

After watching and thinking about the animation, what seemed appropriate was to put together some conventional music— something jazzy and “vintage” made sense (made 100% with virtual instruments)— and then, as I often do, use the individual tracks as source material for audio collage. As ever, it’s like crafting a stained glass window, shattering it, and then reassembling the shards in some new configuration.

At this point I’ve “futzed” the sound of the music to make it resemble something coming out of an antique radio. Eventually I’ll probably add some vinyl pops to make it sound more like an old record player. I’ve already started scrambling the elements to pull a score together. It’s been a lot of fun so far.

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FX EDIT + MIX FOR FILM: "RELENTLESS" DOORKNOB CUE

Above: A layer-by-layer exploration of my sound design depicting a single action from the feature film “Relentless”, directed by Barry Andersson and starring Rachel Weber.

The film follows the psychological journey of a woman who winds up trapped in her basement during a thunderstorm that turns into a flood. The event depicted here turns out to be pivotal, since it cuts her off from a means of conventional escape.

I’ve broken down the sequence to isolate various sonic elements that come together to form the final mix.

The “dripping water” layer should be self-explanatory; water is seeping into the basement from the storm outside. The “production audio” segment depicts what was actually documented live on location, while the camera was rolling. The “Cut FX” pass features sound effects that I assembled from audio library assets, dropping them into the timeline in sync with the action onscreen to complement what had been recorded on set. And “final mix”, of course, demonstrates all of this as I blended it together, with a smidge of Andrew Joslyn’s wonderful score taking us out.

JUNIOR BIRDMAN AUDIO AT THE 2020 MINNEAPOLIS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

As one might expect, the 2020 Minneapolis-St Paul International Film Festival has gone online in a streaming format This year. Which I’m happy to see, because it’s always been a fest where I’ve found some pleasing viewing. It’d be sad to see it succumb.

So I’m proud that my original music, sound edit and mix are available for your viewing and listening pleasure as part of the festival in support of Djinni Productions’ Happily Married After, directed by Alison Guessou.

Festure documentaries I’ve enjoyed include The Seer and the Unseen, about an Icelandic woman who campaigns to stop the construction of a road she believes will destroy the fossilized lava homes of elves in the area; I Am Not Alone, a profile of Armenian politician Nikol Pashinyan and his role in the 2018 non-violent Armenian revolution— excellent viewing for anyone with an interest in deposing a tyrant; and the somewhat self-explanatory Hip Hop in Ojibwe Country, which I thought was pretty great. I also enjoyed the short docs The Weapon You Choose, Bayt Jadeed: Seeking Home, and Narco Tumbas.

Support independent film!

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