Brief script
In this short soundscape composition piece, the daily life of a normal student was demonstrated in the form of “sound montage” using Ambisonics, from the normal school schedule to the usual home routine.
The entire sound recording is designed to be divided into three main parts, with an ideal duration of around 4-5 minutes:
School schedule: Starting from the ambient sound of classroom teaching, the student is not so concentrated and keeps going absent-minded, which is suggested by the reverb on the lecturer’s voice. As the student’s mind is wandering further and further away, there are more and more reverb, delay and width added to the sound. It is then interrupted by the sound of door closing which indicates the end of the class
The way home: Starting from leaving the classroom, it is divided into different sections that appear on the way home. The sounds are edited and crossfaded together to showcase the process of him returning home.
Home routine: Record the trivial things that the student will do at home, such as putting down his bag, boiling water, listening to music and then taking a shower.
Recorded Sounds
School schedule
RClassroom ambience
RRoom tone
RProfessor teaching
RKeyboard
RPacking bag
RCorridor ambience
RClassroom door
Way home
RElevator tone
RElevator door & bell
ROutdoor ambience
RTraffic light
RMetro station ambience
Home routine
RUnlocking & opening the door
RRoom tone
RTaking off shoes
RPutting down bag
RTyping keyboard
RBoiling water
RListening to music
RPlastic bag
RTaking a shower
The significance
This piece is composed by various foleys and ambiences to recreate one’s daily life. The recordings are carefully positioned and mixed so that the work sounds more like an actual recording in an actual scene. I use convolution reverb on all recordings to better mix them into the wanted space (e.g. classroom, elevator etc.). The good thing about composing soundscape using separate recordings is that, as it is a “first person POV perspective soundscape”, certain sounds and effects can be emphasized easily by simply treating them one by one, which is very useful in expressing the focus and emotion of the character.
In addition, the work aims to reflect the flat repetitive life by capturing the overlooked sounds in one’s daily routine, which helps the listeners to relate more about their own lives as well and perhaps brings thoughts in making changes or seeking challenges.