Sound can add the emotion of art - CreativeMindClass Blog
Phil Brookes is a music creator and sound designer hailing of Wales. He has worked alongside TedEd, Greenpeace, Tate, Medium, Passion, Strangebeast and many more. His sound and music are also showcased at festivals like Cannes, BFI London, GLAS, and Giffoni with award-winning multi-award films.
In this interview the interviewer will discuss the story of how Phil began his journey to becoming a musician and check out some of the most useful tips to get started in the realm of sound. Additionally, you can read about the acoustic details of a fun Socks project he worked on along with Eva Munnich.
Phil Brookes' background
I'm a composer of music and sound designer from Wales in the UK.
From the time I can remember, I have always been awed by the sounds of music, sound, as well as voices. Falling asleep in front of the washing machine as an infant, being seduced by its droning (appropriate for the kind of project I'll be talking about!) was my first memory of sound.
I began mimicking humorous accents and voice.
My dad was an obsessive hi-fi enthusiast and would use recording equipment to make noises vocally, applying effects like reverb and delay to his voice to make it more enjoyable. I used to imitate him and other people such as Jim Carrey and Robin Williams by using a small dictaphone, and copy all of the funny voice and accents they could create.
Prince
My older brother played guitar, and it was his love for music and specifically the multi-instrumentalist Prince that really rubbed off on me. When my brother moved out the guitar he had left in the car, and, as an adolescent I used it to teach myself how to begin writing and recording music. I was attempting to make the sounds that I seen on music albums or television and making my own sound to existing music.
The desire to use the resources available in order to produce or recreate sounds continues to inspire me to keep pushing myself. I enjoy the process of learning as I create and my favourite way of writing is to write on the spot. Improvising, experimenting, jamming.
I learned piano for myself and synth to make the music for the song 'But Milk is Important'.
My fascination led my to The University of South Wales in Cardiff and I got to meet an awesome animator named Eirik Gronmo Bjornsen. He came back to Norway and produced a movie with Anna Mantzaris called 'But Milk is Important'.
I taught myself piano as well as synthesizer to compose the music for it, and since I've been working on the film I've taken on sound design roles also, and am still creating.
The X-Files Project, aka the "Socks Project"
Recently I worked with the amazing visual artist Eva Munnich in the creation of the first of three Lemonade Insurance projects I've created the music and the sound design for.
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The Lemonade videos are humorous fifteen to thirty seconds of short animated videos that are designed to be looped. Eva's project had a strong sci-fi/extraterrestrial theme to it, and so she had some great ideas about music and sound.
In nine times of 10, I'll make the music first, as the atmosphere I create is likely to inspire me in my music.
We've also talked to Eva about her process for making animations and visuals to be used in The X-Files project. Listen to an interview with Eva.
Voice-wise, Eva liked the voices I'd performed in the previous TedEd animation I made together with Lisa Vertudaches.
In that video I had raised my vocals dramatically. She thought this would be suitable for the specific sock and wanted me to say "yay" in this voice. Whilst recording this "yay" I let the record in motion, and added "seeya" just before that sock entered into the UFO.
Eva loved it and it stayed in. The rest of the voice-overs were made up as I saw them.
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If the washer were to speak the volume would be lower.
To contrast the high sound of the sock I decreased my voice in the direction of the washing machine. Since the machine is large and I thought that if it were to have a voice, it would possess some depth. I blended these in together with the foley before mixing to create the perfect sound for music to be put on.
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I was a fan of the X-Files songs as a child.
Musically, Eva thought it would be interesting to create music that was inspired by The X-Files theme from The X-Files, which I was very happy with as I loved that music as a kid!
Much like the vast majority of projects I've worked on I use an animatic (almost as a moving storyboard) that the animator gives me to get a general idea of the timing, etc.
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I like sci-fi film soundtracks and soundtracks for games.
I am a fan of different genres of music, and it includes sci-fi as well as game soundtracks. So along with reference to in the X Files theme, I was thinking about which instruments might work well within the genre.
I used mainly synth-based instruments drones, bass, and drones to build the basis of my music. Drones that were layering was about getting the perfect atmosphere, and also representing the beam that emits from the ufo to abduct our sock.
I then created an incredibly powerful drum by using two kick drums and adding reverb and delay. I also added a delaying synth that pans from left to right to make the music appear more immersive. The final synth that I played in was the six-note pattern that repeats itself through.
Whistling is an excellent personal element that can be added to a piece of music.
It was time to take inspiration from the X-Files and incorporate a delay piano pattern and a whistle. I love to whistle and think that it's a wonderful factor to include in a piece of music. I had originally recorded basses guitar parts However, I found that they was not the right sounds I wanted to create.
Piano pattern
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A whistle
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Creating an atmosphere in 15 seconds may be a challenge.
I really loved working with Eva as a short-form approach is really enjoyable and exciting to work within. Although it's quick, it is still an enormous amount of work and has its own difficulties.
Making and creating an ambience within 15 seconds using the sound can be difficult, as well as composing the right melody without sounding rush-like within that time frame is a challenge too.
They are the kinds of challenges that I love however, and, since Eva's video, I've been working on two additional exciting Lemonade projects! You can find the process videos for them on my site and Instagram.
Ideas on how to begin adding sound to visuals
If you're looking to begin putting sound to the visual world, there's now more innovative options to accomplish this than at any time before. there's the best time to start doing it now than today.
- If you have some creative spark, you should go with it wherever it leads to. The best way to start creating is to make stuff you love and show the people what you have created.
- Contact budding filmmakers that share the same passion with you.they constantly seek advice on sound. it is possible to build a partnership.
- The first step is to get started with a place. I was making ambient music before I even thought about the possibilities working in film and, luckily, there was an animation department in my university, but before it, I'd created and made enough recordings of music and sound to make it logical for me to take that path when it presented the opportunity.
- Meet other creatives; that's what working together is all about. If you are fortunate enough to be located in an area that has festival nights, film nights and other activities, you should go to them and meet individuals.
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