Progress Report 5

1.      What exactly you accomplished since the last progress report.  Be detailed.

Last week, I picked at some sounds, but mostly focused on an instrumental version of the chiptune song I wrote. It needs a little polish still, but its sounding pretty good. Earlier this week, I focused on some gore effects. I decided to follow in the footsteps of the many foley artists before me and smash up some vegetables to achieve said effects. I used carrots, celery, cabbage, and, my personal favorite, a watermelon. The carrots were admittedly a bit weak, but a few good “bone breaking” sounds managed to squeak through when multiple carrots were broken at once. The celery was great. Chris had the idea of throwing them in the freezer for a bit, which helped add a little more snap when breaking them. Peeling cabbage had a real nice wet ripping sound to it, but I think the best was the watermelon. After smashing it up with a hammer, which sounded nasty, I tore apart the rinds and flesh, which created a nice mixture of crunch and squish.

2.      What you plan to get done the next week.

I’d really like to work on some more music, so I will! I plan to write with Joe, one of the graphic artists, this weekend. Also, I’m going to keep working on various sound effects. I have a notebook full of what I need to do. Since I’m kind of ahead of the game on what the team needs right now, I’m going to pick fairly randomly.

3.      What needs to be done yet before the project is complete.

More guns. More explosions. More movement. More dialogue. More Music. Just more.

4.      How well you kept to your planned schedule and what can be done to maximize your work time.

As I said above, I’m ahead of the game right now. Still, I gotta keep it going while I have momentum. Basically, I’m just going to keep doing what I’ve been doing.

5.      Any outstanding difficulties you encountered.

Nothing unexpected.

Progress Report 4

1.     What exactly you accomplished since the last progress report.  Be detailed.

The modeling portion of the first two characters is almost complete, so I’ve been focusing on some of their specific effects. They each have their own unique set of weapons, and I’ve got a good start on them. Chris and I did some foley stuff on Monday, keeping up our plan to collaborate once a week. We took out a good chunk of the weapons effects, from the actual shooting to the, to the sizzle of energy weapons. We got bullet casings hitting the floor, AND more footsteps. Soundtrack direction was discussed a lot at Monday’s meeting, so I’ve began composing some stuff. The game’s sound track will ideally consist of equal parts synth and rock music.

2.     What you plan to get done the next week.

I plan on a few things. First, I’d like to finish the song I started earlier in the week. It shouldn’t be too hard, because, as it stands, it only needs drums. Second, I’d like to begin writing one of the rock songs. One of the graphics artists is interested in being directly involved with this, as he plays guitar. We plan on meeting this weekend. Lastly, I will continue to pick off the sound effects.

3.     What needs to be done yet before the project is complete.

More guns. More explosions. More movement. More dialogue. Just more.

4.     How well you kept to your planned schedule and what can be done to maximize your work time.

I’ve been keeping up with the schedule very well. The only thing I could do to maximize my time on this project would be to make more time. I have a few projects going right now that may have to get pushed to the backburner.

5.     Any outstanding difficulties you encountered.

Nothing unexpected.

Progress Report 2

What exactly have you accomplished since the last progress report.  Be detailed.

I spent a good deal of time doing tutorials for Unreal 4. I’ve learned more about the audio “cues” and put some useful ones together. Learning some things about the way the audio is handled in the engine has already proven useful, as I was able to work with the visual artists/animators to show them how to apply sounds to their animations. I’ve also learned how to trigger sounds in the environment, which is equally useful. As far as sound effects go, I’m still working on some of the real basic stuff, like footsteps, jumping, and general moving around noises. Chris and I made some weapon specific noises (rail gun, sizzly laser, ammo pickup), as well, but we are trying to wait for more weapon concept art to be made before we get too in depth with it. We do have notes on what we want the weapons to be like, but knowing what they should look like and what materials they are made of could heavily influence the way we design sounds for them.

What do you plan to get done the next week?

As per my schedule, I’m editing sounds tomorrow. The artists put together some concept art of some characters, which will aid in that. Also, I didn’t finish the composition I started, so I might pick at it a bit. Monday is planned to be another team meeting, I’m hoping to bring more of the basics to the table. I still need some jump sounds as well.

What needs to be done yet before the project is complete?

On my end, sounds for: Guns, explosions, chatter

Also, music.

How well have you kept to your planned schedule and what can be done to maximize your work time?

I strayed from the schedule a bit in order to work on a personal project of mine, but this project was not completely ignored. I still worked on some gun sounds, audio cues, and music. To maximize my work time, I just need to keep plugging away. At this stage of the project, there is not an immense need for sound design, so I can afford to spread my time a little wider than I’ll be able to in…. say… a month from now.

Any outstanding difficulties you encountered?

 Nothing unexpected. Time management could’ve been better.