This fantastic little play, concerning an British serial killer and one of his victim's mothers, was produced at California State University, Fullerton. This was my first attempt at sound design, and the audio tools I used were not terribly good. The sounds called for were largely abstract and open to interpretation, so it was a wonderful, creatively satisfying way to start.
This was the opening of the play, which opens in a New York City apartment. I decided to use the effect you hear first--a processed bit of blowing wind-- as a musical motif for the show. I constructed the city ambience from numerous different effects:
Ralph, the killer, fawns over his collection of kiddy porn video tapes. The script called for sweeping, romantic music and chirping birds.
This is supposed to signify twenty years passing, which is obviously a bit challenging to convey just with sound. The script called for and "explosion of fireworks, party favors, and clocks". I decided nix the new years angle and use a progression of music from British artists popular from the 1980s to present:
These effects took place over the span of about six minutes. The script called for the sound of a plane landing transitioning into a buzzing English garden, which served as background ambience. It also called for an airplane to fly overhead, and a van to drive by:
By this point in the script, Ralph has been caught. This succession of sounds happens as the mother describes the police tearing down the shack where the victims bodies were stored. It is a major turning point for the character, and she begins to recover from the wounds of her daughters death. The script called for construction noise gradually coming nearer, which I constructed with several different effects. It then asks for the sound of "gigantic ice caps breaking apart," which I decided to abandon. I couldn't find or construct an effect that was satisfying. Instead I made a heavy blizzard effect, gradually dying down and replaced with melting water. I also put in a processed exhalation of breath, and the musical wind from earlier in the show:
