Sound Design project <- feedback please!

[Andrew Robinson]

Michael!

Many thanks, I'll incorporate a lot of your comments in the final version.

You're right about the pace, but I have an absolute 5:30 time limit
and I cut out a lot of content to get it down to this length - I think
it's acceptable for a native speaking audience, having dome some
comparison with BBC radio documentaries.

I don't have access to the microphone any more, but I'll see what I
can do to edit the pops you list. The ducking is interesting, everyone
who has given feedback mentions it, but opinions are now exactly split
50/50 on it being too noticeable or not strong enough.

You are right about the vocoder too - but I was making a reference to
the fictional HAL computer singing in the film "2001", which was
inspired by the work of Lockbaum/Kelly/Mathews, I go into detail about
this in the text.

> How did you do the vocoder sound itself?

It's a sample of my voice, fed through the vocoder in Reason. The
modulating signal is a phased sound (also from Reason), intended to
replicate the sound of HAL being shut down in "2001" - not really a
traditional vocoder sound, but it compares quite well in A/B tests
with the film soundtrack. I did have some traditional vocoder sounds,
in an earlier version - the 'Another one bites the dust' originally
morphed into 1960s psychedila, then into a Kraftwerk style - but I had
to lose this section to get under the time limit, which our lecturer
had originally set at 8 minutes, but then cut to 5:30.

> Ah, and I'm curious: where you regard FFT to be used in making a piano talk, are you referring to Peter Ablinger/Winfried Ritsch's works?

The idea came from a documentary on the foley effects used in
Transformers 2 (which is actually great film if you shut your eyes!),
I'm not aware of Ablinger/Winfried Ritsch so I must investigate!

> Oh, and for "Moog" it's like "rogue"  ;-)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDN-y0QQ7cs  (from the Moog-movie)
> (sorry, _had_ to point this out)

ouch! I can't believe I got this wrong... I might have to see if my
cheap mic here is up to dropping a word in!

Many thanks for taking the time to go though this for me, it really is
much appreciated!