Sound is a way to add life to your art - CreativeMindClass Blog
Phil Brookes is a music musician and sound designer from Wales. He was a collaborator with TedEd, Greenpeace, Tate, Medium, Passion, Strangebeast and many more. His sound and music were also featured at major festivals such as Cannes, BFI London, GLAS and Giffoni and has won multiple awards for his films.
In the video below the interviewer will discuss how Phil came about becoming a musician and check out some of the most useful tips to get started in the realm of sound. In addition, take a look at the musical details of a fun Socks project that he created together with Eva Munnich.
Phil Brookes' background
I'm a composer of music and sound designer originally from Wales within the UK.
From the time I remember, I have always been attracted to music, sounds, and even voices. Falling asleep in front of the washing machine when I was young children, and being captivated by its droning (appropriate given the topic I'll be discussing!) is the first time I've heard a sound.
I started mimicking funny accents and voice.
My father was an obsessed audiophile and used recording equipment to make noises in his voice, and apply effects like delay and reverb on his voice just for fun. I would mimic him and others like Jim Carrey and Robin Williams using a dictaphone to 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 and left his guitar in the car, and, as an adolescent I took it as a tool to educate myself how to begin writing as well as recording my music. Inspiring myself to produce sounds I had seen on music albums or TV and then creating my own music to the existing material.
That passion for using any resources I could find to create or recreate sound remains what drives me to continue to push myself to the limit today. I am awestruck by the challenges to learn as I make and my favourite method of writing is in the moment. Improvising, experimenting, jamming.
I taught myself piano and synth to make the music for 'But Milk is important'.
My obsession took my across The University of South Wales in Cardiff, where I met an amazing animator called Eirik Gronmo Bjornsen. He returned to Norway and created a short film together with Anna Mantzaris called 'But Milk is Important'.
I taught myself piano and synth to create the music for it, and since I've been working on the film I've taken on sound design roles too, and haven't stopped creating.
The X-Files Project, aka the "Socks Project"
Recently I worked with the stunning visual artist Eva Munnich for the very initial of three Lemonade Insurance projects I've created the music and the sound design for.
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The Lemonade videos are funny 15-30 second short animations that can be played repeatedly. Eva's project had a strong sci-fi/extraterrestrial theme to it, and so she had some great ideas about music and sound.
9 times out 10 I'll make the music first, as the ambience I create can be a source of inspiration musically.
We've also had a conversation with Eva about her process for designing animation and visuals to be used in The X-Files project. Listen to the interview with Eva Munnich.
The voice, Eva liked the voices I'd performed in a previous TedEd animation I made together with Lisa Vertudaches.
In that animation I had raised my vocals dramatically. It was thought by the animator that this might be suitable for the specific sock and requested that I say "yay" in this voice. While recording the "yay" I let the record in motion, and added "seeya" shortly before that sock entered into the UFO.
Eva liked it, so 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 have a voice and a voice, the machine would sound low.
In contrast to the heavy sound of the sock I lowered my voice for washing machines; since the machine is large which is quite large, I thought as if if it had some voice, it'd have some depth to it. I mixed these together with the foley before mixing the sounds ready for the music to be added on.
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I loved the X-Files songs as a child.
Musically, Eva thought it would be interesting to create something inspired by the theme from The X-Files, which I loved since I loved the music as a kid!
Like most of the projects I've worked on, I work with an animatic (almost like a moving storyboard) that the animator gives me so that I can gain a sense of timings, etc.
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I enjoy sci-fi films and soundtracks for games.
I listen to a lot diverse kinds of music. that includes sci-fi movies and game soundtracks, so along with reference to in the X Files theme, I thought about what instruments could be suitable for this particular genre.
I used mainly synth-based instruments, drones, and basses to build the basis of the sound. The drones were layered to capture the perfect atmosphere, and also representing the light that emanates from the ufo to abduct our sock.
I made an impressive drum by layering two kick drum samples along with delay and reverb. I then added a delaying synth that pans left to right to make it seem more engaging. The final synth I played using was the 6-note pattern that is repeated all through.
Whistling is a great human aspect to include in a piece of music.
I decided to draw inspiration from the X-Files and incorporate a delay piano melody and whistle. I love whistling and find it to be a fantastic factor to include in the music. I had originally recorded part of the bass guitar, but I felt it did not fit with the synthesized tone I was trying to achieve.
Piano pattern
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A whistle
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Making an environment in just fifteen seconds isn't easy.
I truly enjoyed working with Eva as a shorter-form style is extremely thrilling and enjoyable to design within. Even though it's short however, it's an enormous amount of work and poses its own set of problems.
Creating and establishing an atmosphere in 15 seconds with the sounds can be quite difficult and composing an arrangement that isn't like it was recorded in a hurry is quite an accomplishment too.
This is a challenge I enjoy, though, and since Eva's video, I've worked on two more really fun Lemonade projects! You can find the process videos for them on my site as well as on on Instagram.
Ideas on how to begin adding sound to visuals
If you're interested in using sound in a visual medium, there're currently more creative methods to achieve this than before. And there's the best time to start doing it than now.
- If you have an urge to be creative, then take it wherever it leads you. One of the best ways to begin creating is to make stuff you love and show your creation to others.
- Contact budding filmmakers that have the same interests like you.they constantly seek advice on sound. you might forge a working relationship.
- It is necessary to begin at some point. I was making ambient music long before I considered the possibility working in film and, luckily, there was an animation program at my school, however prior to it, I'd created and made enough recordings of music and sound that it made sense for me to pursue this path once it offered the opportunity.
- Meet others in the field; that's how collaboration is all about. If you are fortunate enough to be located within a region that hosts festival nights, film nights and events, then visit them to meet other people.
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