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Special Sound Projects
Divine Voxel Engine (Gaming Engine)
Sound Designer
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The Divine Voxel engine is a multi-threaded JavaScript voxel game engine written in TypeScript that uses Babylon.Js. The overall design quality of the engine at large is to evoke a spiritual experience. Thus the sound follows suit in that design quality. It is also designed to compliment the visual fidelity, employing a mixture of real-world and synthetic sounds, to hearken back to the sound quality of 3D games of yesteryear. There are two classes of world materials, Dream and Dread. Dream materials have a lighter, airier quality, while Dread Materials have a heavier, darker quality. Each material (grass, stone, wood, etc.) has it's own unique set of footstep sounds as well.
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Click here to learn more about the Divine Voxel Engine.
Crystalline Bliss (Video Game)
Sound Designer
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Crystalline Bliss is a multiplayer 3D Tetris Game developed by Divine Star Software. It's notable for it's psychadelic, dark, spiritual and classic aesthetic, and the sound design was to support this aesthetic. Following in the footsteps of the Divine Voxel Engine, most sounds were derived from recorded, rather than synthesized sources. The rate of these sounds were largely slowed down to align with the dark aesthetic, but doing so also gave them the uncanny "gamey" quality. Sounds for the movements of the crystal blocks included a fishbowl glass, blowing into a jumbo water bottle and the shattering of a beer bottle. Additionally, the game is presided over a Godlike Deity named Mel. I provided the voice of Mel, delivering the root quality with a "death metal growl" and processing it with lowered pitch, a subharmonic harmonizer and glazing it with a bit of bitcrusher, to retain the retro quality and some plate reverb.
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This game will soon be available for purchase on Steam. Click here for details.
It's a Wonderful Life: Radio Theatre (Audio-Play)
The Playhouse at White Lake, December 2020
Directed by Cindy Beth Davis - Dykema
Performed by the White Lake Youth Theater
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This play was produced by the Playhouse at White Lake in response to the constraints and societal zeitgeist surrounding the COVID-19 Pandemic. Voices actors were recorded 6 feet away from each other with masks on and sound effects were recorded individually on stage during a separate session. The audio was synced to a festive video of a yule fireplace and livestreamed to patrons who purchased a ticket.
Since the radio drama has become a distinctly retro form of storytelling entertainment, I designed the overall sound quality to give a vintage impression, rather than distractingly evoking the limitations of 1930s radio broadcast quality. This was achieved through a combination of my choice of microphones and digital effects used during editing.
The sound effects were all created by using small antique props and household items to create impressions of larger than life sounds to support the modest scope of the story and medium.
Intro -
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This piece demonstrates the overall quality of the program, with dry, heavy, grainy vocals and the underlying musical motif of a solo violin.
Ice Cream Shop Scene -
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Multiple foley props were used to create the detailed soundscape of the ice cream shop including a glass mason jar, an ice cream scoop, a door in the theater, an antique brass bell and a pack of jelly beans. Additionally, a baseball glove was struck to evoke the sound of Mr. Gower hitting George.
Taxi -
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3 main components were used to create the sound of Bert's taxi, including an antique coffee grinder for the motor, a vintage style brass horn and a lidded plastic filing box for the door.
Windows Breaking -
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I designed the sound of windows breaking out of a satin bag filled with tiny pieces of metal surrounding a glass bottle that were violently jerked and shaken.
Mary's House and Telephone -
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Telephone sounds were created using a bicycle bell and a non-functioning rotary phone. For the sound of a voice heard through a receiver, the respective voice had several bands of high frequencies removed at an instananeous value, creating a very harsh, gritty and unnatural tone. The comedic moment with Mary's mother was emphasized by placing the sound of it low in the mix, with high frequencies removed (this time gradually, creating a physically natural tone) and far to the right in the stereo field, to create a the sonic illusion of it happening on the other end of the house.
Piano and Tension Increasing -
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In this scene, George Bailey's breakdown is accompanied by the unnerving sound of a child practicing piano. In the first part of this scene, it is unobtrusively muffled and quiet, creating a sense of space and supporting the quiet moment between George and his young daughter. During the second part, it is far more present, functioning as a disturbing score for George's utter loss of control, and the ensuing silence is made all the more uncomfortable.
The piano was performed by me. To approximate the sense of a child learning how to play the piano, I recorded myself writing an arrangement of Silent Night in real time, using my less than intermediate skills on the instrument.
River and Angelic Descent -
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For this scene, where George Bailey is standing at the edge of the bridge contemplating suicide, I directed the water and winds sounds to have an intense turbulance, creating an intensely dramatic weight.
I created the sound of Clarence descending from heaven with a heavily processed wind chime.
Nyarlethotep (Audio-Drama)
Director, script revisonist, co-sound designer
with Allen Harrison
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A radio drama adapting the H.P Lovecraft short story. This piece is designed to evoke the fears I experienced during the year of 2016. Through my design I created decaying environments culminating in an apocalyptic event. I emphasized themes of mass hysteria, demogogism, societal unrest and feminism to support this adaptation.
Featured Voices
Sarah Martens
Outer God
Tyler Quinn
Individual 1
Tristan Robb
Individual 2
Callisto Cortez
Individual 3
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