Next event:
ERINN SAVAGE – Performance
Tomorrow 15:00 GMT

Glasgow
School of Simulation & Visualisation
Sound for the Moving Image

Roberto Facchini

Cube Audio Implementation Demo

This piece is included to demonstrate my experience using the game audio middleware ‘Wwise’, using its in-built demo game ‘Cube’. This type of software is designed to enable sound designers to implement audio in an interactive environment, while still having access to some of the tools and the familiarity of a traditional digital audio workstation. Using a combination of synthesis, Foley recording and sound FX libraries, I began accumulating sound assets that I felt suited the visual appearance of the game, that being a retro, low-res form. Once I had sourced and/or recorded the required sounds, I arranged and assigned them to create an interactive soundscape within the framework of Wwise. There are some issues caused by audio triggers from the game itself, namely the speed of footsteps and the type of underfoot surfaces, but despite this I am happy with the progress of this piece, and it has served as an invaluable learning exercise into the process of implementing sound in games.

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Meta

This piece was inspired by the Franz Kafka novella ‘The Metamorphosis’, a story in which the main character, Gregor Samsa, awakens in his bed to discover that he has transformed into a giant insect. The story conveys a number of thematic messages, including those of isolation, disease and alienation. It can be read as a comment on the fragility of the mind and body, with emphasis given to the description of Gregor’s transformed state and the effect it has on him. For this work I produced and combined sound and visual imagery to represent the opening scene of the story, when Gregor awakens to the melancholy-inducing sound of rain on his window, before slowly realising what has happened to him. In this piece my primary aim was to create and use sound to convey Gregor’s shifting emotions, gradually moving from a subdued, melancholic state to one of dawning panic and horror. The visuals are intended to supplement these emotional connotations, while also helping to enhance the impression of claustrophobia and isolation.

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Roberto Facchini is a multidisciplinary artist who works with both sound and visual media. With a background in electronic music and a passion for synthesisers, Roberto is constantly seeking to discover new creative processes and explore sound creation through non-traditional methods, and is driven by a fascination with the relationship between sound and technology.

Drawing on a range of contemporary influences, Roberto has a particular interest in the themes of body-horror, dystopia and the personal and societal impact of industrialisation and technological advancement. These concepts inform his audio-visual work, and he builds upon them to present ideas in abstract forms. Roberto also focuses on interactive audio, particularly working on sound for games. He has taken part in a number of Game Jams, and is currently exploring the process of sound implementation with game audio middleware.

Through the work presented in this showcase, Roberto aims to demonstrate both his conceptual and technical capabilities. While the two pieces may seem disparate, both required competence in planning and research, technical knowledge and aesthetic decision-making, skills that are transferable across a range of fields and creative practices.

View Slideshow

Cube Audio Implementation Demo

This piece is included to demonstrate my experience using the game audio middleware ‘Wwise’, using its in-built demo game ‘Cube’. This type of software is designed to enable sound designers to implement audio in an interactive environment, while still having access to some of the tools and the familiarity of a traditional digital audio workstation. Using a combination of synthesis, Foley recording and sound FX libraries, I began accumulating sound assets that I felt suited the visual appearance of the game, that being a retro, low-res form. Once I had sourced and/or recorded the required sounds, I arranged and assigned them to create an interactive soundscape within the framework of Wwise. There are some issues caused by audio triggers from the game itself, namely the speed of footsteps and the type of underfoot surfaces, but despite this I am happy with the progress of this piece, and it has served as an invaluable learning exercise into the process of implementing sound in games.

View Slideshow

Meta

This piece was inspired by the Franz Kafka novella ‘The Metamorphosis’, a story in which the main character, Gregor Samsa, awakens in his bed to discover that he has transformed into a giant insect. The story conveys a number of thematic messages, including those of isolation, disease and alienation. It can be read as a comment on the fragility of the mind and body, with emphasis given to the description of Gregor’s transformed state and the effect it has on him. For this work I produced and combined sound and visual imagery to represent the opening scene of the story, when Gregor awakens to the melancholy-inducing sound of rain on his window, before slowly realising what has happened to him. In this piece my primary aim was to create and use sound to convey Gregor’s shifting emotions, gradually moving from a subdued, melancholic state to one of dawning panic and horror. The visuals are intended to supplement these emotional connotations, while also helping to enhance the impression of claustrophobia and isolation.