A COLLABORATIVE POST BY SAM BUSEKRUS AND BRAD MEYER
ASSISTANT EDITOR AND SOUND EFFECTS EDITOR, BOOM BOX POST
It’s been awhile since we’ve done a creative build blog post so here’s the first one of the new year! This week I sat down with Brad to look at a fun build he did for a snow cone machine. This one had several builds slightly different from each other so check it out below!
Creative Process
First things first, Brad needed to figure out what genre/age group this show was for to decide what kind of vibe the snow cone machine will have. Because this was for preschoolers/kid friendly, he decided that this machine would have some toy elements to it and not be too crazy or realistic.
One thing he did for the toy element was added some bells/tings.
To match what the characters were saying and what the clients had suggested, he needed to add some toony spins and cowbell rattles. The second machine build comes into play right now as well. At one point, the machine has a sort of malfunction and so Brad needed to incorporate slightly different elements for these more creative parts. He added some timpani drums and farts to match the story of the episode.
This machine still needed to have a hi tech vibe to it even though it was for young kids just because it is hi tech in the world of these characters. So, Brad did add a “kid friendly” powerup to make the snow cone machine sound cool! For the second build, Brad took that same powerup file and pitched it around to make it sound like it was malfunctioning, pretty cool right?
He also added the physical materials to this machine such as the plastic rattling and other plastic elements.
Issues/Creative Blocks
For this build, Brad had no issues with it and thought it was pretty straightforward. Woo!!! Luckily he got some great to the point direction from the clients to make this easier for him.
Tips
Make sure your cutting to the right genre/age group: If this snow cone machine existed in another show, it would’ve sounded completely different. In an older show it could’ve had more of a realistic vibe with ice shredding sounds to it.