Rebots Trailer (Sound Redesign)
Rebots Trailer is a complete sound redesign created for a 72-hour admission assignment for Sonic College. Starting with a muted video and a brief asking for my version of the trailer sound, I created the full soundtrack including music, sound design, voice recordings and stereo mix.
Original game & trailer by FlatPonies
Used with permission. All original assets and footage © FlatPonies.
My goal was to create a soundtrack that would evoke curiosity and excitement about the game.
I wanted the sounds to have a synthetic character suited to the game’s theme, along with a rhythmic groove that contributed to the trailer’s liveliness and playfulness.
Deadline
Duration
Format
Working with the Countdown
For me to do a complete sound redesign with the 72-hour time constraint, I knew that strategic planning was especially important for dividing the project workload into smaller manageable parts.
Rather than jumping straight into it, I started out making a plan of action. The purpose of this plan was to prevent myself from getting caught spending too much time trying to perfect subtle details and end up with an unfinished project.
In my DAW, I used a couple of tracks for the basic framework, adding markers to the timeline with notes of sounds and ideas. This gave me a visual overview of the project and I was able to clearly see the parts that needed more or less attention.
DAW session showing markers and notes used to map out the redesign framework.
Sounds of Synthesis
I had a list of the sounds I wanted, now I had to figure out how to create them.
The game’s theme centers around the “intelligent(ish)” robots. I figured that synthesis would be a great match and a versatile tool for creating a coherent sound palette. That resulted in giving myself an additional constraint: to use Xfer Serum as my primary source for sounds.
Most of the trailer’s sounds, from in-game and UI sounds to musical elements, are created from simple waveforms and wavetables shaped through envelopes, filters, modulation and effects processing.
For the few sounds I wasn’t able to synthesize, I chose to abandon my constraint in favor of recorded samples. Getting the feeling right was more important than adhering to my self-made constraint in this case.
Prior to this project, my experience working with synthesizers was very limited. Challenging myself to use the synthesizer has increased my knowledge and confidence as well as given me a better understanding of when to reach for this tool.
Xfer Serum patch to create the sound of electricity.
A Crucial Break
While scanning through the trailer for any sense of time, I was able to use the split-screen sections in the beginning and middle of the trailer to establish the pulse of the music. With the tempo figured out, I spent a good amount of time trying to find the central musical idea. Repeatedly trying to force out the perfect idea wasn’t working so I took a break. Humming melodies and rhythmic patterns during the break eventually led to a thematic motif that I could further build upon.
I wanted to keep the music interesting and prevent too much repetition by introducing a variation from the theme. The 3-part split-screen view in the middle of the trailer was a perfect place to break down the music and point the viewer’s attention to the game sounds before “the grand finale”.
The struggle of finding the musical idea once again showed me that you can’t always force out the perfect creative idea. Starting with a small idea and recognizing that it can be developed into a great one is a very valuable skill and a big potential timesaver.
Presentation of the Rebots organic characters
Giving the Characters Life
Not everything in this game revolves around the robots. The trailer introduces three organic characters.
To bring these characters to life and make them seem more friendly, I recorded myself (for the “Woolyfant”, I gave my dad a shot) voice acting different greetings with a focus on trying to match the voice but more importantly the expression of the characters. The recordings were edited, manipulated and processed, adding the final touch to better fit the build, temperament and personality of each character.
Choosing to use organic recordings rather than trying to synthesize their sounds helped create a greater distinction between the electronic and the organic elements of the trailer and made them feel more alive.
Bringing It All Together
Once the music and all the sound effects were in place, I brought the complete redesign together in a stereo mix.
The music is a very important element of the trailer since it carries most of the vibe. At the same time, I knew the game sounds are just as important for the overall experience. Treating the sound effects like the vocal in a song, I adjusted their levels to sit at the top of the mix and always remain audible with the music acting as accompaniment.
After the musical breakdown, a lead synth is introduced taking over the main focus in the mix. Because the sound effects in this section were mostly ambient and background sounds, the synth could fill the foreground with the game sound supporting it underneath.
The final step before submitting my version of the trailer was referencing the mix on different playback systems, making the necessary iterations to achieve a more balanced final mix. The result is Rebots game trailer which FlatPonies’ Creative Director, Designer and Composer, Felix Sherar, thinks is a “very cool take”.
Credits
Sound Designer, Composer, Voice Actor, Voice Director, Recording & Mix Engineer
Kevin Abundo
Voice Actor
Dad