The actual fun part of being a sound designer is the creativity, implementing different audios that I can use and where I want to place them throughout the film. I decided on a couple of sounds and effects by reviewing my script and the rough draft of our edited film. These are the decisions I made:
Instrumental background VS Lyrical music
I believe that creating lyrical music to play throughout the entirety of my film would cause it to be extremely cluttered. Instrumental music if often used for atmospheric and emotional cues, while lyrical music can add narrative depth and emotional resonance through the lyrics and vocals. For majority of the film, I want to use instrumental, especially for scenes with diegetic dialogue; utilizing lyrical music for moments that need narrative depth, like the scene where Dariah is first introduced and the mall montage scene.
Dariah's introduction:
For scene 1 and scene 3 where Dariah is having her monologue moment, I wanted to use lyrical music, utilizing the lyrics and vocals to add an upbeat yet calming tone to the scenes. I was looking at TV sitcoms from the early 2000s and 10s because I feel they strongly implement that genre of music that I am looking for. I ended up searching the sound track for Zoey 101 and found Melody by Scott Bennett, who composed a lot of the sound score in Zoey 101. What I love most about that song is not the lyrics, but the softness and nostalgic feeling I get from listening to it. The soft guitar and drums work perfectly together for when Dariah is introducing herself in a calm and joyful manner. Overall, it's perfect background music.
Melody- Scott Bennett by Enjoyinglife YouTube
Another song I was looking at for Dariah's introduction scenes is Since U Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson. Just like Melody, I am interested in using this song more for its vocals and instrumental rather then the specific lyrics. I love how rebellious it feels, the audience can kind of get the sense that Dariah has an interesting and rebelling personality, that would be shown later on in the film.
Since U Been Gone - Kelly Clarkson YouTube
Finally, I was interested in Hoobastank- The Reason, because the meaning behind the lyrics and the atmosphere brought by the instrumental. The lyrics relate to Dariah's character in a lot of ways (to an extent because it is a love song). Through the lyrics, the singer acknowledges their mistakes and is expressing a desire to become a better person; just like how Dariah realizes the mistakes she made with hanging with the wrong crowd and desires to start anew at a different school.
Hoobastank- The Reason (Lyrics) AweLyrics YouTube
Mall Montage:
For the mall montage, I am looking at lyrical music with strong meanings behind the lyrics. In this scene, Dariah is showing her past lifestyle, which is filled with riches, empowerment and self-love. I wanted to use Alien Superstar by Beyonce, because the lyrics, vocals and instrumental match the atmosphere set for the scene. Lyrics including, "I'm one of one" "I'm number one" "Forever I'm that girl" "Feed you diamonds and pearls" " Unique" "Category, bad B(word)" and "I'm too classy for this world", all contribute to the narrative of the mall montage. Essentially, Alien Superstar promotes self-love, confidence and uniqueness, which is all characteristics that Dariah's old self represent.
During scene 4, the 3 antagonists appear by crashing into Dariah. I want to use instrumental for this scene, something that gives the tone of bratty, rude, and entitled, which are all characteristics of the 3 "mean girls". After searching in stock instrumental audios with the filter word, "villain", I found what then became the instrumental for Doja Cat's, Tia Tamera
Doja Cat Ft. Rico Nasty- Tia Tamera (Official Instrumental) Mr. Somebody YouTube
In terms of placement:
Planning in advance where exactly I want every sound to start and stop is very important because it makes sound designing much easier; I like to think of it as a guideline or a map for when I am actually importing the sounds into my film. By strategically placing sound sources, I can create a sense of space and depth, making the audio feel more realistic and immersive. Reviewing the script while planning the placement assisted in matching different audio with the narrative and atmosphere of each scene. Here, I made note of each placement:
Scene 1:
Scott Bennett- Melody OR Kelly Clarkson - Since U Been Gone OR Hoobastank - The Reason, will start playing as soon as the scene starts. According to the script, when the stage direction states, "(pauses)", the song with end. Shaunae (talent) will finish line. As the montage is about to begin, fade in Beyonce - Alien Superstar.
Screenshot of line in scene 1 where music will completely stop
Scene 2:
Play Alien Superstar for the entire duration of Scene 2, Mall Montage. According to Scene 2, when the stage directions states, "(pauses)", Alien Superstar will end.
Screenshot of line in scene 2 where AS will completely stop
After a silent moment, right when the stage direction state "(melodramatic)", play Alien Superstar at exactly 2:47. In this moment specifically, Beyonce is having a deep monologue about how everything we do as individuals make us unique.
Screenshot of line in scene 2 where AS will play once again
Scene 3:
In scene 3, as Shaunae says "never mind", the same song from scene 1 (either melody or since u been gone or the reason) will pick right back up where it left off before hand. Further contemplation will be needed to decide whether the audio should pick up on "never mind" or immediately after.
Screenshot of line in scene 3 where song will pick up
Then, the song will be played all throughout scene 3 and the beginning of scene 4, where Dariah is browsing the books.
Scene 4:
Song is suddenly interrupted when the 3 antagonists bump into Dariah. Implementing sound effects, I will use an effect of a broken record player or a DJ scratch effect. Both of these sounds can be found in stock audios. Another stock audios like background chatters can be implemented in scene 4.
For when the "mean girls" come into the scene, I will be using the instrumental of Tia Tamera by Doja Cat. I have two options on where to end the instrumental:
Natalia's line, "what was that?" leaving everything after that silent
Natalia's line, "Quincy, you literally said that joke twice" ending the song abruptly with a sound effect.
I also find it interesting to use sound tracks for moments where the characters say something funny or have a funny gesture.
Screenshot of line in scene 2 where AS will play once again
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