We are told to choose a passage and create a narrative driven soundscape. I am gonna choose a very short story in Chinese called "永遠的蝴蝶", Forever Butterfly.
My translation/ alternation of it:
It was raining. The road was wet, reflecting colours of the green, yellow and red. We were hiding under someone's balcony watching that postbox across the road. In my coat there was a letter to my mother. Sakura said that she can help me post it. I nodded.
"Well, we only have one small umbrella." she smiled while opening the umbrella, getting ready to post the letter for me. The rain was dripping from the thin ribs of the umbrella frame, onto my glasses.
There was a sudden loud car skidding noise. I could see flashbacks of Sakura's life when her body was flying through the air. Slowly, she landed on the cold, wet road like a cherry blossom.
It was spring but felt like the end of autumn.
She was just crossing the road helping me post the letter. Such a simple action but left me remembering it for the rest of my life. I slowly opened my eyes which filled with burning hot tears, feeling lost under that balcony. All the cars stopped, pedestrians went up to the middle of the road. No one knows, lying there in the middle of the road, was my Sakura. She was only five meters away from me but it was too far. There was more rain dripping on my glasses, and in my life.
Why? Only one umbrella?
I felt like I am seeing Sakura, holding the umbrella crossing the road. She offered to help me post the letter, the letter to my mother. I am standing here under the balcony. I feel like I am seeing Sakura still walking toward the middle of the road. The rain wasn't very heavy. However, it was the heaviest rain in my whole life. I wonder if the young Sakura knows what was in my letter.
Mom: I am planning to marry Sakura.
My shorten version of it/ narrative script:
It was cold and wet.
We were hiding under someone's balcony watching that postbox across the road.
"Well, we only have one small umbrella. Let me quickly post it for you."
(Accident)
It was spring but felt like the end of autumn.
Such a simple action but scarred me for the rest of my life.
No one knew, lying there in the middle of the road, was my Sakura.
Why. Only one umbrella?
The rain wasn't very heavy. Yet, it was the heaviest rain in my life. I wonder if my young Sakura knows what was in my letter.
Mom: I am planning to marry Sakura.
The sound script (very early ideas):
**Storm sound - through out the whole soundscape, shows uncertainties, unpredictable events.
Rain (mid-air) - loud
**Rain - quiet, through out the whole soundscape
Traffic - fast, with some water splashing sound
Rain dropping on the floor - more quiet environment, balcony
Sakura - "Well, we only have one small umbrella. Do you want me to post that letter for you? The postbox is just across the road anyway."
Loud skidding
*All sound muffled from this point onwards
Body dropping sound
Bone breaking sound
SILENCE
Mixture of busy footsteps (on wet ground) and voices - "Oh my God!" "Call 999!" "...car accident...girl...come quick!" "...no heartbeats..."
Experimental flashback + main character thinking out loud
"Mom: I am planning to marry Sakura." Everything quiet down for this last sentence
How to do the sounds
I have got a few of the sounds:
rain
storm
traffic
footsteps
Rain dropping on the floor
I need the sound booth for:
voice
-main guy
-Sakura
-crowd
-car skidding
-car impact
-bone breaking
-experimental sounds of the character's mind after the accident
I will head to London to get some more of:
traffic
footsteps
crowd noise
Research:
Car crash (Only one page from this because I am not sure if I am allowed to share more pages)
Crowd sounds
