Sound Design: AT-AT Imperial Walkers scene (Star Wars rep overdub)

In this blog I will briefly explain my process of putting together some sounds for a bland scene of AT-AT Imperial Walkers.

Without any audio attached to this clip it is very bland, just to hefty machines walking through a snow field but with some scientific study and creative inspiration it can soon be turned into a movie production scene.

PREPARATION

First thing I always do is I watch the clip a few times to get the feel of it, then while in Pro Tools (my preferred software choice) I will set markers for each movement/action that I see fit to require sound, even once I think I am done I will watch the scene a couple times more just to clarify that I haven't missed anything (sometimes I'll notice a week later I've missed something, it's normal..I think).

I'll then write cue sheet out which will help me calculate the timing of placements for the actions of the AT AT on the left that is disappearing off screen. For example; from my cue sheet I can see that the timing between the main (front) laser shots of the AT AT in the center are 00:00:03.336 - 00:00:03.203 = 00:00:00.134 and from the AT AT on the left are 00:00:01.168 - 00:00:01.034 = 00:00:00.134 giving me an accurate measurement to finish adding in my markers within Pro Tools for when I come to synchronizing my sounds to the video.

Then I'll create a brief list breaking down each part for each sound, once I know what I need I will search through my personal sound library (originally recorded) to see if I have anything I can re-use before I start recording more sounds.

The walking zone

It just so happens I had recorded footsteps and jumping not long before this project so I made use of these, one type on metal which came in handy for the imperial walker and the other type was on grass (foley grass ;]) which I used for the snow surface. Not only do I need to concentrate on the weight, material, timing and the surface of each step but also what is in the surface, as you can see from the clip the snow has shrubbery sticking out of it, so that is going to make snappy sounds when being stamped on but not only when being stamped on but when releasing the foot from the ground is also going to provide sound from some of the shrubbery becoming unstuck from the ground foot sandwich, have a listen next time you're walking on that kind of surface and you will notice what my words can't convey.

For the leg movements I used recordings of my blender from 2 different microphones (at the same time) a Sontronics STC 3X (large diaphragm condenser) for an open air feel to the sound and an Audix i5 (dynamic) for the direct sound. These are both my 'go to' mics, I recommend at least trying them, and when the i5 is paired with a Shure 57 at a guitar amp I'm telling you..it's lush! =) anyway..back to imperial walkers! I cut up some samples and placed them in on each step down movement of the walker but for the lifting of the legs I reversed the clips to get more of a suction effect to it then I applied some slight EQ and Valhalla Frequency shifting to taste ready for the next step.

So with the feet and the leg actions now implemented for both of the AT-AT's panning and volume automation was the next step for me to make it bearable to work with when adding in more sounds, I know some people that leave panning and volume till the very end but that doesn't work for me so it is up to you how you choice to work, as long as the finished product is good then who cares right?!

Pew pew!

Now my session is ready for the lasers, something a bit more exciting, laser beams do not have sound in the real world but this isn't the real world so it is up to you how you want to approach the laser light flybys, however! something so charge a laser beam weapon probably will make a sound so definitely add sound for that!

In this scene there are 2 types of laser shooting guns, 2 smaller ones on the side of the head and the main bulkier ones at the front, so it's good practice to define the difference between them. I cannot actually remember how I ended up with these laser beam sounds, I recycle a lot of my recordings and it can get a bit messy in my sessions but what I can say is that for the main guns I included the charging effect with a blast however for the guns on the side of the head I didn't include a charge instead I went for something that sounded like it was just pushing the beam out. Again I used automation for this before moving onto the next step.

So..so far..

Sound that you cannot see so what is it supposed to be?!

Now this is the part where you really need to be creative, it's one thing applying sound to a visual but to create an atmosphere you can't see can be quite tricky, what are these imperial walkers shooting their lasers at? people? buildings? vehicles? tanks? other imperial walkers? one thing is for sure, nothing is shooting back at them so an army of tanks are out of the question, I think people running under panic would be a good place to start, my guess is that there could possibly be a small village next to these fields so it could be good to add in some sounds for their homes being hit.

Another thing to consider is how loud in comparison to the imperial walkers are these off-screen sounds going to be and where these sounds will be in the stereo mix.

I chose to add minor explosions with debris falling from..whatever exploded, seeing as we're in a field I threw in a few cows and sheep. I hope you enjoy and notice the impact sound can have on a film. =)