Alien: Romulus Opening Sequence [Audio Redesign]
Please note the video component of this has been copyright claimed by Disney Enterprises 1 and is unavailable to view until disputed I have included the sound work alone to review :/
There are two areas I want to highlight and discuss the sound design strategies I employed. The opening interior shot of the unmanned spacecraft booting up required me to design a number of fictional computer tones and textures, spatialise them, and make ground them in a believable reality. To do this, I reviewed the source material again but also referenced similar sequences Scott’s Alien and Cameron’s sequel Aliens. I also looked at sequences in Neon Genesis Evangelion for a more modern and stylised take on fantasy computers. I synthesised these sounds using a specialised ring modulation feedback system I designed that can generate wonderful and unpredictable tones. I then sculpted these into specific sequences for each shot – carefully matching the visual cues. I then spatialised them using a combination of Plogue’s Chipcrusher and Ableton’s ML.Distance. Chipcrusher was used to simulate the sound coming from different pieces of vintage electronic equipment and is core to the rugged analogue aesthetic I attempted to situate the work in. ML.Distance simulates distance and panning (effectively a linked filter and amplifier with an intuitive interface) and was used throughout the SFX design to effectively and quickly assign each sound to a space on screen. These keynote sounds were combined with ambiences and impacts I designed using contact mics and field recordings to further the claustrophic and hauntological atmosphere of the main deck.
The other area I wanted to highlight was utilising psychoacoustics and critical listening bands to the fullest extent. To begin with, I wanted to uphold Files’ and Gilmore’s silent opening. At first I thought maybe some ambience or music could fill the opening minute but I quickly realised that the silence is by design. By having absolute silence, the viewers ears completely reset and wait in anticipation. This long minute is suddenly interrupted by a cacophony of noise as the computer guided ship comes to life. This contrast is absolutely crucial in maximising the impact. In every other designed sound, I made sure that, where appropriate, I was making use of the whole frequency spectrum. This was employed to full sell the size and reality of the fictional world. Two examples. At 2.30, when the alien rock is being lowered onto the apparatus I created a low-end impact to convey it’s mass and cinematic important but to properly convey the sheer size and reality of the sequence, I added high frequency detail sounds like rocks cracking and chains wavering. Without these sounds the full impact is completely lost. Moreover, at 2.38, when the cutting laser is working, I added some mid-range rock cracking and low-range room ambience. Although the laser is the focus of that sequence and is overwhelming in the mix, adding these tiny detail sounds in to other parts of the spectrum in brings it to life and sells the illusion of it.
