Report

1. What is your product you are working with  (film, game, TV programme etc). Who it is aimed at (Audience).

My sound product is an FPS Game called "TF2" from around 2007 - 2011, the game itself is in a cartoonish style and is not serious at all. The target audience for TF2 are teenagers which coincides with its 15 plus age rating and it's silly, non-serious nature that makes the game famous. Also, the game thrives on look boxes so it also targets the demographic that is obsessed with gambling or microtransactions.

2. Describe the sound product. Genre, Representation, Narrative.

The product itself is a cartoony, class-based, first-person shooter from Valve. Each class has one or two theme songs that become synonymous with their character, For example, the Spy's theme song "Right Behind You" which is a song that sounds sneaky which directly links to the characters class type. A similar example is the scout's theme, the character plays fast pace and his accompanying song follows his speed. The game doesn't actually include music while it's being played, it's only utilised in the menus. the game doesn't overly have a narrative, there is a story but not one that you'd play through in the game so sound isn't used in this aspect.

3. How is sound used to convey and interpret the meaning of this product overall?

The sound fits the product in the sense of Genre, Time and context of the product. The cartoonish but still tense at moments soundtrack compliments this fictional war based, mixed class FPS game. You couldn't imagine the game with any other sounds with it which proves the team did an amazing job. It definitely isn't a serious game and you can tell just by listening with no context. An example of the games sounds being over the top-exaggerated would be the massive loud sound you hear when you smack someone with a spade. The music used for the characters in each short film becomes iconic with them and shapes the classes.

4. Is the sound used recorded on camera, added after or a combination is your opinion? Is this obvious? Is it believable? Does it work?

Because the specific Game and short film I chose is an animated piece its quite clear that all the sound was added after the fact since there would be no sound originally. The sounds used in the "Meet The Medic" Short and the game, in my opinion, are quite believable. Although you know the piece is fictional and so is the world you still expect the same sounds you would hear in real life, which the film does well, and they know when to not include sound because it's irrelevant. Although there's one bit that i think could've been done a little better because once the camera has passed certain sounds fade out which makes me slightly uncomfortable but not enough to discredit the whole piece.

 

5. Is the sound of a good quality in all aspects or is it inconsistent, incomplete, unsuitable or poorly recorded. 

Overall the audio seems quite high quality, especially for the time everything was made. They definitely had a vision of what they wanted and completed it to their idea of perfection. There are a few lines in the short films that sound like they have been recorded in different conditions or they were edited poorly. But in general, I think they did an amazing job with the sounds and mostly knew what they were doing when they came to it.
 

6. Is anything missing in sonic terms that could have been included / deleted to convey better meaning?

 Music is definitely missing, every little fight you have could mean and feel a lot more if it had some form of music included, even if it's just the classes theme. Also, the inclusion of variety in victory sounds could make the meaning of victory change, for example, the bigger the point gap, the more victorious or intense the music sounds so you can strive to achieve the best sound possible.

7. Your 5 sound inclusions / exclusions / amendments / improvements

I Believe that the product could favour from an actual background soundtrack during the gameplay to fill the void when you're not in combat or if the game is less full than usual. It seems quite picky but I would like them to improve the underwater sounds. All of the underwater sounds seem to be slightly muffled versions of the normal version, I'd like to actually hear a bigger difference between the two. along with the inclusion of music I would like to hear the inclusion of a death sound or tune that plays while you die and are waiting to respawn, it's small but will make the 11-second wait more bearable. carrying on with music and waiting, I also think they should include music while you're loading into an actual game so you have something to listen to instead of silence.

Soundtrack, use of Music to convey meaning. 

The soundtracks works very well in the games shortfilms and in the menu. It gets you invested in the product and when its used it is quite effective but i don't think its used enough.    The music is directly linked to the individual characters, The characters class or nature is expressed through their theme song. For example the Medics theme, its an angelic type of sound that fits him since the team sees him as an angel. Music could be improved by including it in the gameplay itself and by having it change with how you're playing.

Use of Voice over (VO). And overdubbing / voice sync. Describe uses of both 

Since the game is completely animated it's full of overdub / voice sync. In the shorts this technique seems to be done quite well and accurate but in the game itself its hard to notice how characters voicelines look like but the quality is great as well.    

 They use the technique of dubbing to give the characters life and lets them express themselves which we would see a lot less of in the game if they didn't shout lines out. The lines coud be improved by adding more variation to the lines but i think it works perfectly fine how it is.

Use of voice characterisation in recording to describe and inform the narrative     

The cast of the tf2 characters is quite diverse, the spy is french, the heavy is russian, the demoman is scottish so the voice actors had to give these characters life and make them fit their body and the world.    

this works in a way which creates a diverse world that proves where you from doesn't matter, you skill does. I think the voice actors performances were exeptional and i couldn't see the characters any other way.

Use of Foley to describe and interpret the films believability.    

Foley is used a lot and very well in the shortfilms, more so than the game itself because of the extra content. The foley used in the shorts allow you to get invested in the media. The short films do miss some foley sounds but most they miss aren't severe enough to ruin it.

    The foley used in tf2 allows the game and the shorts to be more realistic and enjoyable than if it was silent but it also establishes that the world is like ours and can be relatable. The sounds work for the game, i wouldn't change much apart from potentially adding more foley in some places

Use of ambient sound to convey mood, pace and placement (3D soundstage).              TF2 doesn't overly use ambient sound often. The most notable instance of ambience is the humming and buzzing that you can hear in the background when the game is quieter. The ambience they use is effective in making the areas more lively.   

 The ambience they use doesn't particulary mean anything to the main product in my opinion apart from match what you'd hear at that location if it existed. I don't think the game needs elaborate Ambient sounds so i probably wouldn't change anything myself.

Use of FX or incident based sounds. 

The sound FXs that appear in the game are more on the realistic than the cartoon side. There are some fx sounds that are super exaggerated and cartoony so the game does have a heathly mix which fits the game wonderfully.

The mix of the real and cartoon style FX sounds that are used makes the game believeable but still also fun and comedic. The only thing i would do to these sounds would potentially make them more dramatic than they are.

Use of Contrapuntal or Parallel sounds?     

TF2 doesn't use contrapuntal sound at all or very little i believe but they do use Parallel sounds. I don't believe theres much of a reason for only using parallel is to keep the sounds simple.
    The use of mainly Parallel keeps the product simple and not complicated at all. The most contrapuntal sound you experience is with Pyros "Meet The" Short but i believe this could be exaggerated more than it is.

Use of Sound stage presentation    

The sound stage presented is only front, left and right channel sound or atleast it is in the basic headset.
    For the type of game this sound stage presentation is perfectly fine but it would be nice if it was more .

Use of Sound staging. The Placement (spectrum) and Combination of sounds (mix)    sounds happen all around you in the game and from variable distances and you can tell where the sounds are coming from and can guess where they are    it enforces the fact that the game is in 3d space and works just like our world. i wouldnt know what to change with how they did this.

Use of mixing, the modulation of the tone and Equalisation of the sound    

I Believe that all the sounds in TF2 are completely leveled to where they should be and you can't hear or notice any problems in this field.  

This makes the sound clean and almost perfect quality for the game and time it was released.