Task 11: Exemplary submission

[student name withheld]

Subject for My Soundscape

For my AI-generated soundscape, I chose to simulate audio from the Drop Bear hoax about a carnivorous koala that I used to create images for a previous Task.

My Prompt and Results

A nature magazine photographer wanders the Australian outback, looking for local wildlife. He considers taking a picture of the birds as he listens to their unique songs, or the cicadas whose buzzing mating calls fill the air. He also makes note of what he thinks is the territorial grunting of a male koala, though it’s somewhat louder than what he had heard in his previous visits to the country.

Before he can lament not bringing his emergency jar of Vegemite on his outing, a drop bear pounces on him from the treetops. The impact sends him tumbling to the ground. Its roar rattles his ribcage, and its breath reeks of tourist flesh. The photographer snaps a photo of the beast before the creature knocks him unconscious.

First Audio

Final Audio

My Process and Evaluation

Instead on relying on sounds more stereotypically associated with Australia, like kookaburras, I decided to include the calls of different Australian birds, and an AI-generated simulation of cicadas. This makes the audio clip feel less stereotypical, while creating a believable atmosphere for the outback. Increasing the volume of the photographer’s footsteps was a good idea, since the original audio was somewhat quiet. The original cicada audio drifted slightly right, so I’m glad I adjusted the pan left a little bit to make it more balanced. I think I might need to adjust the gain of the koala foley (AI prompt: roaring boar), because the audio in that part sounded distorted in the first audio draft. I also think I think I can add more sound clips to make the audio line up with the scene better, like a camera shutter and a cut-off shout.