Just as important as visuals, sound plays a key role in creating good animations. From sound effects to music painting key moments, sound can dramatically impact the way a scene is perceived by the viewers. Even sound alone can paint a vivid picture for viewers, with a blank screen, the right sounds can let the viewers know exactly what is happening. Sound should not be an afterthought, as it would be a lot of opportunities to enhance your story. In fact, the sound should lead your story and be a key consideration with every decision.

Difference in sound

There are two different concepts that should be clarified with sound, diegetic and non-diegetic sound. Diegetic sound comes from sources that are visible in the scene that come from physical things, such as a creaking door or a car horn. Non-diegetic sound comes from sources not visible on the screen and has neither been implied nor presented in the action. These sound effects do not come from natural objects, but instead are surreal sounds aimed at enhancing the scene and story.

How to Use Sound

There are different types of ways sound can be used in an animation. It can be used through sound effects, music as sound effects, music, and dialogue.

Sound effects can add a lot to your story, from a barking dog to the ding of an elevator or church bells ringing. The important thing to keep in mind when using sound effects is that restraint is key. With so many options and sounds to use, it is important not to pack your scene full of sounds, unless it enhances your story. Every sound should be intentional and should be used to elevate the emotions in the scene.

Another important thing to consider when creating your sound effects is that they do not even need to be sound effects at all. Music, especially derived from the soundtrack can be, in some cases, more effective to use.

Additionally, a well-thought-out music score is necessary for the success of your project. Music helps to guide the audience’s journey. Music can set the scene, create suspense or inspire wonderment.

Lastly, dialogue should be used, but only when you cannot find a way to express a thought visually. As a last resort, dialogue can be used and should aim to reinforce the personality traits you have given the character, clarifying them to your audience. It is also important to keep the dialogue naturalistic and to use subtext. Always keep the mood of the scene in mind when creating your dialog, as people tend to speak differently in different situations. For example, when people are upset, they use short, clipped sentences, while in happier moments people use longer sentences, full of little details.

Sound can be used in many different ways, but the bottom line is, no matter what you use, it should be reinforcing and furthering your story, informing the viewers, and keeping them emotionally invested in each scene.

World Building

While sound plays a key role in helping your world come to life, it is important to first know, what is your world? Not every story has to be placed in the here and now. Your story could take place 100 years ago, 100 years from now, a different planet, a different solar system, a different universe. There is no limit to the type of world your story could be in, the only thing it must have is rules. You must define the physical, social, and visual laws that exist there. These “laws” will provide a consistency to your world that gives it a sense of authenticity. When building a world and creating these laws, just like any other aspect of your story, make sure it has a purpose. Make sure something in your world is hindering the main character from achieving his goals with ease. Each thing in your world should have a purpose for being there and enhancing the story in some way.

Searching For Inspiration

When building your world, it is important to also take inspiration from other stories you love and even the world around you. Rewatch your favorite movie, study nature, and read ancient lore. There is so much inspiration all around us, in our everyday lives, and an entire world could spark from one little idea you had from something that inspired you.

Examples of Sound

This scene from Interstellar has amazing sound design. The sound adds so much to the scene and holds a lot of meaning. Each tick that is heard symbolizes a day gone by on Earth. Each second they stay there is precious time they are losing. With every tick the audience can feel the tension grow and the music gets louder and intensifies with the growing wave. The whole scene keeps the audience at the edge of their seat, hearts racing hoping they make it back.

This scene, from the show Star Wars: The Clone Wars is also a great example of a powerful soundtrack. There is so much symbolism behind it, especially for the viewers who have seen the movies. In the scene, when Anakin kills him, the Darth Vader theme begins to play. Even though Anakin killed him for the right reasons, it does not change the fact that he still killed a man. Anakin was led down the path to the dark side through his good intentions, and the soundtrack of these scene shows Anakin on that very path.

Examples of Type

I think this is such a great example of how powerful type can be in motion graphics. The typography and animations did a wonderful job of not just saying but showing the meaning and emotions of each word.

This lyric video is very well done and uses type and color very creatively. The black and white palette makes the color when it does appear, very significant. The type fits the lyrics wonderfully and the transitions are creative and smooth. It is a strong example of typography in motion graphics and how it can be done to tell a story.

My Stop Motion

I created this stop motion in Adobe After Effects. The video consists of around 100 different still images shot and put together to create a unified story. This project was inspired by the Halloween season, where candy is a popular snack. I wanted to show a funny story from the candy’s point of view, where they are having a party and are suddenly picked off one by one. To create this, I not only used images, but I found music and sound effects that matched my story and enhanced the moments in each scene. Since the candy has no facial expression, I relied on sound to display their emotions. While working on the stop motion, a few things did change from my pre-production story and storyboards, I added in a few extra things, such as the red and blue lights, to add to the “party” atmosphere. As I was editing, I even thought of adding more sounds than I had planned to before, including the laughter at the beginning. I thought it would add more to the lightheartedness and then show the stark contrast with the following screams. Overall, I am very happy with how it turned out and I learned a lot along the way.

Diving Deeper into an Animated Story