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#currently listening to some extracted video game music and like. the mixing IS SO MUCH BETTER than what was eventually released
cam-the-orange-cat · 4 years
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A Master-Guide for Overcoming Writer’s Block
Writer’s block is the woe that befalls every writer at some point. To overcome writer’s block, however, you must identify the source of the blockage. This guide will go over common reasons writers find themselves stuck and will offer some simple suggestions that can help. Although suggestions are catered to each problem, don’t hesitate to mix-and-match possible solutions; everyone is different.
The Common Blocks We’ll be Overviewing:
Problem vs. Solution
Fear & Doubt
Perfectionism
Boredom
You Have No Ideas
You're Easily Distracted
Procrastination
Problem vs. Solution
You’ve crafted an incredible conflict, a far-reaching problem that your protagonist must solve. Then you realize: you must solve it. Or you’re making progress in your first or second draft when you discover a plot hole. It’s not something easy you can cover over with a rug, it’s something you wonder you didn’t see sooner and are now overwhelmed with how to fix it and still preserve your progress. You have “painted yourself into a corner” and now you have to paint yourself out.
How do you overcome this block? 
Take a shower.
Take a nap
Go for a walk.
Or  — as Margaret Atwood recommends  — iron some clothes. 
Repetitive, mindless activites seem to work best for stimulating the mind. Most writers can testify that taking a shower is a magnet for interesting ideas. The more mindless, the better. 
Exercise gets new chemicals flowing through your brain; showering stimulates new senses; ironing is a hands-on-activity with a bit of danger involved — these are palate cleansers for your mind.
Sometimes this sort of block requires doing additional research for your story. 
Maybe there’s something in mankind’s military history that can help you solve how your protagonist’s army is to cross the uncrossable river. Maybe there’s a modern-day cure that would work against the disease you made up, and it has humble origins your protagonist can discover. Maybe your protagonist will lose this battle, but go on to win the war in a way you hadn’t considered before.
Fear & Doubt
The blank page mocks you. And the mockery hits a little too close to home. You’re afraid of criticism, you’re afraid of not doing the story justice, you’re afraid you’re not actually a good writer at all  — you’re afraid you’re a fraud.
The sucky part is, some of that is true. First drafts do tend to suck. There will be people who don’t like what you write. But what is absolutely, definitively not true is that you’re a fraud.
You’re a writer. 
You are a writer.
Say the words aloud. Say them again. Say them louder. 
You are a writer.
Now, how do you overcome this block?
Free write
Write stream of consciuosness
Brainstorm ideas in bullet points
Work on a writing-prompt for five minutes
Try your hand at a whole new genre or category
Whatever you do, write. Practice makes perfect, and practice is also the best way to conquer Fear and Doubt. Refuse to give Fear and Doubt power and soon Fear and Doubt will stop pestering you. 
Interestingly, the antidote for Fear and Doubt are similar to the antidotes for Perfectionism, writing’s most infamous villain. The next subheading, however, will go over this particular monster in more detail.
Perfectionism
You’ve been crippled by your own standards. Your story just doesn’t make sense. Your characters don’t feel right. Your writing sounds atrocious.
At least, that’s what you keep telling yourself.
Perfectionism is a choice. We choose to criticize ourselves until we’re beaten to a bloody pulp and have no will left to go on. We run ourselves through the consequences of this headspace and, despite how painfully frustrating it is, we don’t let ourselves escape.
Fear and Doubt grow from perceiving unrealistic expectations of perfection from others and being afraid of not measuring up to that standard. Whereas Perfectionism is not a fear of external criticism, but is a person imposing an unrealistic desire to be perfect unto themself. This is why Perfectionism is a cycle that cannot be broken by friends and family reassurances that you are, in fact, a great writer. You, and you alone, are holding yourself back.
In order to break free from Perfectionsim, you must accept that your writing will never be perfect. Let go of the ideal of perfection. There is no such thing as the perfect story. Writers are imperfect people as is everyone else — even the holy god of fantasy Tolkien was human. And because we are imperfect, so too is our writing.
Acceptance is not begrudging. Acceptance is contentment with the present. 
So, how do you find contentment in imperfection?
Read bad books. Make fun of them, laugh at them — enjoy them. See how beloved these awfully written books are and embrace the idea that you don’t have to be perfect. You, as you are, are more than enough.
Write badly. Do it purposefully. Research overused cliches and tropes and then write them as awfully as you can. 
Then, share how bad it is. Laugh with your friends and family over it. 
Most of all: don’t compare yourself with others. Admiring and learning from other creators and their work is healthy. Comparing yourself with them is never healthy. 
Now that you’ve faced your fear of imperfection and realized how fun it can be, writing won’t seem so daunting. Free flowing creativity relies on realistic expectations.
Boredom
You are no longer excited about writing. You’ve been working on this story for too long. You’ve been dragging yourself through it. You don’t want to give up, but this is becoming a chore. Or you love this story dearly, however writing in general has become a chore. You’re just plain bored, but that’s something you don’t want to admit because losing your passion for writing feels like your first death.
First: it’s entirely possible you have moved on from writing. That is not a bad thing. Far from it, in fact! If you’re bored, your feelings are telling you this isn’t the right fit for you right now — so try new things! Maybe, after a while, you’ll get that zeal for the written word back. Maybe not.
Don’t become discouraged, though; your time as a writer is not invalidated just because you’re not writing currently. You were a lovely writer. You have written much. Don’t be hard on yourself, but give yourself a pat on the back. You have enjoyed a very turbulent and difficult hobby for likely many years! That is something to smile fondly upon.
If, however, the above sentiments don’t settle in your stomach very well:
What can help you overcome this unending boredom?
Hands-on activities are good at jumpstarting the creative battery:
Play — play a board game with friends, play an RPG video game, build a lego house, mold with Play-Dough.
Apply your creativity to a different outlet — follow a Bob Ross tutorial, cook a new recipe or decorate a cake, crochet a scarf.
Change is a good stimulus for your mind:
Change your environment. Try going to the park and writing. Go to the library. Go to a room on the other side of your house.
Change your medium. If you often write on your computer, try handwriting; pick out a nice notebook and use a smooth-flowing pen. If you often handwrite, try typing; explore different word processesors, like Microsoft Word or Google Docs.
Listen to music or a podcast as you write. Or: if you often listen to classical, try rock. If you often listen to a podcast about true crime, try a comedy channel. Or listen to absolute silence.
You Have No Ideas
This is the essence of the blank page fear. It’s not self-bout, it’s not perfectionism, it’s not a plot hole you’re trying to fill. You simply have nothing to write. You are uninspired.
How to overcome this blockage:
Read good books. You could even study literature: follow along with Shmoop as you read Solaris; Sparknotes as you read Hamlet; or Cliffnotes as you read The Life of Pi.
Research writing: there are many books, websites, blogs, and services that offer advice and tips on writing. Whether you can afford the hefty $180/year subscription to MasterClass, or you’d prefer borrowing a book from your local library, learning something new about your craft could get your brain back to storming.
As a writer, it is your first and primary responsibility to live your life. Creating your own experiences is the best thing you can do for your writing. You write what you know — so try new things!
Spend time with friends: chat over the phone, play Jack-Box over zoom, or (when circumstances safely allow) get coffee at an obscure coffee shop.
Play with your pet; brush your dog’s teeth, or try giving your cat a bath (it will at least be entertaining for those around watching you).
Pick up a new hobby: painting, drawing, cooking, sewing, running, biking, hiking, gardening, dancing, guitar or piano, darts, soap-making, scrapbooking; here’s a list you can browse through.
Introduce yourself to a stranger (not online) — make friends with the person ahead of you in the grocery store line. Characters come from someplace real, so meet more people!
You’re Easily Distracted
It feels like there’s a toddler in your head, and the little devil is hell-bent on driving you absolutely mad. What’s that song on the radio? Let me look up the lyrics and follow along with them for an hour on loop. What’s a synonym for epitome? What’s a synonym for essence? — Extract is a movie? Let’s watch it.  
I personally feel for writers who struggle with this block. We hear time and time again: just limit your distractions! Or try this new web-browser or add-on!
But I don’t have the money to spend on a weird looking typewriter or a monthly subscription for a browser add-on. And far from it will either of those options save me from the toddler in my own mind! The typewriter doesn’t stop me from feeling like eating some ice cream. The browser add-on doesn’t keep me from scrolling through Instagram on my phone.
I have Good News, though: We’re not a hopeless case.
And no, this isn’t a self-discipline issue. As someone who grew up with an impulse-monkey of their very own running rampant inside their head, I’m still an industrious and ethical worker. 
So what’s the secret to overcoming this block?
Self-compassion. 
Instead of shaming and punishing yourself for falling down the YouTube rabbit-hole, take into consideration the toddler when you first approach a task. 
If the toddler often gets sidetracked by music with lyrics, try listening to classical music. There will be no chance then of wanting to sing along with the lyrics, and the toddler will be satisfied while you get some work done.
If the toddler often gets peckish, prepare some healthy snacks (like fruit salad, yogurt with granola, pretzels and peanut butter) ahead of time, get a large thermos of cold water, and the toddler will munch away happily while you work on your magnum opus. 
Set up a dedicated space for writing:
Maybe you don’t have a spare room — or even a desk. But you do have a soft lap pillow and a comfy chair you can move to a quiet corner. Drag your writing supplies over and dedicate this as your safe space for writing. Only write here. Don’t eat breakfast here, don’t do homework here, don’t chat with friends here. 
This may seem straightforward, but teaching the toddler is another story. To start, then, use this dedicated space only for a few minutes at a time. Spend fifteen focused minutes on a project while you sit here, then take a break. Overtime, you’ll find you can focus for longer and longer intervals in your writing space.
Procrastination
The Final Boss. The End-All Villain. Procrastination often doesn’t appear on its own. It’s inspired by something. Maybe it’s something we’ve already covered in this guide. The first thing you must do, therefore, is identify the source of your procrastination. Which may vary from project to project.
Once you identify what it is that’s deterring you from action, remember that you hold the power to break through this cycle. So when you put a plan into action, stick to it.
What are some ways you can beat procrastination?
“I’m overwhelmed by this big project.”
Prepare short-term goals: Long-term goals just about beg to be procrastinated. They’re far away and easily forgetable. Short-term goals, however, offer an opportunity to check something off a list. And boy — is that satisfying to do!
Make a list of what you’d like to get done. Prepare achievable goals; SMART goals are goals that are Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, and are set within a Time-frame. So, for instance, if you have a book you’d like to write, make it a goal to write five hundred words during the next hour.
“There is only one way to eat an elephant: one bite at a time” — Desmond Tutu
“This is boring.”
This kind of boredom which inspires procrastination is not necessarily the same as creative boredom. This kind of boredom exists because you do not feel challenged in your writing. Whereas the boredom we previously discussed is caused because you are not excited about your writing. So how do you challenge yourself? — Some previous suggestions can be applied:
Try your hand at a whole new genre. Do you write a lot of Fantasy? Try Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy, or go as far out of your comfort zone as you can, like Contemporary Romance. Or have you ever written NonFiction? Jog your mind with a memior prompt or an essay topic — just make sure it interests you!
Research writing: there are many books, websites, blogs, and services that offer advice and tips on writing. On Tumblr alone, some include: @writingwithcolor, @referenceforwriters, @ wordstuck.co.vu, @writing-problems​, @thewritershelpers​, @youreallwrite​, and @fuckyeahcharacterdevelopment​
Try throwing a monkey wrench into your story! You can try picking a random prompt to try and incorporate into a scene. You can kill a character. Add some spice into your writing to renew your writing zest!
If all else fails: archive this project. Don’t delete it — never delete what you write; put this project aside for now. Step away from it. You may be too close to it to see what about it isn’t working, or what about it is making it unattractive to you. Give it some time. When you feel ready to return to this project, it will be waiting for you. In the meantime, enjoy creating a new story.
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thesinglesjukebox · 5 years
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KERO KERO BONITO - SWIMMING
[6.50]
It's tweetime! I'll boil a tweepot.
Ryo Miyauchi: "Swimming" drops the digital bubblegum of Bonito Generation for dusty pop music extracted from Broadcast's DNA. Though she's trying to evoke innocent curiosity than a spectral haunt, Sarah Midori Perry reminds me of Trish Keenan at least with the airy flatness of her voice. Had it been filtered through the sticky synths brightening the last album, Perry's travelogue here perhaps would've sounded cartoonish and hokey like the album's aphorisms, which landed like a Message of the Day as delivered by the adult cast of a morning children's show. The switch-up in aesthetic, then, lets the childlike wonder that has always been present in KKB's music to be taken more at face value. [7]
Katie Gill: It's interesting how even though the sound has made a drastic change from KKB's previous, chipper, electropop & video game sound, you can see a direct line from there to here when you look at the lyrics. KKB has always been amazing at taking one scenario or one scene and pulling and twisting an entire mood out from that scene. "Swimming" is deep and dream-like, a beautiful trance of a song that does an amazing job calling forth and creating this gorgeous image. [7]
Ian Mathers: It's twee, right? I don't know why the nice keyboards would be confusing me. It's definitely twee. I don't think my personal pendulum has swung all the way back to twee this year, not yet at least, but this is fine in that mode. [6]
Vikram Joseph: It's a strange thing indeed that Kero Kero Bonito's bouncy, quasi-throwaway alt-pop nuggets on Bonito Generation frequently acheived a kind of emotional transcendence that the more considered, layered songs on their second album Time 'n' Place never come close to. On the former, listening to Sarah Bonito's scattershot, jokey, gently subversive observations on waking up, tramoplining, Instagram and finding her people in London felt like conversations with close friends; the lurid synths and drum-machines were almost savant-like in capturing the strange, chaotic rhythms of the city. There was an intimacy and effervescence there that felt lost in the transition to a more conventional sound; the melancholy dream-pop haze of "Swimming" is actually quite pleasant in and of itself, but it's more like a conversation with decent acquaintances -- it passes smoothly, without any awkward silences, but leaves no lasting memories. [5]
Iain Mew: This is perfectly nice drifting dream pop, and their ear for vintage-sounding electronics works just as well when turning them to light touch sparkle as when using them for full-on melodic assault. Perhaps it isn't fair to hold the fact that this isn't the latter against it so much, but I can't help it. [6]
Will Rivitz: This is the saccharine-pop equivalent of that tweet about all your records automatically transforming into copies of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot or White Blood Cells once you turn 37. Might work for some people, but I've still got a few years left in my twenties. [5]
Iris Xie: A curious blend of The Beach Boys, Fishmans, Tame Impala, and No Vacation, and each of their approaches to a dreamy beachy sound, mixed with sweet vocals. "Swimming" sparkles like those crystal wind chimes that cast little rainbows over the couch when the summer sun starts falling a little low. The little interruptions at the end helps break up the illusion of the serenity cast from the atmosphere, and wakes you up to get ready for the next event in your life. [7]
Will Adams: Kero Kero Bonito excel in projecting sincerity without being saccharine -- an even bigger feat given they're working in the two genres most susceptible to being derided as "twee": Tinker Toy synthpop and dreamy lo-fi. On "Swimming," they sound brighter than ever. Sarah Midori Perry sings "I can feel the detritus lifting" like a sigh of relief, and I believe her. A later line in the chorus, "the current battles way down below me," offers a more practical counterpoint -- there's always something lurking beneath -- but nonetheless bids you to forget all that for the moment and bask in the sun's rays. [8]
Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: I grew up ten minutes from the Pacific Ocean so any song that uses the sea as a metaphor for growing up makes sense almost inherently to me. Fortunately, "Swimming" would work even if I grew up in Iowa -- the rich bed of textures that Sarah Bonito's vocals sprawl out upon make the sea all the clearer. [7]
Taylor Alatorre: The poignant undertones about experiencing everything for the first time in a strange and arbitrary world are still there, and they're front and center now; it's the expressions of guileless, synth-based whimsy that have been pushed to the back, though thankfully not eliminated. The moment that most resembles the old Kero Kero Bonito is when Sarah Perry drags the word "detritus" out of nowhere and savors every precisely clipped syllable, a move both playful and literary in the classic indie pop sense. But "Swimming" would have us know that there is no "old" or "new" Kero Kero Bonito: "I get the feeling/I always have been." If the unhurried pace reminds you more of wading than of swimming, that's by design. [7]
[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]
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gameaudiomix · 5 years
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THE POSITIVE FUTURE OF SPATIAL AUDIO FOR GAMES
Rob Bridgett
Dolby Atmos (for Home Theatre, and for Headphones) and a whole slew of other emerging ‘spatial’ or ‘3D’ audio technologies are offering a “new” dimension into which game sound designers can now work in terms of bringing depth and immersion to players. Now that the technical hurdles of getting these formats into game development pipelines and into people’s homes has been overcome, we are only left with the question of what exactly can we do with it?
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Of course, in reality, surround sound formats, and 3D sound have been around almost as long as games consoles and PCs themselves (Sega Q-Sound et al), and that these newer immersive formats offer something revolutionary is easy to dismiss. However, having mixed a game in Atmos very recently (see this earlier post), I have some positive thoughts about how this heightened focus on sound, and sound placement in the 3D space, is going to lead to greater emphasis on sound in games and therefore lead to a deeper appreciation of all aspects of sound, music and voice, from players.
VISCERAL SOUND IN THE SHARED FICTIONAL SPACE
Traditionally, surround sound (in cinema at least) has always been about SPECTACLE, particularly in a theatrical setting, from innovative 5.1 surround movies like ‘Apocalypse Now’, to full Atmos mixes like ‘Gravity’, all have celebrated the VISCERAL qualities, effects and impact of sound on an audience. And, by moving sounds through space around the audience, enveloping them inside the world of the film. With surround, the audiences seemingly share the same acoustic space as the characters in the film, hear the same things they do, and react in a similar visceral way to how the characters react (A loud gunshot offscreen, or a T-Rex roar). The physical nature of sound, is emphasized and felt on an audience. By physically moving the air around them, most notably in the case of sub and low frequency effects, but also through positioning or moving sound around the audience, sound brings something physical and real (that has spatial dimensionality) to a cinematic experience that is simply not possible through the screen (light) alone – the more physical, impactful and convincing that sound ‘image’ is, the greater the potential emotional reaction.
“sound brings something physical and real (that has spatial dimensionality) to a cinematic experience that is simply not possible through the screen (light) alone“
SPATIAL SPECTACLE
With Atmos, the biggest innovation is, arguably, the inclusion of height, or ‘overhead’ speakers into the playback array, which creates a much more immersive ‘dome’ or ‘sphere of sound’ effect around the listener. So, now the audience no longer hears a flat disc of sound (7.1) around them, they hear positional sounds in a full 3D arc above them too.
This allows for the audience to hear what is above the characters onscreen in this shared fictional space. However, height brings a lot more to the table as it completes the sphere around the viewer, so we really feel like we are missing nothing. If a sound comes from above us, this is a specific hot zone in which we have some very hard-wired instincts – we REALLY want to ‘look up’ – exactly the same is the case for a sound behind us, we want to ‘look behind us’ – and this is the fundamental difference between video games and cinema - as a gamer, you hear a sound behind or from above, you CAN move the camera and look up or behind you. In cinema, you cannot. (You can, of course, but all you see is a cinema ceiling, or the exit sign, or someone eating popcorn).
In games, once you’ve established that sounds are above the player, and that they can look up at them, the ‘novelty’ effect falls away and eventually the new 3D spatial reality becomes quite normal, until you hear something that doesn't belong or attracts your attention to a specific PLACE in the game space.
In this sense, games are far more free to go really far with adding sounds with gameplay, story, or exploration meaning to the overheads above the player, as well as surrounds, in order for the player to be encouraged to investigate the space itself, and also if a louder more threatening sound is heard, that sound can be more accurately pinpointed by the player and neutralized or safeguarded against (Yes, spatial audio actually has gameplay value!).
“In games, spatial sound has deep meaning, it serves gameplay, story, and encourages exploration.”
CINEMATIC CHALLENGES
We can certainly see some challenges to this kind of spatial sound approach when done in cinema, here is a small extract of Randy Thom’s notes on Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma mix…
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(above: Roma)
“I assume that Cuaron was going for a certain kind of “immersive realism” by using this aggressive approach to surrounds, but for me it sometimes backfires, and actually makes scenes less “immersive” by yanking the listener out of the water every few minutes so that an unseen and unmotivated cat can yeowl, car horn can honk, or a dialog line can come from the surrounds.” – Randy Thom Wordpress Blog 12th March 2019
Now, Cuaron, is almost synonymous with the Atmos format in that his earlier movie Gravity, was such an exceptional showcase for what the spectacle of the medium could be. I certainly agree that by having this new playground for sound available in film, it is easy to go a little too far in a focused storytelling moment, or try some things out that maybe later feel distracting. Though a distracting loud sound in Atmos, would still be a distracting loud sound in a stereo fold-down of that Atmos track (if loyal to the director’s vision), and therefore would still be a loud distracting sound – regardless of the format. The question is - would that sound still have been placed at that level in just a stereo or mono mix? (As perhaps the majority of the audience will currently experience it on Netflix) Did the availability of a spatial audio format, encourage this decision to paint with sound in that space outside the screen? Certainly. I feel Roma is such a completely different film, and vision, from most Hollywood cinema, that this kind of experimentation with sound should be applauded and celebrated as a break from the safe norms. While maybe not bringing more ‘immersion’ to the movie, that may not have been the goal. Spatial audio may bring more ‘ambiguity’ and even change how people remember the film. Because of the sound, I almost think of Roma as a truly 3D film, something it technically isn't, but the experience, certainly is.
“I see video games as a major driver of this new aesthetic of vertical, immersive and spatial spectacle.”
In this sense then, games are so much freer to explore the creative spectacle of spatialization, given that the player can move the camera around to look at the cause of that sound behind or above you. And though this is something I think most audio designers working in surround have known for some time, with these newer more immersive formats, the point becomes even more vivid.
Emphasizing what is above and behind and around the player at specific moments, or in specific environments, unlocks a lot of new storytelling tools. Being able to collapse a mix from full Atmos 7.1.4 down to a mono centre-channel mix and back again, in a specific moment of a game, to exaggerate the feeling of claustrophobia, for instance, is something that is extremely effective and, now, fully achievable.
“It is precisely through this notion of the SPECTACULAR and the IMMERSIVE, that video games continue to market themselves, and through sound, we can now play perhaps one of the most important roles in truly DELIVERING those promises to our audiences.”
FOR GAMES, THE FUTURE IS SPATIAL
I see video games as a major driver of this new aesthetic of vertical, immersive and spatial spectacle. And in cinema, I think there is an audience who, perhaps being more used to video game mixes along these lines, are already open to film mixes placing things around the space, even if initially a little more distracting from the story or the character POV than ‘traditional audiences’ may be used to. Once the aesthetic is established, the ‘novelty’ will soon settle down.
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(Shadow of the Tomb Raider’s Spatial mix was all about celebrating Vertical Spectacle)
Importantly, I believe that, as these various spatial audio formats gain traction (and fidelity) and become more widely embedded, the audience for games, gamers themselves, will usher in a new era of appreciation for the artistic and technical achievements of sound.
It is precisely through this notion of the SPECTACULAR and the IMMERSIVE, that video games continue to market themselves, and through sound, we can now play perhaps one of the most important roles in truly DELIVERING those promises to our audiences.
This is why I believe that spatial audio will find its strongest aesthetic expression of spectacle and immersion through video game sound.
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