Enterprise & Entertainment

Professional Practice Reflection

 

This project explored the creation of two contrasting sound and music pieces: one linear and one non-linear. The linear project took the form of an analogue horror video inspired by cosmic horror and surrealist narrative, while the non-linear piece was a branching-path interactive experience based around women’s safety in public spaces. Both formats presented unique creative and technical challenges that allowed me to expand my professional practice, experiment with sound design, and collaborate effectively with others.

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For the linear piece, I created an analogue horror video heavily influenced by The Mandela Catalogue, Kane Pixels, Doctor Nowhere, and Darian Quilloy. These YouTube creators use low-resolution aesthetics, disturbing soundscapes, and fragmented narratives to unsettle viewers. I collaborated with Mollie Barbe, a recent Illustration BA graduate, who created the visuals and worked with me to shape the story. Our collaboration was smooth, with open communication and shared vision—we regularly gave each other feedback and were consistently aligned creatively.

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The narrative structure was inspired by cosmic horror, emphasising unease, ambiguity, and slow-building dread rather than traditional jump scares. I used visual degradation such as VHS textures, scanlines, and silent cuts to evoke a lo-fi, “found footage” aesthetic. Sonically, I developed an immersive atmosphere through ambient pads, granular drones, and processed noise, often layered to mimic tape hiss, CRT hum, and degraded media textures. In Premiere Pro, I synchronised audio closely with the visuals, using dynamic shifts and abrupt silences for impact. Silence was employed strategically before major reveals to build tension. 

I structured the audio production workflow through detailed cue sheets—breaking down each frame or scene into dedicated sections for music and sound design. Using Ableton Live and Logic Pro, I composed the score with MIDI instruments, with a strong preference for working in Vital due to its modular flexibility. Although I intended to gather more field recordings, personal circumstances limited my ability to do so. This is something I aim to improve on in future projects.

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For the non-linear “choose your fate” project, I adapted the concept and artwork from Mollie Barbe’s dissertation project, which was designed as a walkthrough immersive experience exploring women’s safety. Initially, I planned to build the sound design for her physical installation in VR using Unity. However, due to time constraints and the complexity of creating a fully realised VR prototype, I instead presented it digitally using Google Slides. I preserved Mollie’s narrative structure while slightly reorganising the sequence of events to suit the interactive format.

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The narrative begins with the user selecting one of three lip products—lip gloss, lip balm, or lipstick—each symbolising a distinct personality. This branching design allowed me to develop soundscapes that reflected emotional tone and character identity. I used contrasting musical themes: light, nostalgic melodies for the lip gloss character; ambient, hesitant tones for the lip balm character; and more distorted, bold sounds for the lipstick character. These were paired with reactive sound design: echoing footsteps, muffled city noise, and moments of total silence to heighten emotional realism.

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To keep audio cohesive across the project, I kept all sound designs within a single session, layering and stacking tracks as folder groups I could hide or collapse. This structure allowed me to maintain consistency in ambience, dynamic range, and thematic coherence across different narrative branches. I also made sure transitions between slides were seamless through subtle modulation or silence, which proved essential for user immersion.

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Working collaboratively with Mollie was a positive and productive experience. We maintained open communication, frequently updated each other on progress, and weren’t afraid to offer and receive constructive feedback. Importantly, we never experienced creative conflict. I believe this collaboration is a model for effective teamwork: shared creative goals, mutual respect, and honest communication. This experience affirmed my interest in collaborative practice and taught me how to support a creative partner’s vision while still leaving room for my own contributions.

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One of the main technical challenges in the non-linear piece was translating a physical spatial narrative into a digital experience. This taught me a great deal about adapting stories across formats and representing emotional realism through subtle, reactive sound design. By focusing on user immersion through emotionally intelligent audio choices, I was able to reflect on how minimalism can be more effective than overdramatization. One user noted that the silence before a distressing moment was “more powerful than any horror sound,” confirming the power of restraint.

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The analogue horror project, meanwhile, was personally fulfilling. It’s been a long-term goal of mine to create a horror series in this genre, and having the opportunity to develop one in an academic context felt like a passion project brought to life. This project also introduced me to new sound design techniques, such as creating sound-based spectrogram images—encoding visuals within sound for hidden storytelling. It helped me understand the power of indirect storytelling and layering, which are core to cosmic and analogue horror.

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Although I did not collaborate with a company or organisation, I was greatly influenced by individual artists—particularly Darian Quilloy, the creator of Vita Carnis. His Instagram posts offer detailed insight into his creative workflow, which helped me understand the aesthetic and narrative demands of analogue horror. Observing his design process also encouraged me to share more of my own, and I hope to document my work more thoroughly in the future as part of professional development. 

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These projects have developed my creative and technical skills significantly. I’ve learned to work efficiently under constraints, adapt existing concepts to new formats, and manage complex audio timelines. My growing familiarity with Ableton, Logic, and Vital has been critical to my workflow. I’ve also learned to lean into collaboration as a core part of professional creative practice.

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Looking forward, I’m considering developing the non-linear piece into a physical walkthrough experience as part of my third-year project. This would involve building a more immersive sound environment using spatial audio and possibly returning to the original VR concept with a more realistic timeline. Additionally, I aim to gather more field recordings and invest time into researching spatial sound installation design.

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Ultimately, these projects confirmed my passion for narrative-based sound design and my interest in exploring emotionally and socially impactful audio storytelling. I plan to carry these lessons forward into future projects and continue developing both my individual and collaborative practice with a focus on audience immersion and emotional honesty.

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