Tiny Perspective

Question

Hey everyone:

I've long since finished the project, however I want to know how you guys would go about designing the effects for this particular scene:

A person drinks a potion and is shrunk to be 6 inches tall and runs around doing all sorts of stuff.

Would you make everything "real" like tiny footsteps, and regular dialogue from "normal" size people when they talk?

Or, would you play the fact that the person is shrunk and it's their POV and they hear "normal" size people as humongous giants with pitched down voices and thunderous footsteps?

The second is much funner to do with sound as it's beyond ordinary, but what would you do?

I know, I know, it depends on the "feel" and camera angles and all that good stuff, but just off your first instinct, what would you do - pretend the picture isn't edited to suggest either way.

• Ryan

Answer 1

If it is a momentary situation I reckon the caracter will be surprised and astonished by his new reality and the new dimensions of the objects, so i'd emphasize his poh (point of hearing). What and how do I hear if I'm 6 inches tall? Are there any video FX that already emphasize the scene?

Answer 2

It depends on the story. Is it a comedy, action, drama? That would dictate the sonic rules for me. Without knowing the story however, I would probably base the effects, foley, and maybe backgrounds on perspective. If the audience is viewing the world as the shrunken character, then I would make the character's sounds "normal", and the big world sounds "big". If I'm viewing the shrunken character from a big person's perspective, I would make tiny character sounds somewhat smaller. Dialog I wouldn't even touch until I knew the story, but my instinct would be to mostly leave it alone, i.e. no squeaky voices. Anyone else?