Twenty Thousand Hertz
The Furrow
Sound and Music, Technical Direction, Concept
Welcome to Synth
Synthesizers are strange and magical machines. They’re capable of being infinitely complex but are built from simple parts. After years of a mutual desire to collaborate, we approached The Furrow with a densely technical concept: explain how a synthesizer works. Together, we broke down how to communicate the content succinctly and beautifully by marrying our soundtrack with their design and animation. Our individual elements are interwoven and dependent on one another, which demanded meticulous planning and strong partnership.
Pre-Production
Setting up the foundation was the most challenging part of creating “Welcome to Synth.” The prototype began with an audio roadmap to establish precise pacing. Next, the visual style was developed and sharpened to portray the technicality of a synthesizer. All the while, The Furrow kept the visual aesthetic engaging for an audience ready to learn.
Telling the Story
After finalizing our concept with The Furrow, we invited Twenty Thousand Hertz – a team of podcasters telling the stories of sound – to elevate the piece. Twenty Thousand Hertz honed the film's message, provided voice-over, and shared it with their audience. The release of "Welcome to Synth" corresponded with their 2-part episode about the fascinating history of synthesizers.
Music Composition
The role of this soundtrack is to connect the viewer’s feelings with the animation and voiceover without distraction. The soundtrack demonstrates synthesizer concepts in real-time with the narrated examples, while also serving as the film's score.
Exploring Synthesizers
The end credits music of “Welcome to Synth” was composed by Wesley Slover (Sanctus) and Joe Basile (The Chicken). The piece was made by exploring wild and unpredictable synth sequences, then cutting the sounds up to meticulously curate them. A process which embodies the message of “Welcome to Synth” – Start with something simple, then follow where the idea leads.
Sound Design
In “Welcome to Synth” the lines blur between what is considered music and what is sound. We started by composing music as a base for the score. Then, we added an additional layer of sounds to provide nuance and to fuse the soundtrack with the visuals.
Mixing
After building the complex soundtrack, our final step was to balance the audio elements to orient the viewer’s focus. We refined the equalizing, panning, and volume automation of the parts to fit tightly together like a sonic puzzle.
Collaboration
Working with The Furrow and Twenty Thousand Hertz as peers across our respective disciplines made this project successful and deeply rewarding. We synthesized our effort to explain a complicated subject using graphic design, animation, sound effects, music, and the spoken word. Together, we introduced the creative possibilities of synthesizers with clarity and in the most concise way possible.
Credits
Executive Producer Seth Eckert
Music Wesley Slover and Joe Basile
Art Director Renaud Lavency
Narration Dallas Taylor
Copywriting Casey Emmerling
Technical Director Wesley Slover
Creative Director Seth Eckert
Design Renaud Lavency, Rommel Ruiz, Grace Poole, Seth Eckert
Sound Design & Mix Trevor Richardson
Animation Nick Parente, Jordan Scott, Thiago Steka, Ricardo Drehmer, Matt Jameson
Producers Janet Tousseau, Casey Emmerling, Andrew Anderson, Samantha Rinebold, David Roux
Special Thanks to Adam Plouff and Zack Lovatt
