A few songs from the soundtrack of Anni, a Finnish indie feature film. The songs have been written, performed and produced by Simo Salo, and they are presented here as mix demos on my behalf.
Category: Sound
Sound design, sound designer, sound effects made to order, sound engineer, live sound mixing, recording and production.
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Workshop about Digital Sound Environment
The workshop was held for theaters’ staff and lasted two hours. The workshop was organized as a part of Teatterilaiva theater festival.
By lightly discussing about the general principles of sound design the attention was drawn to available technology and digital sound processing. Sounds and soundscapes were created by using generally available free software and sound libraries. The workshop provided to be a source of interesting ideas for coming shows.
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Sound Design for an Exhibition on Flight
The Finnish Aviation Museum organized Myyttinen Lento (Mythical Flight), an exhibition exploring flight-related myths and legends designed to spark the imagination of children and adults alike. A highlight was a magic carpet visitors could ride.
I collaborated with Marko Ahokangas from the Theatre Academy of Finland’s Lighting and Sound Design department – he created the sounds, while I programmed the sound player. Using Plogue Bidule, we crafted a continuously evolving, never-repeating eight-channel soundscape that filled the exhibition space.
Spatial audio was managed via four independent eight-channel linear output selectors, modulated by sine wave oscillators, dividing sounds into fast and slow categories controlled by separate sub-programs.
A synthesized wind-like instrument formed a musical layer, dynamically tuning its pitch (via FFT) to frequencies extracted from other sounds – e.g., matching airplane sounds to produce harmonious tones.
Presented here is a two-channel sample of the final soundscape.
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Recording and Mixing of a Live Performance
This sample is from the second song of a three-song set performed by Muutos at the Gospel Savo event in 2009. The electronic drums were only available as a stereo mix, limiting the ability to balance them optimally. All other instruments were recorded on separate tracks.
The show was produced by Blind Frame Productions and performed at the Solid Tricular LAN party. Inspired by sci-fi classics like Star Wars, Terminator, and Transformers, the second half featured a lightsaber battle.
I reviewed existing lightsaber sounds but found them insufficiently menacing and too rigid for the show’s needs, so I created my own.
Using Plogue Bidule, the core sound combines PWM sawtooth and synced sawtooth waves. Pulse-width modulation envelopes produce the ignition effect. This waveform passes through multiple filter banks adding subtle distortion, with the centerpiece being a custom monophonic formant filter. The final sound layers three distinct elements.
Movement sounds derive from processing the core signal through additional filters mixed with an amplitude-modulated copy. This creates an “energy field” effect, blended with the original via a crossfader. The crossfader and other parameters are controlled in real-time using a MIDI keyboard modulation wheel.
Though initially planned as a prerecorded track, I manipulated the sound live during the show for greater responsiveness. Contact sounds are variations of the core process, also triggered via keyboard. Beyond lightsabers, I designed many other sounds for the production.
This sound design wasn’t meant to imitate the originals but to create a unique, powerful sonic identity—and it sounded incredible through the party’s PA.