Forming Game
Short Film Sound Redesign
(2024)
A complete sound redesign featuring original Foley, ambience, sound effects, and music created for a silent art-film reimagining.
Project Information
Project overview
Forming Game is a short art film by Malcolm Sutherland, publicly available on YouTube and originally produced with minimal dialogue and sparse sound design. For this redesign assignment, I removed all original audio and rebuilt the entire sonic environment from the ground up. I created all Foley, ambience, environmental effects, and music, treating the film as a blank canvas to explore pacing, tone, and emotional storytelling through sound.
This project emphasized careful interpretation of visual cues and narrative mood, allowing the audio to function as the primary driver of tension, texture, and atmosphere.
My Role
Sound Designer, Foley Artist, Composer, and Mixing Engineer
Responsibilities
Recreated the full audio track from silence using original Foley recordings, synthesized textures, and newly composed music
Designed movement sounds including footsteps, fabric interactions, object handling, and environmental actions
Built layered ambience to establish room tone, spatial depth, and emotional pacing
Composed original musical cues to support narrative tension and transitions
Mixed and balanced all sonic elements into a cohesive, film-ready audio experience
Ensured precise sync and timing accuracy between visual motion and sound triggers
Developed unique sound signatures for key narrative moments to reinforce mood and storytelling
Creative Approach
The goal was to reinterpret the film’s emotional tone using an entirely new soundscape. I focused on detailed Foley work to emphasize the physical world — cloth movement, footsteps, small object interactions, and subtle environmental textures. These tactile sounds provided the grounding necessary for the more atmospheric elements to feel believable.
Ambient layers played a major role in shaping the pacing and tone. I blended soft room tones, tension-building drones, and low-frequency textures to guide viewer focus without overpowering the visuals. Original music cues were composed to blend naturally with the sound design, using restrained harmonic movement and slow emotional swells to match the film’s pacing and visual style
Result and Reflection
This project strengthened my understanding of how sound alone can define mood, movement, and narrative direction. Rebuilding the audio from scratch taught me to balance Foley detail, ambience, and music in a way that feels cohesive and intentional.
Working without any preexisting audio also improved my ability to analyze visuals, make deliberate creative choices, and develop an audio mix that communicates emotional information clearly. The redesign reinforced my skills in Foley performance, environmental sound construction, musical scoring, and mixing for film-like storytelling.
Sound Design Showcase
Designed Sound Effects
Enhanced impacts, tonal accents, and transitional cues created to reinforce emotional moments.
Music and Ambience
Layered room tone, atmospheric textures, and environmental beds supporting mood and pacing.