SOUNDSCAPED!
An interview with Kristina Manente!
Sound Designer & Engineer for
Paperless Pulp S2E2 “Cyri, No!“
To celebrate the design-heavy 2nd episode of Paperless Pulp Series Two, we asked sound designer / engineer / amazing human Kristina Manente a few questions about design & process, as well as the most underrated and overrated tools in a Sound Designer’s toolkit.
If you had a personal sound cue for all your entrances and exits, what would it be?
Probably the sound of tripping and stumbling because I am very clumsy. In a less literal sense, probably the sound of a tea kettle or tea pouring. It is my life blood and I always have a cup.
What is the most underrated trick in sound design?
Panning. It’s probably not that underrated, and I have a habit of using it probably too much, but I don’t care. It can give such a feeling of space and depth. It can convey movement and distance and make things sound more or less threatening based on how far or close the sound is moving from the listener. I think it is especially useful in ensemble scenes, because unless everyone is on top of the listener, then people will stand in different areas, be so close or so far away. Just by panning, even a little like 25% in either direction, it can really give a sense of where those characters really are in the scene. I especially love using panning for horror soundscapes. The sound of a creature moving from one ear to the other will have just as much of an effect on the listener as the sound itself. Audio requires visualization of a different kind, and having the sound actually move can really help and enhance that experience.
What, if anything, makes podcast sound design different from live theatrical design?
You can mess up and no one will know is the most obvious answer. You miss a cue or don’t throw on the fader fast enough during the show, someone is going to notice. But if you miss something in sound designing a podcast, you can go back and change it. Even after it’s published you can just upload a new version and voila, the mistake is erased. I like the thrill of live mixing in theater. It’s art in its own way, especially when it comes to musicals. I can change which singer is being featured more, blend voices together based on their levels, and throw in sound effects as well. I also love sound design for podcasts and audio dramas because you tend to have more creative freedom. You’re weaving things together and you can go back and tinker at will. That said, sometimes you listen to the same thing 5,000 times and swear you hate it, but really it’s because you’ve listened to it 5,000 times. There is a freedom in theatrical design in that every night things will sound a little different.
Paperless Pulp was produced entirely virtually. Did this affect your process?
Not really. I’ve done a lot of audio dramas totally remote, so it wasn’t much of a change for me personally. It’s always nice when you can record in person. The quality and interactions will always be better in that regard, but overall I like the fact I can work in my pajamas.
What drew you to Cyri, No?
I love the story of Cyrano de Bergerac and I just found it so clever. It’s a great way to turn that story and those tropes on its head in a modern context. That and the fact Morgan is so believable as Cyri that it was impossible to resist. I was intrigued about the design opportunities as well, especially when it came to the recordings and how those would layer in. As soon as the reading was happening I made it very clear I wanted to design this episode, haha.
How do you plan out the design for a script like Cyri, No!?
The biggest thing was making sure I indicated what was a phone call, what was a recording, and what was in-person. During a read-through I highlighted and made notes as I went along, indicating areas where I needed to do ambience, what sound effects I would need to make or source, and what was what in terms of recording/phone/etc. Making sure to differentiate those, even subtly, was important so everything didn’t sound the same. The customer service rep at the beginning needed to sound like a recording on a phone, so there were more layers of distortion to play with there. The operator needed to be more clear on the phone because of how much she spoke, but that wasn’t the case with Roxane at the end, because she didn’t say as much. It was a balancing act of what was too much also. That level of distortion can get tiring on the ears, and that was my biggest concern. It helped that the script was structured in such a way that there were plenty of “real life” breaks with Chris to give listeners a break. It was fun trying to think of how a recording from a toaster would sound though.
What is the most overrated sound?
Footsteps. I hate them. Yes, they are important and can express a number of scenarios, locations, and incidents, but I truly hate putting them into sound design. Especially when it comes to multiple people walking, or worse, running. No matter how I do it, I always think it sounds cartoonish, despite knowing real people do in fact make footstep sounds. It’s a very specific hang up of mine.
