The Trials - Sound Design

The design for The Trials centred around showing the collapse of the performance world. It followed a jury of young people trialing older generations on crimes against the environment. The design focused on heightening the emotional journey and exposing the dichotomies that existed within the show. Good vs Bad, Natural vs Unnatural etc. The piece gets darker throughout and foreshadows the endings twist.

The design was rooted in the contrast between synthesised and natural sounds. Much of the sound was rooted in breath work and we used surrounds to transform the space and move us into different environments. I took field recording trips and used binaural recordings of different environments. The most successful were recordings of beaches in Leith which were then contrasted by synthesised underscores and motifs that fought against each other in the surrounds and the main PA. Much of the creative process was spent world building and experimenting with Soundtoys Crystalliser. The synthesised design used big punching synths and wide pads to create an expansive and enveloping sound world.

The show had many driving transitions which were hard hitting and the system was designed to emphasise the sub bass drones throughout. I installed subs under three thrust seating banks and complimented the main L/R with four corner surrounds.