Armored Info approached us to make their iconic sonic brand. We loved the idea of making it emotionally impactful & sonically strong with the resonance of armor & metal to accentuate their brand identity. We started by recording a plethora of sounds in a our foley pit & studio: banging on armor, mangling metal, clashing a variety of objects together, massive drums, piano hits & tones, synthesizers, bank vault sounds, impact wrenches, camera exposure/flashes & film projectors.
I brought out the best parts of these sounds through a variety of mixing elements, including equalization, compression, etc. then manipulated them through granular synthesis, VSTs, changing its pitch, size, reversing and so forth.
We then strategically placed these sounds frame by frame and ran it through different convolution reverbs.
A Convolution Reverb consists of a recorded sample (called an Impulse Response or "IR") of an acoustic space to the excitation from a signal such as a sweep tone, starter gun, or snare drum crack, and the effect on the space of that signal after it has been removed and transformed by the convolution processor. Convolution reverbs essentially record and process the reverberant behavior unique to a real acoustic space. Although, instead of using this as a reverb we broke the rules and used a variety of metal sounds that we manipulated in post production to be used as the impulse responses.
“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” - Pablo Picasso
“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” - Pablo Picasso
Essentially, we are running the recorded & designed sounds through the acoustic characteristics of various metal sounds manipulated in post production to be layered all together to create, Armored Info. The result is a real powerful & strong sonic brand.
Below, you will find 4 videos in progression showing the various phases of creation. Starting with the final product.
Phase 1 - Initial
This section includes 4 channels of recording & designing: 2 separate camera exposures, synthesizer, and a large wrench. Then they were mixed & manipulated and sent to 4 unique metal convolution processors.
Phase 2 - Phase 1 + Sonic Bed
This section includes all the sounds from Phase 1 + multiple designed synthesizers being run through a separate tailored metal convolution processor to create a sonic bed throughout.
Phase 3 - Middle 2 Logos
Phase 3 includes 8 channels of recording & designing to accentuate the middle visuals : Impact wrenches, drums, film projectors, bank vault sounds, etc.
Phase 4 - Final Phase
This part was designed to accentuate the text and to seal it all together. By creating a crescendo of drum tones designed through synthesis accompanied with the sampling of various audio assets then reversing it to create a build up to close on.
