2. The sound of extinction: deep time listening
For this assignment, I chose to take on the challenge of recreating the sounds of the Andrewsarchus, an animal which has not had much information compiled regarding its lifestyle or anatomy. It was known to have lived in what is now Mongolia approximately 36-45 million years ago, and was likely one of the largest carnivorous mammals of the era; though little else is certain as a result of little physical remains having been found – and it has been debated as to if the animal was a predator or a large scavenger. I chose this task as it seemed to be a difficult animal to accurately research and recreate, and thus would be an effective test of my progress thus far. Moreover, as most of the findings are speculative in nature, as a result of the limited physical evidence, the creation of the sound involved much of the speculative practices of this course.
I began by looking for the animals closest relatives. Multiple sources stated it was closely related to the Hippopotamus, Bison, Elk and Pig. I also chose to add in some pitched down Rhinoceros sounds to both components of the sound, as I felt it added depth to the mix of sounds, and added to the overall timbre of the creature. The Andrewsarchus possessed a long and heavy skull (83cm long and 56cm wide); which combined with their estimated proportionately large frame (roughly 3.4m from snout to pelvis), would have led to it producing lower frequency sounds. Applying this with the knowledge gained from the previous assignment, I pitched the samples of Pigs, elk, rhino, and some selected bison samples lower. I then applied a low pass filter to the bison and pig samples, as well as automated the amplitude and pitch to shift up and down at various points for all the sounds used. Each sample had a unique ADSR envelope, which was also affected by fading the samples in and out at various points.
I ultimately composed something which was certainly foreign from any animal in nature today, with the sounds used being cut and mixed in a way which creates an unrecognisable sound. I would describe it as a sound of communication between creatures of this species, as well as what could be considered a growl to ward off other animals; followed by an alarm for their pack, or more likely (given speculation of it being a predator) a call for a mate. The first sound heard is reminiscent of an angry dog or hog, with what sounds like short grunts and sharp exhales. The second half of the sound becomes more akin to a howl, or oddly, a cow’s moo.
Working with Reaper for this project was challenging, as it was a difficult task and thus made me utilise the features we have studied thus far in different and unconventional methods in order to achieve my goal. This involved applying the various waveforms and ADSR in different ways to create something “alien” to the modern human. Moreover, I still feel as though I am struggling in adapting to working in a DAW exclusively, as most of my experience with sound design comes from working in Premier; though I am certain this will ease with time and experience with the software.
Reference list:
https://inaturalist.nz/taxa/553017-Andrewsarchus (Accessed 28/07/22)
http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/a/andrewsarchus.html (Accessed 29/07/22)
https://prehistoric-fauna.com/Andrewsarchus (Accessed 29/07/22)
https://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/on-exhibit-posts/andrewsarchus (Accessed 29/07/22)
Hippopotamus sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAbh_WYX0NE (Accessed 31/07/22)
Pig sound: https://freeanimalsounds.org/farm-animals/ (Accessed 28/07/22)
Bison and Rhino sound: https://freeanimalsounds.org/jungle-animals/ (Accessed 28/07/22)
Elk Sound: https://freeanimalsounds.org/forest-sounds/ (Accessed 28/07/22)