A big idea for my soundscape, and one that I feel makes it different to those I have made in the past, is sound association. In the past, I have heard many people describing their experiences with mental health using colours, sounds, feelings, and I wanted to reflect that within the piece. It was also inspired by the OCD film I found, and the chaotic sound he produced for it.
Due to the fact that I was physically moving the character for the glimpses into his head, it needed it to sound different too. It wasn’t the real world anymore, it was what it sounds like to be in his head.
I chose waves for the ‘upset’ sections, to represent the feeling of drowning, and being overwhelmed to the point of not being able to control it. For anger, I chose heavy traffic – chaotic, often unpleasant, and very distracting – so difficult to sustain coherent thought. And for the ‘depression’ stages, I used a big echoing reverb setting to try and replicate the isolating loneliness which is often felt by those suffering from mental health problems.