These week, we had the opportunity to meet the animation students and hear about their briefs and initial ideas. It was an exciting and slightly overwhelming experience—so many creative directions, distinct visual styles, and narrative voices. I took note of several projects that stood out to me and that I might be interested in collaborating on:
Who Cried Wolf, Baby Vaper, Buzz Off, Everybody is a Star, Dark Carnival, Cup Noodles, and The Secret Ingredient.
What struck me was how aesthetic appeal alone wasn’t enough to immediately determine whether I wanted to work on a particular project. I found myself hesitating with some ideas that I actually liked on the surface. That hesitation came from a mix of internal factors: a subconscious evaluation of the difficulty of the sound work involved, concerns about potential repetition with projects I’ve previously worked on, and even the vibe or communication style of the animator themselves. Some of the projects were quite polished already, which was inspiring—but also intimidating.
After some reflection, I reached out to the creators of Cup Noodles and The Secret Ingredient, sending them samples of my previous work to see if we might be a good fit. In the end, I decided to collaborate with Phyu, the animator behind Cup Noodles. Her concept revolves around a girl who rarely leaves her home—an “otaku” type character, but presented not in the typical anime aesthetic. Instead, Phyu is using a rubber hose animation style inspired by early Disney cartoons, which I found both unexpected and delightful. There’s a quirky contrast between the modern lifestyle theme and the vintage visual treatment, and that contrast opens up some really creative possibilities for sound.
I’m excited to explore how to design an audio world that matches both the nostalgic visual style and the contemporary tone of the story. It will also be a good challenge to maintain emotional nuance and humor in sound while supporting a very stylized animation.