Sound Design For Disney’s Haunted Mansion Attraction
By Richard Holzhauer
Introduction
Ableton Live
The Haunted Mansion
Qlab
Sound has always been an interest of mine. Being a part of the
Entertainment Technology Department of New York City College of
Technology, I had the opportunity to learn about all aspects of live
entertainment. As I completed my sound track curriculum, I have
become deeply interested in sound design. I prefer using sound as a
tool to take audience members from their seat to a new place,
experiencing the sound from all around them. Video is another great
interest of mine. I plan to combine both sound and video into my
culmination project, which is taking Disney’s Haunted Mansion
attraction ride through video and totally redesigning the practical
and creative sounds. Because it is video footage of a live attraction,
the project is a hybrid between sound for film and sound for live
entertainment.
.
Procedure
The sound design process consists of taking royalty free sounds
from Freesound.org and manipulating them in Ableton Live. I took
real world recordings, and processed them by adding reverb,
amplifiers, delays, and other effects to make the sounds original and
unique. The sounds were intended to fit a practical but supernatural
world. I then had to mix the volumes of the sounds according to their
location in the video.
After the design process was completed, I inserted the sounds into
QLab, in which they can be launched according to the walk through
attraction in the video. The sounds will also be mixed in surround
sound to expand on the creativity and experience of the project. For
example, you may hear a grandfather clock ringing to your left, but
also hear the creaking of a door behind you.
Schedule
Week of
5-Feb
12-Feb
19-Feb
26-Feb
5-Mar
12-Mar
19-Mar
26-Mar
2-Apr
16-Apr
23-Apr
30-Apr
Task
Gathered Samples and Video Footage
Gathered Samples
Gathered Samples
Ableton Live Session
Ableton Live Session
Ableton Live Session
Ableton Live Session
Put the Sounds in Qlab (Pre Surround Sound)
Waiting For Lab Time Permission and Equipment Permission
Put the Sounds in Qlab (Pre Surround Sound)
Lab Time
Put together the surround sound system
Conclusion
Hours
3
2
2
8
8
6
6
1
3
7.5
Budget
Quantity
1
1
1
5
1
1
1
6
5
1
2
1
Product
Price Per Unit Total Price
Notes
Sources
Ableton Live 9
$749.00
$749.00 Owned Ableton Live license
N/A
Qlab 4 Audio + Video
$749.00
$749.00 Free student license used
Macbook Pro
$1,200.00
$1,200.00 Owned
Meyer Sound MM4-XPD Speaker
$375.00
$1,875.00
https://www.amazon.com
Motu Ultralite mk3 Audio Interface
$539.00
$539.00
Meyer Sound MPS-488
$1,445.00
$1,445.00
Quote from TC FURLONG Professional Audio
UMS -1P
$2,596.86
$2,596.00
Borrowed from school
EN3CM5X Switchcraft Cables
$5.63
$33.78
Mouser Electronics
XLR to 1/4" Cables
XXXX
$89.96
Sweetwater Music Instruments & Pro
XLR Male to Female
$20.00
$20.00
Furman SS-6B Power Strip
$40.00
$80.00
Yamaha DM1000
$1,000.00
$1,000.00
https://www.ebay.com
$8,719.49 $10,376.74
After a semester of work, I finally completed my culmination project. This
includes the sound design for the walk through video of Disney’s Haunted Mansion
live attraction, which was made for the poster session. My culmination project also
includes a QLab session consisting of cues for Disney’s Haunted Mansion which can
be played in surround sound. I calculated a theoretical budget for the project of just
below $20,000. There is no definite budget, because there are endless possibilities
for which equipment to use, and whether you purchase or rent. Any equipment that
I did not own, I borrowed from the school. The last deliverable for the project is a
schedule I documented on a weekly basis over the course of the semester.
With this project, I challenged myself by working with surround sound on a much
larger scale than I ever have. The video footage was approximately ten minutes long
and my sound design consisted of around 200 sounds. This experience taught me to
take problems and delays into account when scheduling a project. Aside from time
management, this project expanded my horizons to use surround sound in live
production and in post-production. Though I am still relatively new at sound design
for video, this project will be great for my resume and will benefit my future.