Hello! If you're reading this, you might be interested in working on my thesis game and/or film! I am looking for a film composer, sound designer, and soundtrack composer. Instead of making you slog through my rambling production blog, here's some general information:
*Note: you can fill multiple roles, as most of the production will be completed non-concurrently. However, the creation process is different between projects and require other skillsets.
A little about me:
I spent a year in Game Design and Development before transferring to Film and Animation to focus more on art, but I am still looking to go into games, which is why I'm doing two theses - one for graduation requirements and one for my portfolio. I am primarily a 3D prop and environment artist, I have industry experience, and I have worked with soundtrack and sound designers before. My junior game had a similar process, but this year I am emulating real-world industry development to better prepare me and my team to enter the workforce, so you can expect professionalism and a finished film and game.
Film: Lucid
Lucid is a, first-person, experimental, non-linear film about symptoms of narcolepsy that I want to bring more attention to: falling into and out of REM very quickly and how that can blur the line between dreams and reality. They can be both mundane and fantastical dreams and take place in fantasy like environments or familiar real world settings, which I hope to convey through my environment work. The film is a series of dreams cut together that become more disconcerting and chaotic as the cuts shorten and the subject matter darkens. The film crescendos into a flashing climax before the character is pulled out of the dreams into a reflection-like space where the dreams are roped off and unable to confuse and disorient the character anymore. The beginning and ending show that this entire experience has taken place in less than a minute in reality.
I am working with an editor, so we will all be collaborating together to make the film using footage taken from the game, (supplemented with film-specific shots that are not a part of gameplay,) to create a 'companion' film that satisfies the SOFA BFA graduation requirement. The film will be mostly pre-production and animatic work for the fall semester, and the bulk of work will be completed in the spring once I have finished developing the game and have the final footage. I am looking for a composer/sound designer for music and effects.
Here is the animatic, but some parts of it are a little unclear due to the 2D, unfinished, and non-rendered shots. Any of the 3D work in this animatic was done in a modeling software with placeholder assets for animatic purposes only, and will be completely redone and rendered in the Unity Game Engine with all added effects. The sound is also just scratch sound and subject to (a lot of) change.
Game: You Deserve to Take Up Space
I am looking for a sound designer and soundtrack composer for my thesis game. You will work with our producer to help keep you organized and on task so you can focus more on the sound effects and/or soundtrack. You will work with the development team on pre-visualization and production, and scope and style can be determined before or after you commit to the position.
Elevator Pitch:
You Deserve to Take Up Space is about the struggle to separate dream from reality as a hidden symptom of narcolepsy. The player explores surreal, mystical environments interspersed with dreams that twist the reality we already know. Complete a scavenger hunt through a flooded quarry, enchanted forest, melting apartment, and more while exploring the idea that everyone deserves to take up space, regardless of their circumstances or the challenges they face.
Narrative and Character:
The game is a first person, scavenger hunt interactive experience. We follow Chris Williams, a 21-year-old, computer science student at Rensselaer Poly Tech. He is a third generation Jamaican-American on his father’s side and his mother is a black American. Although emotionally unavailable and ill-fit to be parents, they made sacrifices so that Chris could live comfortably and go to college debt free. Chris was closest to his grandfather, who ran an appliance business and died when Chris was 12 years old – Chris still wears the silver chain he gave to him.
Being raised by traditional parents, Chris learned and developed as a person only when he went off to college. He allowed himself to develop his art skills further and, after navigating the dating world unsuccessfully for two years, Chris met his current boyfriend of one and a half years, Alex Coleman: an African American business student in the same year. Chris’ sexuality created a deep rift between him and his mother, who ultimately accepted it begrudgingly, but permanently damaged their relationship. Neither of them has told his father, who holds Chris’ bank accounts and college funds.
Chris is at a crossroads, needing to decide whether he continues in his major or switches to Electronic Arts at the end of this school year. His friends, Raj (a talented comp sci student) and Julie (an eccentric architecture 2nd year) have differing opinions on what he should do but are ultimately supportive either way. His parents don’t approve, and their biggest concern is how he will get a job after he graduates. His mentor, friends, family, and boyfriend all give him different and conflicting advice, stressing him out more.
His narcolepsy started developing around 16-years-old but wasn’t diagnosed until 19. He struggles to accept it and doesn’t properly take care of himself to manage his symptoms. His dreams are vivid; either he has trippy, fantastical dreams, or dreams so mundane that he struggles to separate them from his waking memories. The game takes place completely in his dreams, between 8:01 and 8:10 in the morning. The player takes control of Chris in his dreams, exploring both his beautiful, other-worldly dreams, interspersed with dreams about him in his apartment that makes the player question if Chris had finally woken up or not. Each level requires the player to find 7 items, triggering 7 dialogue lines of important memories. The game ends in a quiet, calm, and peaceful dream, where Chris’ subconscious reflects with him as they review his dreams together. The player can wake up at any time during this dream, giving them the choice to stay and listen or wake up and end the game without consequence.
Each dream has a minor theme and a conversation between Chris and his friends, boyfriend, and family, representing a memory. They can be positive or negative, but often are ambiguous and up to interpretation. They are all important to Chris’ journey, and their philosophical role is revealed during the reflection dream.
The Title:
The more we learn how to create a balance between self-care and external care for others, the more we can contribute to further the cycle of positivity. There are plenty of other phrases out there: hate only breeds hate, love yourself so you can love others, your actions can create a butterfly effect, etc. But personally, the more abstract those quotes get, the harder they are to put into practice when I need them the most. Love, hate, kindness, and empathy are harder to define, but space is exactly that, and it is infinite.
I am not alone, and my feelings are not unique. Suffering is part of the human experience, and even though I might have more things affecting me physically and emotionally, I don’t have to take up less or more space because of that. “Everyone deserves to take up space,” and the sooner we know that and spread that message, the more we can change our world for the better.
Our protagonist deserves to take up space, his loved ones deserve to take up space, and he gets to decide how he wants to balance that to be the best person he can be. And I hope, in the end, that the game teaches the player that they also deserve to take up space.
Accessibility: My team and I want the game to be playable by any gamer, so a major focus is being put on accessibility features like button remapping, subtitles, blind mode, and color blind mode. We believe that everyone should be able to learn that they deserve to take up space.
If you're interested in one or more of these positions, or just want more information, don't hesitate to email me: and9520@rit.edu
I look forward to our collaboration!
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