Tim Burton's Stainboy
[A feature examining the challenges and processes, both creative
and technical, which went into the creation of the Stainboy Shockwave animations
from Burton's stories and watercolour-splotched sketches. No mention of Elfman's
music, although sound is noted below as one of the challenges. The complete
document is not archived as the site is live and maintained]
[Page7:]
"The biggest hit comes from the heavy use of music, explosive sound effects
and high quality voice over." ... "Strangely, it’s not the Stainboy
visuals that place the greatest load on the servers at Shockwave. Compared to
most cartoons, the Stainboy visuals are created in the most minimal style imaginable.
The audio, however, sounds as if it was mixed for a THX movie theater. The biggest
hit comes from the heavy use of music, explosive sound effects and high quality
voice over.
When Flinch tested for sound quality they discovered to their surprise that
they didn’t need sound-stage-quality to achieve the effects they were after.
Recording across a variety of formats, Flinch tested everything from cassette
recorders to built-in computer microphones, from DAT tapes to tapes previously
recorded on sound stages. The sound engineers at Flinch learned that it’s
a waste of time and money to record sound at a level of quality higher than
DAT. In the limited audio environment of the Web and built-in computer speakers,
the audience just can’t hear the difference. So Flinch recorded all their
sound using a Sony DAT recorder and DAT tape. Which, as it turns out, is exactly
what Tim Burton used at home.
As Amato explains, “We went in to the DAT recorder mike, out from the
DAT and into the sound card of the PC. It was pretty direct. The whole idea:
Watch the levels!”