In Search Of: Substance
Calder Moore’s dystopian science fiction universe has a chapter that focuses on Vulture City, where warring factions use the same salvaged materials to create their unique technologies. The same batch of recorded foley was processed in different ways for each faction. For energy I used a different source for each culture: square, saw, sine and triangle waves, or bowed metal. Each faction’s sonic identity was designed from the ground up, including distinctive diegetic music.
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A mysterious figure residing in the depths of the Undercity within the protective walls of the Shrike, a fortress built by the Coalition. A master of cybernetic augmentation, upgrading those who want that little bit extra that the topside augmenters are not legally allowed to do.
He was indirectly one of the founding members of the Coalition, formed to fight back against the authorities trying to decimate the Undercities population. Never showing up to any of the councils, but spending most of the time upgrading those who would fight back against the topside foes.
FACTION CARD · The Coalition
Utilizing identifiable references to shape the auditory framework of a fictional world serves to enhance the audience’s immersion and suspension of disbelief.
- Technologies
- LOM Usi – AKG p220
- Materials
- Electric Welder – Blender – Spinning Usi Mount – Ratchet – Processed Dialogue
IGOR is the Artificer’s assistant robot. Built to help manage the shop front, as well as act as extra hands for operating on the subjects who come in for upgrades. The bot itself was created by the Artificer, built so he can remain more in the shadows, especially during the mass raids that have been happening.
He’s a bit of a slow mover, his bulky form built for hauling heavier objects or tossing clients out of the shop when they are done being upgraded. Moving all this mass takes a lot of power, so IGOR is linked directly into the Shrike’s powergrid, Unfortunately not able to leave the shop because of this.
FACTION CARD · The Coalition
Missed an opportunity to record an exposed engine that was being tested for that Cobra in the background, but I made sure to capture sounds from the shop.
- Technologies
- LOM Usi – AKG p220
- Materials
- Electric Welder – Blender – Spinning Usi Mount – Ratchet – Processed Dialogue
Scout and his companion drone possess an uncanny ability to navigate through the Undercity’s cityscape with unparalleled precision and stealth. Equipped with expertly augmented sensors and radar systems, they can detect faint energy signatures and pick up on distant sounds, making them formidable trackers. His augmentations enhance his natural senses, granting him heightened hearing and night vision, able to scan areas for biosignatures and signs of tech that can be salvaged.
Together they keep a lookout around The Void for any trespassers that enter so they can capture and salvage any usable parts off them or to be reborn as Voidborn. Scout also traverses the Undercity on a search for any unreclaimed tech within the old streets or collapsed structures.
FACTION CARD · The Voidborn
While the core materials comprising the ISO: Substance universe remain consistent, each culture within it employs distinct processes to meet specific technological necessities.
- Technologies
- LOM Geofon – Priezor – Electrousi – Usi – p220pro – SM58
- Materials
- Ratchet – Knives – Vocal Chords – Mic Stand – Ball – Tinfoil – Blender – Suede Jacket – Dental Floss – Measuring Tape – Plasma Ball – Electromagnetic Frequencies
- Genre / Mix
- Deep dubstep
Max came to vulture from off planet for work as a college professor focusing on astronomic botany and the medicinal properties of plants. Though unbeknownst to him Vulture is a bit of a shithole and people didn’t really care about that kind of career path. Shortly after arrival, the college closed that program to make room for more basic trades training that appealed to the masses.
Frustrated by the situation he was in, Max resorted to the local horticulture, and ended up discovering Glimmer, a hallucinogenic drug that changes your entire surroundings, making the bleak city feel alive with vibrant colors that are almost dreamlike.
People who rally behind this drug are called the Lightbringers. Max has joined this faction, researching more of the drug’s properties for profit as a last ditch effort to make enough credits to get out of this city and off this planet
FACTION CARD · The Lightbringers
- Technologies
- LOM Usi – Electrousi – Priezor – AKG p220
- Materials
- Suede – Nylon – Buckles – Grumbling – Old Radio – Electromagnetic Frequencies – Puppies
- Dialogue
- Myself, Willow & Sir Charles Archibald Barkley II
- Genre / Mix
- Vaporwave
With a reputation for his brutal nature and cunning intellect, Sweet Tooth has secured his position as the right-hand man to Enzo Moretti, the Head of the shop. In this role, he assumes the responsibility of overseeing the shop’s operations. Sweet Tooth’s watchful eye keeps a close check on the workers stripping parts off whatever the gang can get their hands on ranging from stolen cars and bikes to citizens with cybernetic enhancements. anything that can be sold for valuable credits.
Sweet Tooth’s relationship with other gang members is complex. While he commands respect and fear from many, His narcissistic nature always turns others against him. He always remains cautious and suspicious of others, always on guard against potential threats or betrayal within the ranks.
- Genre / Mix
- A high-end mix mimicking Happiness in Slavery by NIN
Sophie, a talented and driven mechanic, finds herself working tirelessly amidst the gritty and bleak environment of Joe’s Garage, a rundown establishment nestled within Vultures industrial district. Amidst The city’s rundown and obsolete tech, Sophie’s passion and optimism shine.
Despite Vulture’s deteriorating conditions and the constant struggle for survival, Sophie remains hopeful, believing that she can shape her own destiny. She dreams of a better future and yearns to expand her knowledge of advanced technology. With every wrench turn and diagnostic test, she gathers funds with the ultimate goal of enrolling in technical courses to deepen her understanding of cybernetics and robotics.
With a warm smile and a genuine desire to help others, Sophie has earned the respect and admiration of her colleagues and customers alike. She goes above and beyond to assist her fellow mechanics, offering guidance and sharing her own limited knowledge of futuristic technology.
The contrast in sonic aesthetic associated with Fantasy labour environments vs SciFi is interesting. Instead of Wood Chopping, Rope Friction, Masonry, and Smithing we hear Power Tools, Welding, Electricity, Machinery and Synthesis, relative to the cultures technological capabilities: Low Tech to High Tech.
The Citizens of Vulture built a Scrap City from remnants of technologies gathered from countless civilizations that were formed and destroyed in that same geographic region.
- Technologies
- LOM Usi – AKG p220
- Materials
- Ratchet – Cord Handling – Misc. Fastener – Stapler Spring – Scooter – Dialogue
This figure, shrouded in mystery, is known to citizens as The Raven, as no one knows their true name. Located in the heart of the marketplace selling their exotic artifacts, they can be found always whispering in tongues and never speaking to people directly, only giving general hand gestures to make deals.
They have always been here and no one knows where they came from or if it was even from this planet. The citizens call what they sell, artifacts. But it seems like for The Raven, they’re everyday objects, as if they’ve been around for thousands of years.
Those that obtain these objects always seem to spiral into a hunger for greed and power, usually with the ability to obtain it, if only before the chaos catches up and consumes them.
- Technologies
- LOM Usi – AKG p220
- Materials
- Rings – Necklaces – Throat Singing by Bolesław Ren Rygiel – Suede Jacket – Bowed Tibetan Singing Bowl – Mic Clips – Bells
- Genre / Mix
- Neuro bass and world instruments
Amidst the corroded spires that stretch high above the rust choked depths of the Undercity roams a figure both feared and revered; The Warlord of the Void, an imposing force of nature in the dystopian realm of Vulture City. Once known to be a roamer and drunkard in Vulture City,
stumbling through the glittering neon nightscape down fetid alleys and barging into the angered patrons of crowded marketplaces.
One stormy night, cloaked by great sheets of rain and wrapped tightly in his usual drunken stupor, he unwittingly found his way down into the Undercity. The last time he was seen in his unaltered form, venturing down into The Void.
Many long cycles later he emerged, imbued with a new fire in his triumvirate vision. Emerging from the depths to raid small outposts and settlements, he’s the reason the Marauders stick to the surface lest they suffer his wrath as he searches for scrap and tech to further the Voidborn.
Oni are associated with powers like thunder and lightning, so for this Searcher, I held a Geofón contact microphone to my neck, below the larynx, to record a signal associated with sound in the trachea.
To ensure this character is perceived as fully robotic, I used tremolo on the vocalization, matching the sonic signature of this universe’s mechanical sounds, which are primarily sourced from a rotating ratchet.
- Technologies
- LOM Geofon – Priezor – Electrousi – Usi – p220pro – SM58
- Materials
- Ratchet – Knives – Vocal Chords – Mic Stand – Ball – Tinfoil – Blender – Suede Jacket – Dental Floss – Measuring Tape – Plasma Ball – Electromagnetic Frequencies
- Genre / Mix
- Deep dubstep
In a past life, Vernon was a supplies runner during the Great Arthropod War, the battle against the giant genetically altered bug army. Piloting an agile ship to go in and out of dangerous areas to reinforce the frontlines.
During the war his ship was boarded and ransacked by bugs, causing it to crash. Stranded in the planet’s decimated forest, he befriended a small critter who was starving, searching for food. Vernon had an energy bar in his jacket pocket, opened it up, took a bite from it and offered it to the critter and went on his way. The creature pursued, refusing to leave his side. Little did he know, this offering had created a bond between them. Giving into the new bond, he then named him Cosmo.
Since then he lays low, piloting a cargo ship for off planet shipping, smuggling glimmer out of Vulture City for the Lightbringers. People don’t usually question him as he always puts on a mean looking demeanor, which combined with his scars, scares off any thoughts of ill doings.
Cosmo is the first creature we created for this story, and recording the vocalizations of 2 dogs generated a familiar but alien dialogue. A dialogue only Vernon can fluently interact with, via emotive grumbling. Cosmo has floppy ears, and after recording a coat rack of various textiles, suede had the correct sonic aesthetic, in contrast to the Nylon-like textile sourced for the trademark Lightbringers Jackets
- Technologies
- LOM Usi – Electrousi – Priezor – AKG p220
- Materials
- Suede – Nylon – Buckles – Grumbling – Old Radio – Electromagnetic Frequencies – Puppies
- Dialogue
- Myself, Willow & Sir Charles Archibald Barkley II
- Genre / Mix
- Vaporwave
The ancient archives mention a dark figure that can seemingly conjure light out of thin air. Is ever aging but never dying, their flesh slowly withering away leaving behind the pale bone underneath But those archives are far too old for anyone or anything to have lived that long and yet, this entity known as Osseous is claimed to be this immortal being.
Osseous can be found wandering the dense streets of Vulture City for hire, creating these peculiar light based holograms, which somehow don’t need any sort of mechanisms to project what they’ve crafted, like some sort of visual magic. Apart from creating the numerous hologram ads or business signs, they can be found putting on spectacular displays of art, creating these intricate and detailed light performances, sometimes taking up entire courtyards, filling the space above with wonder and awe.
- Technologies
- LOM Usi – AKG p220
- Materials
- Rings – Necklaces – Throat Singing by Bolesław Ren Rygiel – Suede Jacket – Bowed Tibetan Singing Bowl – Mic Clips – Bells
- Genre / Mix
- Neuro bass and world instruments
Vulture City is overrun with crime and chaos. Unfortunately, the government diverts its wealth
toward maintaining control and enforcing its agenda through hired Enforcers, rather than funding proper policing facilities. As a result, Jaeger’s precinct struggles to function, relying on scraps of outdated technology and a skeleton crew of equally jaded officers.
Refusing to succumb to apathy, Jaeger takes justice into his own hands, solving cases with great ingenuity and a network of trust among the downtrodden citizens. His methods are unconventional, a necessity in a city so devoid of law and structure. Armed with relics of a better-funded past and driven by sheer determination, Jaeger fights to support the few citizens still striving for a better future in this forsaken city.
Vulture City is a Sci Fi Dystopia, and myself and Calder Moore are based out of Vancouver, BC, Canada. Because of this I wanted to simulate a parallel reality to our own by recording audio of Vancouver’s roughest settings. These recordings were then pitched down slightly to ensure the final soundtrack evokes an even darker and more dystopian feeling in listeners than the natural environment.
- Technologies
- LOM Usi – Electrousi – Priezor – AKG p220
- Materials
- Water Droplets – Trench Coat – Hot Iron – Steam – DTES Ambience Day – Sirens – DTES Ambience Night – Coherent Shouting – Electromagnetic Frequencies – Plasma Ball
The motion comic covers
Thirteen covers for the motion comic, every one of them scored and mixed here. These six also have the foley session on film: the cover, the session that built it, and the write up.
With a pocket full of smokes and a sack of beer, Lorne is set to go find his brother who has been missing for far too long.
This old beater of a truck is the perfect vehicle to cruise over the outskirts, if it can stay running that is, as it is always breaking down and under repairs.
The outskirts are made up of a few different biomes, ranging from the barren desert to more lush and vibrant forests. These have formed this way because of the soils and minerals from the formation of the planet itself, and the vast variety of moons that had collapsed into each other to create it.
“Perched on it is this peculiar sphere. The pattern seems to be always shifting and adjusting its physical shape, like it’s trying to perfect itself.”
The room is vast, the only light that illuminates it is self suspended in the middle of the room. Once a perfect orb that demanded praise and high regard, is now but a shattered version of itself, trying to rebuild what it once was. The Light that emanates from the core seems to be fighting back against itself, like it’s trying to break free from the hard shell trapping it in to be concealed for eternity.
In this universe, Malachite is an extremely valuable, mysterious, and precious substance. If you were to break a sphere of Malachite open, the resulting ore-like chunks would defy gravity and begin to float, lightly bumping into one another and slowly spreading away from the point of impact.
That state is what this sonic palette depicts.
- Technologies
- LOM Uši – AKG p220 – Organic Audio Cjossul
- Materials
- Bells – Ice – Water
It feels like there is something watching me, gazing right through my skin into the deepest parts of my mind and soul. My body is aching from the feeling, like a million tiny needles pushing their way into me. Why can’t I find it? Where are these gazing eyes? Am I lost? I shouldn’t be here.
Mythic Cover #4
Smoking a pack a day, and drinking throughout the night, Lornes bad habits are just as bad as his ability to not screw someone over to make a quick couple of credits to pay for more cigarettes.
Lorne and his brother, Mack, lost their parents when they were young. Having to fend for themselves early on, they learned quickly that this place chews up the weak and spits out the dead. They had to learn fast to make it here, Lorne found himself doing scammy deals and gambling to make due.
Of course, he always seems to find himself in situations he didn’t have to be in. Conning the wrong gang or rigging a game of dice. It seems like he is in his own way of getting put onto a proper path where he can actually enjoy life.
The protagonist’s vehicle is a Scrappers Hot Rod: A Scrap Rod.
Heard from the perspective of his vehicle interior: the engine is muffled, but one mechanism releases air pressure to the inside of the cab.
These Motion Comic book covers feature Lorn’s Scrap Rod in various states, and Book Cover 08 represents a scene where Lorn is being chased through a Toxic Desert Wasteland. Toxicity levels are monitored by a user interface and communicated to the driver via a Geiger counter, while the vehicle’s health status is conveyed through the pace of a Telegraph-like syncopated tone.
- Technologies
- LOM Usi – Elekrousi -Preizor – AKG p220 – Shure SM58 – Cjossul
- Materials
- Ratchet Set – Torch – Deflating Ball – Zippo Lighter – Electromagnetic Frequencies – SAD Lamp – Plasma Ball – 50gal Steel Drum – Heat Shield – Boom Library Rat Rod
Lorne usually makes, more or less, legal antique flipping deals, selling some knick knacks or electronics. But sometimes he can get his hands onto something he probably shouldn’t have his hands on. In these cases, meeting at the last bus stop on the edge of Vulture is the way to go to set up some shady deals.
No law enforcement patrols way out here on the edge of town, and this territory doesn’t belong to any of the gangs nearby. The perfect place to buy and sell illegal goods without getting any heat on you.
Mythic Cover #6
During the night in Vulture it seems like no one ever sleeps, and if they are, they keep an eye peeled and back against the wall just in case. Everyone is out gambling, getting drunk, doing drugs, and getting into fights. It’s not until the crack of dawn from the first sun that the bustling nightlife finally makes its way back home to brew a fresh pot of coffee and get ready for work.
Mythic Cover #7
It is the 23rd century, the human race has spread far and wide across thousands of galaxies and habited thousands of planets. Technology has reached limits one could never think to be possible. Berg IV is the home to Vulture. A stubborn city that seems to refuse to use these latest technologies, relying on the old tried and true tech. Even the Mayor refuses to install updated traffic lanes or demolish the old bulky structures that fill this city for Improved and sleeker versions.
Different species have been found on the planet, but mainly just non sentients or something you would consider to be wildlife. Nothing has been documented to have any higher sense of thought or purpose.
Mythic Cover #9
Deep into the ancient temple, Lorne is feeling a sense of déjà vu, like he has been here before. That feeling that he has made his way through this corridor a hundred times and died a hundred more. Dying over and over again, but slightly further each time and in a variety of different ways, like he had learned something from the previous death only to find himself back at the beginning of this place.
Will he be able to make his way to the end? Will there be some sort of ultimate feat he has to overcome?
Mythic Cover #10
Dark, damp and full of curiosities. The ancient temple lies ruined, embedded into the planet’s surface, pushing deep into the ground. Barely any light still breaks through its collapsing and overgrown roof.
The air is musky, like an old wet dust that you can’t seem to escape. It’s cold down here, but yet, feels warm somehow, like the very place is piercing into your soul. The smell attacks the nose, with an almost fleshy scent, like there are some entities that are still lurking about in the shadows.
What will we find in this forsaken place?
Legendary Edition Cover #11
Once this place was an old mechanics shop, Acquired by some fixed gambling, is now the home and front of operations for Lorne and his brother.
Located in the industrial district, this shop is out of the way from having curious folk loiter around to see what sort of schemes and plans go on inside. Even though the noise the neighbors make throughout the night can get annoying, this doesn’t seem to affect Lorne much as he is always out gambling throughout the night until the brink of dawn when the first sun starts to rise.
Limited Edition Cover #12
Vulture, a bustling rundown town, full of gangs, gambling, and conmen. Everyone is out for themselves and seems to leave a mess in their wake for someone else to deal with, leaving the city in shambles and its population barely scraping by.
The city is full of old age junk and garbage, for Lorne though, one mans trash is another’s treasure. Rifling through others hoard of dusty antiques and useless junk, he buys and flips these pieces as fast as he can to make a quick buck. Most of the time getting out of there before the buyer takes notice of its true state.
Standard Edition Cover #13
Six factions, six sonic identities
Same city, same scavenged raw materials, completely different outcomes.
How can we effectively capture the essence of these distinct cultural enclaves within Vulture through music? Which audio resources and sound manipulation techniques can best depict their sonic identities as societal factions that utilize similar raw materials for technology but diverge in their creative outcomes?
The Coalition
A group of traders and dealers in the Undercity of Vulture. Formed to fight back the authorities who where trying to exterminate the Undercity populace.
Deep within the roots of Vulture, beneath the city streets and walkways, lie a series of tunnels, buried highways, and centuries-old structures. The city continually builds upon itself, piling on garbage and obsolete technology, resulting in the ever-expanding Realm known as the Undercity. It is within this domain that you will find the Shrike, a place for all your black market trades and other illicit operations. If you can’t get what you are looking for topside, you will be able to find it down here, everything has its price, even the citizens themselves. Some of the traders and dealers down here have formed The Coalition. The Coalition started as a group of people that have made a bit of an alliance amongst themselves, almost like a truce pact as they kept sabotaging each other’s operations. Gang fights and territory wars would break out often, leaving nothing but destruction in the wake.
The Lightbringers
The Vaporwave/80’s inspired faction
Vulture, a shithole of a place, with seemingly no escape as there’s not much else outside of the city except for the desolate wasteland and the uninhabited wildlands beyond that. To cope with this bleak society, people tend to try to alter their reality, through cybernetic enhancements, alcohol, but most of all, Glimmer. A hallucinogenic drug that completely alters your surroundings, turning the lifeless city into a vibrant dreamlike version of itself. Unfortunately it never lasts long enough as it seems to only last moments, but those moments feel so hopeful, all your troubles are gone and lifted away into a ray of light. Glimmer has to be made and distributed, and this is where the Lightbringers have made their mark on vulture. Citizens dubbed them that name as they ‘bring them the light’, that glimmer of hope if you will. The people within the faction are all generally well behaved, considerate, and super chill. Glimmer itself is technically illegal, but no authorities care to stop the distribution of it as it helps to keep the gears of the city moving. The only trouble they really come across is the ruthless gang of Vulture, The Marauders, always disrupting the flow of things, ransacking warehouses and mugging dealers
The Voidborn
A dark and mysterious group of heavily modified cyborgs inspired by fantasy creatures.
Not much is known about the Voidborn. They are a very mysterious group of beings you can barely call a human anymore as their bodies have been so altered, barely any organic matter remains. Head to toe covered in cybernetic enhancements, their metallic forms grind and clang as they move about.
Marauders
Tattoos, spikes, and a bad attitude. The Gang is a plague upon the city
A plague running rampant within Vulture. Ruthless, chaotic, destructive. Marauders are a scourge on the city and its citizens. The gang isn’t too big but with the amount of members it does have, it packs a punch. Always seemingly stirring up trouble on the city streets, or causing panic in marketplaces.
The Citizens of Vulture
All the hard workers throughout Vulture.. The few that have a bit of a story to tell. That haven’t faded into the gray.
The blue collar workers, the office employees, the store clerks, the enforcers. These are some of the many people that keep Vulture alive and running. Most of the cities population fades away into the mindless masses.
The Merchant Guild
The Merchant Guild, a formidable collective of traders within Vulture, stands as a beacon of commerce, offering a tantalizing array of exotic and off-planet wares. Their bustling marketplaces are filled with the energy of very curious citizens as they showcase a captivating assortment of goods, from ancient artifacts to cutting-edge off-planet technologies.
Building a universe?
This is the work I want most: getting in early and owning the sound of a world as it grows.
In Search Of: Substance has been running for years and keeps expanding. If you are building something with that shape, a world rather than a single job, that is a call.
I have been working with Daniel on a science-fiction project since Nov 2022. Throughout this time he has been very professional and easy to work with! On this project he has provided absolutely amazing sound design, foley work, and music. He responds to critique very well, providing updated revisions in a very timely manner.
His creativity for providing unique sound has always exceeded my expectations — I have been constantly blown away at his abilities. It has been a privilege to work with such a talented person as Daniel, and I will not hesitate to work with him in the future.
