In Search of Substance
In Search of Substance, an animated science-fiction narrative by Calder Moore, set in the dystopian sci-fi city of Vulture.
▶ Watch the sound-design breakdown
My aim with every source choice was to accentuate the suspension of disbelief. By manipulating commonly heard, recognizable sounds, leveraging familiarity in the viewer’s subconscious, I could deepen immersion in an otherwise unreal world.
To represent the rival cultures of Vulture, I processed the same batch of source audio through a different manipulation chain per culture. A Voidborn’s electricity has a different character than the Artificer’s, even though both come from the same source, much like different cultures mining the same ore, then working it with different technologies, to different ends.
Each culture’s theme has completely different instrumentation, BPM, genre, and mix aesthetic. The Marauders run a “high-end” mix mimicking Happiness in Slavery by NIN; the Voidborns are deep dubstep; the Lightbringers are vaporwave.
“DUSKOsound has been creating the sickest sound design for everything. It’s been an absolute pleasure working with him.”
Character design by Calder Moore, the cast of the world DUSKOsound scored.
A detective working Vulture City’s crime and chaos on scraps, his precinct starved of funding while the government pours its wealth into control through hired Enforcers.
A detective working Vulture City’s crime and chaos on scraps, his precinct starved of funding while the government pours its wealth into control through hired Enforcers.
An ancient entity out of the archives, said to conjure light from thin air. Ever-aging yet never dying, its flesh withered away to pale bone.
An ancient entity out of the archives, said to conjure light from thin air. Ever-aging yet never dying, its flesh withered away to pale bone.
The Searcher console teaser, solidifying each character and the sonic signature of their culture ahead of the Motion Comic.
The Searcher console teaser, solidifying each character and the sonic signature of their culture ahead of the Motion Comic.
A former supplies runner from the Great Arthropod War, piloting an agile ship through hostile space until it was boarded and ransacked by the bug army.
A former supplies runner from the Great Arthropod War, piloting an agile ship through hostile space until it was boarded and ransacked by the bug army.
The Warlord of the Void, feared and revered among the corroded spires of the Undercity. Once a roaming drunkard, remade into a force of nature.
The Warlord of the Void, feared and revered among the corroded spires of the Undercity. Once a roaming drunkard, remade into a force of nature.
A masked trader at the heart of the marketplace dealing exotic artifacts, whispering in tongues and making deals through gesture alone. No one knows their true name.
A masked trader at the heart of the marketplace dealing exotic artifacts, whispering in tongues and making deals through gesture alone. No one knows their true name.
One of Vulture’s blue-collar workers, among the clerks, office staff and enforcers who keep the city running while most of its people fade into the gray.
One of Vulture’s blue-collar workers, among the clerks, office staff and enforcers who keep the city running while most of its people fade into the gray.
Brutal and cunning, right-hand to Enzo Moretti, head of the shop. He oversees operations and keeps a watchful eye on the workers stripping parts.
Brutal and cunning, right-hand to Enzo Moretti, head of the shop. He oversees operations and keeps a watchful eye on the workers stripping parts.
An off-world professor of astronomic botany who came to Vulture for work, only to find the city had shuttered his field the moment he arrived.
An off-world professor of astronomic botany who came to Vulture for work, only to find the city had shuttered his field the moment he arrived.
A tracker who moves through the Undercity with his companion drone, augmented sensors and radar reading faint energy signatures and distant sounds.
A tracker who moves through the Undercity with his companion drone, augmented sensors and radar reading faint energy signatures and distant sounds.
Intelligent General Operations Robot, the Artificer’s assistant, built to run the shopfront and lend extra hands during upgrade operations.
Intelligent General Operations Robot, the Artificer’s assistant, built to run the shopfront and lend extra hands during upgrade operations.
A master of cybernetic augmentation hidden in the Shrike, the Coalition’s Undercity fortress, installing the enhancements topside augmenters are forbidden to.
A master of cybernetic augmentation hidden in the Shrike, the Coalition’s Undercity fortress, installing the enhancements topside augmenters are forbidden to.
The rival cultures of Vulture City, each given its own sonic identity.
The blue-collar backbone of Vulture: workers, clerks and enforcers who keep the city alive while most of its population fades into the gray.
The blue-collar backbone of Vulture: workers, clerks and enforcers who keep the city alive while most of its population fades into the gray.
Tattoos, spikes and a bad attitude. A small but destructive gang, ruthless and chaotic, forever stirring up trouble across the city.
Tattoos, spikes and a bad attitude. A small but destructive gang, ruthless and chaotic, forever stirring up trouble across the city.
A mysterious order of heavily modified cyborgs, so altered that barely any organic matter remains. Inspired by fantasy creatures.
A mysterious order of heavily modified cyborgs, so altered that barely any organic matter remains. Inspired by fantasy creatures.
The vaporwave, 80s-inspired faction, altering their bleak reality through cybernetic enhancement to cope with life in Vulture.
The vaporwave, 80s-inspired faction, altering their bleak reality through cybernetic enhancement to cope with life in Vulture.
Traders and dealers of the Undercity, formed to fight back the authorities trying to exterminate the populace beneath Vulture’s streets.
Traders and dealers of the Undercity, formed to fight back the authorities trying to exterminate the populace beneath Vulture’s streets.
A formidable collective of traders within Vulture, a beacon of commerce offering exotic and off-planet wares. Their bustling marketplaces showcase everything from ancient artifacts to cutting-edge off-planet technology.
A formidable collective of traders within Vulture, a beacon of commerce offering exotic and off-planet wares. Their bustling marketplaces showcase everything from ancient artifacts to cutting-edge off-planet technology.
Glitching Searcher console teasers and UI concepts by Calder Moore and the ISO team, each with its own sonic signature by DUSKOsound.
The ISO: Substance comic and its cast, scored by DUSKOsound.
Cover and audio for Book 3, The Shattered Gift: a once-perfect orb, now shattered, straining to rebuild the light at its core.
Cover and audio for Book 3, The Shattered Gift: a once-perfect orb, now shattered, straining to rebuild the light at its core.
A Mythic-tier ISO: Substance book cover. Foley by DUSKOsound.
A Mythic-tier ISO: Substance book cover. Foley by DUSKOsound.
Cover for Book 9, Substance, from the ISO: Substance series. Audio by DUSKOsound.
Cover for Book 9, Substance, from the ISO: Substance series. Audio by DUSKOsound.
The story’s lead. A hard-living survivor who will cut any corner for a few credits, out to find his missing brother Mack.
The story’s lead. A hard-living survivor who will cut any corner for a few credits, out to find his missing brother Mack.
Lorne’s old beater, forever breaking down, built to cross the biomes of the outskirts in search of his brother.
Lorne’s old beater, forever breaking down, built to cross the biomes of the outskirts in search of his brother.
Sound design for the shifting sphere at the story’s center. The post’s slides reveal the recording process behind it.
Sound design for the shifting sphere at the story’s center. The post’s slides reveal the recording process behind it.
Custom sound for a vehicle interior, built from scratch. The slides walk through the field-recording process.
Custom sound for a vehicle interior, built from scratch. The slides walk through the field-recording process.
Ambience for the world of Vulture, field-recorded around Vancouver BC and processed for the story. The slides reveal the recording process.
Ambience for the world of Vulture, field-recorded around Vancouver BC and processed for the story. The slides reveal the recording process.
