Creative Services: Soundtracks
The great thing about sound is that it can really add atmosphere to otherwise “lifeless” areas.
Atmospheres
We created a sound-scape for Hampton Court Palace’s Tudor Kitchens. It included our sound engineer donning “Tudor” shoes and recording his footsteps running up and down the Buttery stairs. Authenticity like this, is great fun to achieve and so much more effective than second guessing in a studio what soft leather shoes on Oak stairs would really sound like.
This was only one part of the project but highlights the attention to detail that is so important in recreating history.
Authentic sounds recreate the atmosphere in the kitchens at Hampton Court Palace.
Hampton Court Palace cooking pots and ovensSingle Effects
It doesn’t always have to be an all embracing atmosphere. A single effect can sometimes be enough – it can surprise visitors, or highlight a specific item which is an important part of a display.
Voices
Sound can also be used to tell stories. Character dialogue can be a really effective way of getting messages across. A well written script can convey facts, subtle details and real humanity, to capture the essence of a time, place or event. We make sure that the scripts we write sound real and provide all necessary detail without overloading the visitor with facts and figures.
We will also make sure that the correct historical idiom for the period depicted is used and that any local dialects are respected.
Milestones Museum character dialogue illustrating social history
Outside the railyway (left), the coal man (above)Oral Histories
For the National Trust at Blickling Hall we combined short “drama” scripts with existing Oral Histories. This brought “downstairs” stories to life – we hear the cook talking in the 1960s of life in the 1930s. She tells of a time when Chicken Mayonnaise was a popular dish and interspersed with her stories we hear her as a younger woman (played by a local actress) preparing that very dish, explaining to her maid how to mix the ingredients, asking the gardener for some fresh produce to be brought in.