Reed Pop put on a phenomenal Comic Con this year with lectures, premiers, merch booths and new technology that tested the capacity limits of the famed Javits Center in New York City. Reed Pop handled the massive influx of over 200,000 fervent attendees, who consumed every morsel of content being offered from artists, writers, musicians and studios from around the world, without breaking a sweat and that’s what makes this truly an incredible event.
We are always on the lookout for multimedia trends, storytelling threads and innovative ways to create and distribute content. Unlike the multitude of other conventions we attend every year, Comic Con offers a unique approach and allows us to interview content creators that we normally don’t cross paths with. Whether it’s Howard Shore, brilliant artists from the show floor or some of the passionate attendees, Comic Con always leaves us wanting more.
This year Virtual Reality made a huge splash with several booths dedicated to the dynamic new technology. However, instead of just replicating travel experiences or well-known landmarks, storytelling entered the picture. The horror genre was targeted by the majority of virtual reality content producers. One of our editors got an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at an upcoming title, which we can’t tell you about at this time, and came away shaken. “I’m amazed how they could not only replicate a creepy visual environment, but augment it with positional sound design to create to truly immersive, and scary, world,” revealed FutureMusic’s Dan Brotman.
Brotman was able to speak to Jack Norman, of the sound designers of the new title, to learn more about how he approaches creating soundscapes for multidimensional worlds. “Authentic reverberation is paramount,” Norman explained, “if spacial conformity is off, the user ‘feels it’ immediately, and the suspension of disbelief is lost.” Norman also gravitates to utilizing real world sounds and manipulating them in post, as opposed to synthetic textures. Audio is critical for creating a convincing virtual reality experience. Because of the key role that audio cues play in our sense of being present in an actual, physical space, savvy virtual reality sound design will contribute to the user’s sense of immersion. Sound communicates the nature of interactions and game physics from the mundane to the life-threatening, especially when the user’s eyes are drawn elsewhere. For sound designers and composers, this is also a double-edged sword that relies on precise timing — even being off by a faction of a second can derail the experience.
Although we'd like to see more panels on sound design, gaming sound and film music composition, if you're interested in learning more about anything pertaining to the comic universe, NY Comic Con delivers the knowledge with an arsenal of industry veterans on several provocative panels.
It isn’t just the fans that get to have all the fun. We were able to witness one of the biggest names in the ComicCon galaxy, none other than Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill, photobomb a number of attendees taking selfies during the show. Using his signature Joker laugh (Hamill voices the Joker in the Batman animated series), he would bellow “The phantom photo bomber has struck again!!” Then quickly disappear into the crowd.
We were scheduled to speak with the sound and music team behind Marvel and Netflix’s The Punisher at the show, but everything related to the new series was yanked due to the senseless mass shooting at the Mandalay in Las Vegas. In a joint press release we received, Netflix and Marvel stated: “We are stunned and saddened by this week’s senseless act in Las Vegas. After careful consideration, Netflix and Marvel have decided it wouldn’t be appropriate for Marvel’s The Punisher to participate in New York Comic-Con.” Due to the ultra violence and massive gun play that inherent in the Jon Bernthal starring series, it was the right move. Hopefully, we’ll get to catch up with Tyler Bates, the lead guitarist from Marilyn Manson, as well a the film composer for 300, John Wick, and Guardians of the Galaxy, at another industry event in the future.
Well, that wraps up this year’s coverage of ComicCon 2017. See you next year!
