Mascot Test

Jelani J. Miller, a visual artist I respect connected with me and had this animated mascot that needed sound that actually has personality. The animation wasn’t even finished yet, but the intention was clear: that early-2000s commercial energy, where sound does a lot of the heavy lifting. The whole process felt playful in the best way. Digging through old idents, trusting instinct, recording weird stuff around the house and at stores. At some point it stopped feeling like sound effects and more like figuring out who this character is and how it reacts to the world. That’s why it mattered to me. We were giving a mascot a voice, a mood, a way to exist across different moments. When it finally clicked and he signed off instantly, it felt like one of those rare projects where sound doesn’t sit behind the visuals… it stands shoulder to shoulder with them.

Client

MOMENTSLATER

Year

2023

Services

Character Sound Design, Foley, Audio Branding

The Situation & The Goal

Collaborated with a visual artist/director to design audio for an animated robotic character used as a recurring brand mascot. Visual animation was still in-progress, requiring audio decisions to be driven by intended physical behavior and motion logic rather than finalized visuals.

The visual reference pulled from early-2000s animated idents and bumpers, emphasizing short-form clarity, character immediacy, and mechanical expressiveness.

The character required a distinct, physically believable sonic system capable of:

Communicating mass, material, and propulsion behavior within seconds
Supporting multiple emotional and motion states without relying on music
Remaining modular and reusable across future animations with different pacing, tone, and intent

Rather than a single sound pass, the project demanded a behavior-driven audio system that could scale and adapt.

Goal: Design and deliver a modular character audio system that:

Reinforced physical presence, mechanical weight, and motion intent
Supported dynamic emotional and propulsion states
Allowed future reuse through parameterized variation rather than fixed playback

Process & Key Actions

Research & Direction
- Studied early-2000s animated idents to understand how short-duration sound design establishes physicality and personality efficiently
- Aligned with the director on a mechanical, cartoon-adjacent sensibility while keeping the audio clean, modern, and system-oriented
- Scoped the project to sound effects and character audio only, intentionally excluding music to preserve downstream flexibility
- Captured and tested original source material, including:
  - Found-object recordings for exploratory mechanical textures
  - Servo and gear artifacts extracted from consumer electronics
- Built early drafts prioritizing behavior, texture, and response, not final polish
Character System Design
- Proposed and implemented a multi-state character system, delivering several “robot expressions” rather than a single static design
- Each expression was treated as a behavioral variation (energy, intent, attitude) rather than a separate asset
- Following clarification of the robot’s physical makeup (fully metal, ~3–4 ft tall):
  - Replaced lighter source material with recordings of real metal free weights to capture realistic impact and inertia
  - Time-stretched and EQ-shaped earlier material to increase perceived mass and low-frequency presence
  - Adjusted transient behavior to better reflect mechanical weight and movement resistance
Propulsion & Motion Audio
- Designed custom synthesized propulsion and movement elements using VSTs and DSP tools
- Engineered a custom synth patch by first defining the robot’s mechanical “voice” (timbre, range, behavior), then building synthesis around that concept
- Developed multiple jetpack/propulsion variants with different tonal and motion characteristics
The final propulsion system utilized:
- Oscillating samples
- Granular processing
- Filtering and modulation
This allowed fine control over thrust intensity, acceleration, and perceived force, enabling dynamic adaptation to motion cues.
Integration & Refinement
- Mapped audio frame-by-frame to the animation’s emotional and physical arc, ensuring sound reinforced movement intent and narrative beats
- Iterated based on detailed feedback, including:
  - Removing retro-style processing to maintain clarity and modern fidelity
  - Simplifying movement layers for intelligibility
  - Creating space for future elements (e.g., orb sound)
- Delivered a final, balanced WAV with all revisions incorporated

Results

Delivered a fully approved, production-ready character audio system
Successfully established physical presence and expressive behavior for an unfinished animation using sound alone
Provided a reusable, modular audio framework rather than a one-off sound pass
Strengthened the project’s overall identity by tightly aligning sound behavior with motion and intent
Built a lasting creative relationship that extended into future collaboration discussions

Personal Takeaways & Skills Gained

Delivered a fully approved, production-ready character audio system
Successfully established physical presence and expressive behavior for an unfinished animation using sound alone
Provided a reusable, modular audio framework rather than a one-off sound pass
Strengthened the project’s overall identity by tightly aligning sound behavior with motion and intent
Built a lasting creative relationship that extended into future collaboration discussions

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