A new and shiny office, remarkable recordings of old F1 cars, staged fights, and several helping hands. It has, as usual, been an eventful year at Pole, so let us, without further ado, present this year’s…

…best idea:

To interview possible interns and let them pitch why they want to be at Pole.

…Pole breakthrough:

Finishing and setting up our new office and having more people move in and work there was amazing!

…launch:

We have been lucky to work on so many cool projects that launched this past year, so it’s hard to pick just one. But after 4 years of work, it sure was special to us when Fellowship was launched! First as an open beta, then an Early Access release. It’s an amazing feeling when you get to see the passionate community play the game we’ve worked on for the past couple of years.

…I can’t believe we pulled that off moment:

Three years ago, a super cool project several of us worked on was sadly put on ice. But to our joy, it was brought back to life last year, and Pole got the chance to finish up on what we started. We originally set up the project using Wwise, but this time around, Metasound was the chosen tool for the project. So, we needed to transcribe the whole project we set up in Wwise to work with Metasounds, and then add some. It sure was a major task, but after bumping our heads together, creating custom solutions and components, we had built something that gave us the functionality we needed. There were several eureka moments of joy when we managed to get stuff working as intended. 

…we finally got to record it vehicle:

We have recorded so many cool vehicles, ranging from old F1 cars to modern prototype cars. But the old Formula 1 cars. To be able to get close to those rarities and work hands-on, that makes you feel very privileged.

…loudest engine we recorded without losing our eyebrows:

We recorded a 90’s Formula 1 car with a V10. That was insane in every aspect!

…vehicle that surprised us the most once miked up:

Again, we could not believe how loud that V10 Formula 1 car was. On top of that it was so burning hot behind the exhausts that we nearly destroyed some microphones.

…sound we never thought we would record:

On a dark and rainy November afternoon, we staged a couple fighting. We placed the microphones in the studio and closed the door, and started randomly fighting in the room next to the studio, shouting some kind of American gibberish at each other. This is now implemented in one of the games we are currently working on as a next-door neighbor fight. Fun times!

…we didn’t know this object could sound THAT cool I:

The door to the conference room at this year’s Pole gathering. It had a really unexpected, super eerie sound when closing.

…we didn’t know this object could sound THAT cool II:

We used the metal sheet signpost that used to be on the front facade before we moved into our new offices, together with rubber mallets we have lying around, to make musical components for a music project we worked on during the spring.

…smallest object or individual recorded:

We recorded a hair trimmer for some vehicle sound design.

…best nature recording:

We went out to the forest to record wood cracks for Avalanche’s Call of the Wild. Twigs and branches getting stepped on and distant off-axis microphones, and one of us stumbling around the forest bed.

…most peaceful recording moment of the year I:

Once again went out in the forest to record wood creaks. Trees rubbing against each other. A very peaceful event.

…most peaceful recording moment of the year II:

Believe it or not, but recording gun tails in a forest is also surprisingly peaceful.

…recording that made us wish we had brought bug spray:

Recording footsteps outdoors after midnight in tight shorts in the middle of the summer. Mosquito feast.

…most challenging request:

To create 20-odd V12 engines while only having around 8 to use in our libraries.

…most complicated project:

We joined the Liquid Swords team, where almost the whole audio team had been laid off. Coming into a huge open world project with many complicated systems and trying to figure things out has been super fun but challenging to say the least. Since the layoffs, there was a lot of detective work that had to be done.

…most scary recording:

It’s with mixed emotions you go full attack in a sports car on a track with just concrete walls on the sides, with a driver you don’t know…

…most unexpected request:

To get an email on Thursday asking if you can be in Japan on Monday for a meeting was quite unexpected.

…most valuable equipment:

The unsung hero, the PC. What would we do without it :)

…gear we abused the most this year (but it survived!):

The DPAs constantly take a lot of beating. It’s soul-crushing but true. We have taken upon ourselves to go through the DPAs after each session, and almost every time there’s one connector or a microphone that’s gone bust.

…best software for sound design:

Robin: I may always say this but iZotope RX is the best tool in my bag. It saves my life on a daily basis.

Lina: I have to agree with Robin and say RX. I learn useful tools in RX all the time. 

Magnus: Phaseplant. From wind machines to infinite creature movement variations, I’m not sure what my life would be like without it, less granular, I guess.

…release of audio software:

SpectraLayers 12! The quality of separating stems from a complete mix is slowly approaching outright mind-blowing. And it’s also great for some audio repair tasks.
And a big shoutout to Soundflow for the complete Pro Tools integration as well.

…technology we hope someone invents soon:

Proper all-out resynthesis! Did we say this last year as well? Just imagine the possibilities…

…plugin that blew our minds:

Even if it perhaps isn’t at the mindblowing stage, DynAssist brought a big smile when it did a really challenging dialogue leveling pass for a 15 min promotion video, in less than 60 seconds. It was the first time that this kind of process sounded human and instantly useful. And it’s ARA!

…best music composition:

The music Mats wrote for the Empyrean Sands and Silken Hollow levels in Fellowship is simply fantastic!

…best music production:

Mats’ remaster of the Fellowship main theme. Now with marching boots and choir! And of course, the final touch of the violin and horn recordings.

…most challenging sound design:

Finding the right animal recordings…

…most innovative sound design:

Maybe not innovative and more primitive, but in general, your own voice can be a powerful sound design tool. Not to mention a way to get out of your regular workflow. You can use it as a quick sketch to get the right rhythm. Or use it in the final design. Do a quick recording, process it, layer it with the rest of your designs – voila! Have fun!

…most creative use of Foley:

We stumbled upon a servo recording that works perfectly for the vocalization of a mechanical mouse creature.

…most memorable character sound I:

The hybrid electromechanical Foley we made for the add-on suits in an upcoming game was really fun and challenging at the same time. They had to sound futuristic and interesting, but still be subtle enough to never be annoying in the long run.

…most memorable character sound II:

We also had the amazing opportunity to create sounds for several very unique creatures in an upcoming release. Most memorable was the twenty-meter-tall lobster monster. Bending recordings of seafood handling and fruit squashing to make it sound as big, crunchy, and scary as possible was a very fun task.

…collaboration:

Niklas: I’m having a blast working with Magnus for the first time on the Liquid Swords project.

Magnus: I’m having a blast working with Niklas for the first time on the Liquid Swords project.

…helping hand from a Pole colleague:

Eric: Robin’s expertise in all things car engines was invaluable when we had to match and enhance the engine sounds of an upcoming game trailer.

Magnus: Lina stepped in on a project I was working on with a very tight deadline and together we somehow pulled through with results to be proud of!

Robin: Me and Lina had to edit a recording of weapon tails with a very quick turnaround. We did it with great speed and the result sounded amazing!

Robert: Thank you, Niklas, for all the support during the most intense period before the Fellowship launch! You are amazing!

…surprised bystander:

Someone knocked on the studio door over at the Chief Rebel office. In comes a colleague, explaining they’ve added NPCs fleeing a battlefield in great panic. And now we needed sound for them. Being a sucker for spontaneous VO recordings, we told him we should record right away. We had a lot of fun, screaming from the top of our lungs. What we didn’t know was that ⅓ of the company had a meeting in the room next to us. Without knowing, it turns out we changed the tone of that meeting quite a lot. From the meeting being serious, to people being confused and/or scared, to people bursting out in laughter. What confused us is that no one called the police…

…proudest moment I:

When we were able to move into and work at the new office.

…proudest moment II:

When we got a Discord DM from a Fellowship fan who’s been part of the community since the closed playtest days. It was such a heartwarming message, praising the audio and the work we’ve put in before release. Maybe a tear of joy ran down my cheek.

…personal achievement:

Niklas: Coming back from a long and deep burnout. Full force. Or rather new self-compassionate force is so gratifying

…most satisfying achievement:

Getting the opportunity to play a part in the creation of Exoborne for a full year. Incredibly fun and satisfying!

…top seven library releases:

The Buttshaking Library
The Vehicle Engine Crackle Library
The Urban Gun Acoustics Library
Lamborghini Diablo 1992
Austin Mini Cooper 1975
Volkswagen Beetle 1969
Jetson One Ultralight eVTOL Prototype

…strangest travel item we had to declare at customs:

Fredrik, who went with us to the UK for a car recording, was questioned at the airport security about why he needed all the zip ties and gaffer tape in his carry-on 😂

…wish for next year:

That we will see a recovery in the film and gaming industry, and those who are still looking for work will find work.