Creating the audio for when it rains requires meticulous thinking and planning of the plot of the story before delving into the process. "When It Rains" is mainly a silent film; there is no dialogue between the characters what so ever, other than the girl's singing of the song. The audio clips are silent in the first two minutes of the film to reflect on the calm peaceful serenity of the summer day, the only sounds are rain fall, the cat's meows, and the light buzz of cicadas chirping.
The main focus of the film is the lyrics of the Japanese folksong, "Teru Teru Bozu," which delves into the purpose of these Japanese weather charms. The lyrics translated from Japanese to English go as follows:
Shining, Shining Monk Boy, Shining Monk Boy
Tomorrow, make the weather nice for me
Like a heavenly dream once upon a time
If it clears, I'll give you a gold bell
Shining, Shining Monk Boy, Shining Monk Boy
Tomorrow, make the weather nice for me
If you listen to my wish
We'll drink lots of sweet sake
Shining, Shining Monk Boy, Shining Monk Boy
Tomorrow, make the weather nice for me
If it should get cloudy and you weep,
The first verse is perhaps the most well known lyrics of the song, the other two hardly sang due to their morbid, dark nature of the tune. For this animation, I've decided to delve into the rest of the lyrics, interpreting it as Teru's demise and punishment for bringing bad weather (this also starts the interaction between Teru and the cat). The audio has no music for a reason, focusing on the girl's sweet, innocent singing to build up to the bigger conflict. The abrupt cut of the rain falling become the build of suspension when the audience begins to realize the impending doom that Teru faces very soon.
The singing is done by me, reflecting a young girl's gentle, sweet voice, which while the girl is innocently playing, the audience interprets as worrying, unnerving, and spooky. The tune of the song itself reflect a very dark, ominous tone which is why I chose to sing in a higher, sweeter pitch to extenuate that spooky feeling.
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