Stagart Studios, 16 Lionheart Avenue, Downtown Zootopia

June 26th, 2018, 10:44 AM

When it came to producing live-action television spectacles, ZBS was one of the most sought-after broadcasting companies in all of Zootopia. Stagart Studios was the company's largest,+ and busiest sound studio complex. Alongside television material, it was also a place where film sound was created. Therefore, among the numerous awards were several Pawscars, Lemming Awards, Golden Globes and many others.

The inside of the building was not particularly busy. If anyone was within the perimeter, they would usually be inside one of the many facilities that the studio complex had to offer, each serving a unique purpose. If someone did a re-recording mix, he'd be working at the massive 5.1 theater that boasted the grandest speaker system in the building, situated to the north. To the east were the foley studios, where artists created sound in sync with the moving picture of a TV series. To the west stood a complex of ADR studios, where dialogue would be re-recorded for better overall quality. To the south, one would be led to a rather inconspicuous complex that consisted of several editing suites, where the brunt of the work was done - production sound editing, sound effects editing, ambience editing and sound effects design, to name a few. Each of them were conveniently adjusted for animals of all size ranges.

The door of one of the smaller suites opened, and out came a rabbit. A broad-shouldered, fit male rabbit in his late 20s, to be precise. He wore what was typical of the youth – a plain blue t-shirt with a matching pair of jeans. However, his somewhat slumped shoulders, drooping ears and overall dour expression made him look as though he was going through a midlife crisis. No vibrance, no vigor, and not even a small dose of cheerfulness could be read from his face. He slowly pitter-pattered out of the studio and locked the door behind him. Clearly, he was done for the day, and was about to head his own way.

So young, yet so gloomy. One had to wonder why.

"Hey, Rabbits! What are you sore about?" a voice called from behind.

The rabbit stopped dead in his tracks, and bent his head over ever so slightly. "It's Rabberts," he responded, not even bothering to face whomever was addressing him. Strangely, his voice was deeper than the other mammal's.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the other mammal, who turned out to be an Iberian lynx, was quick to appear by the rabbit's side, "Rabberts. Milo Rabberts. Noted. A cute name fit for a cute employee…" The feline smirked down upon him.

"Xander, don't you have anything better to do?" Milo still averted his gaze, continuing down the hallway towards the stairs, on his way out. Unfortunately, his sensitive ears could pick up some slightly heavier footsteps beside his own – that feline was following him.

"Hey. Hey, I'll only give you a few seconds, because I do have something to do," Xander continued, gesturing vividly with his hands "I have this zombie project to wrap up - you know, The Walking Carrion, season 3? I just can't wait for it to air." At this notion, the lynx took a deep breath through clenched teeth and feigned a shudder. "You know that feeling when you're thinking it's prize-worthy? I have it all over right now. Don't think that'd be the case if someone else did it."

"That's because your reputation precedes you…" Milo quipped, not even bothering to look at the lynx.

"I also heard that you wanted to apply for it. No offense, but let's face it: they'd never let someone like you onto this kind of project. The committee's got their wallets in high priority…" Xander softened his tone, with a concerned look on his face. Even so, Milo was apparently in no mood to converse, seeing as he was climbing down the stairs without a second look, leaving the feline standing next to a coffee machine. When the rabbit was all but gone, he brandished a smug, malign smirk of victory, "What a loser… Whatever. More dough for me."

In the midst of it all, Milo didn't want to say much. He could have bitten back and told Xander that his position in the studio was too low for him to listen to his boasting, yet he didn't. In his mind, doing nothing at all was far superior to doing something stupid. He did not want to waste any time in trying to correct something that he deemed inherently wrong.

His descent to the main floor finally ended. However, before he could move any further, a massive foot stomped right by his side, prompting him to jolt and binky to the right. "Watch your step, pal!" a male voice nagged, even though the rhinoceros was the one devoid of attention. With a brief scowl, Milo headed off to a locker to get his leather jacket. In the midst of the action, he was distracted by a rather endearing alto.

"Heading home early?" Milo's ears nudged only slightly, before he shut the locked door, and looked up, while he put the jacket on.

"Hey, Melanie," the rabbit greeted, with a smile that was trying hard to be genuine, "The work I have to do now is outside the studio."

"How so?" Melanie raised her eyebrow curiously, arching her long, thin neck over to the rabbit.

"Well, same old jazz as usual…" Milo sighed, wiping his eyebrow with his index finger nervously, "I have a ton of power generator noise in this one park scene. Figured I'd go to several parks and have some ambience ready for the editors, if they want something true to the set."

"Okay, then," Melanie nodded in agreement, "I'll see you some other time, I guess. Stay safe on the road!"

"Thanks," Milo nodded, "See you 'round," and headed off his own way. He was somewhat warmed by the fact that there was at least one mammal in the studio that wasn't treating him like a speck on the floor. Though he certainly wasn't leaning towards picking out curtains with a giraffe, he certainly appreciated Melanie's genial disposition. However, not even that was enough to lift his spirits, or his ears, in the long run.

As Milo sat atop a blue cruiser motorcycle, donning a helmet of the matching color and black sunglasses, he started driving towards home, buzzing down the streets. Home was further in the middle region of Savanna Central, which was about fifteen minutes away by drive.

Earlier today, he was working on the first episode of Doctor Howl, one of ZBS' longest-standing science fiction series, with over 40 years of history. This particular series marked the twelfth in the canon, and was strongly dependent on the sound design, as it was from its very beginning. As a production sound editor, his job was to edit the dialogue recorded on set for it to be prepared for mixing. If a scene wasn't suitable, then it would be relegated for ADR (additional dialogue recording), an ambience was required that matched the character of the sound recorded on set.

Milo hated doing this. It was a purely technical procedure with little to no artistic engagement – a far cry from what he was hoping for when he first enrolled. He expected a promotion to a higher-profile position to arise after some time of proving himself in the field of production sound editing, but given that the staff kept him in place for two years already, it seemed that Stagart wanted nothing more from him. He was also informed countless times by Xander, as recently, that the staff committee was biased against younger workers, for fear of them jeopardizing their positions. Ergo, to avoid any kind of trouble with his boss, he avoided bringing it up at any time. Having any kind of job was far better than having no job at all. No matter how much he wanted more out of it, he couldn't help feeling that it wasn't worth the risk to pursue something that was out of reach.

Thomson's Apartment Complex, third floor, apartment number 15

18 Elephant-grass Boulevard, Savanna Central

11:15 AM

At first glance, Milo's apartment seemed to be an unreasonable choice for someone of his stature. The whole place was much higher and wider than anything that would be considered rabbit-sized in the catalog. It was laid out with three rooms centered around a large living room, which also housed the kitchen space to the furthest left.

As Milo unlocked and opened the rabbit-sized door that was built into a larger door, he could see that the living room was stuffy and vacant. He sighed drearily and walked inside, removing his jacket and placing it into an appropriate wardrobe that matched his size of clothing, which was inside his studio, opposite of the kitchen space. Before he could go anywhere else, a familiar face emerged from the first room adjacent to the hall. It would soon be revealed that Milo wasn't the only mammal living in this apartment. The other one was a portly male wildebeest that was, like Milo, in his late twenties, but different in almost every way. He brandished a devil-may-care smile on his face, with his unkempt, spiky mane falling clumsily over his squinting brown eyes. Soon enough, he covered them up with glasses, which implied that he was nearsighted. He was the one mammal Milo called his best friend, and his roommate, no less.

"Morning…" the wildebeest mumbled under his breath, as he smacked his lips, still drowsy from sleep.

Milo couldn't help but stifle a chuckle, "Steve, it's past eleven…"

Not that Steve cared anyway, because he walked right past him and headed for the bathroom to get himself washed up and ready for the day. If there was anything that the bovid wasn't willing to listen to at this given time, it was idiosyncratic smalltalk like this.

With Steve out of the way, Milo moved into a room of his own. Other than a bedroom, it was was also a studio – acoustically tailored to be an environment where he could work on projects if the need was dire. To the front stood a work desk with a pair of monitors (speakers) and his work computer – a MarkhMini. To the back, a shelf lined with field and studio recording equipment on one end, as well as a collection of vinyl records sitting next to a turntable phonograph, on the other. Milo immediately prepared what he needed: a multitrack field recorder and a 5.0 microphone. This would enable him to record his ambient sound in surround, as required by the standard format of the series itself. He also took the appropriate cable and stand for the aforementioned microphone – this done, he placed all the gear into a bag.

As he was in no rush to get to his desired recording location, Milo decided to hang around for a while. After setting his gear next to the couch in the middle of the living room, he moved to his wardrobe to get a track jacket. Meanwhile, Steve furrowed through the refrigerator, looking for something to eat for breakfast.

"You've got some fresh GG down below. Savanna flavor," Milo referred to the can of Uncle Badger's Green Grass, a mixed grass salad, occasionally with other plants mixed in.

"Sweet! My fave…" Steve was more than grateful, seeing as the notion of his favorite food quickly snapped him out of his post-sleep dizziness. He reached for the can, opened it and poured its contents into a ready plate. Then, he approached the coffee machine, and prepared two espressos with matching cups for both himself and Milo. After it was done, the wildebeest took it all to the dining table.

There, Milo sat pensively, wondering where he should start his work day. He didn't know any parks by name and address, except for the set location, and that was not enough. He needed an alternative in case the set park didn't provide a good sound.

At the very moment, the only thing his roommate cared about was gnawing down his breakfast, and by God, he was a loud eater… It was beyond Milo why it was so difficult for Steve to just not smack his lips so hard, or close his mouth fully while eating. It was just the nature of hoofed mammals, it seems. After he was done ruminating, Steve let out a content sigh, "No better way to start the morning than a balanced breakfast."

Milo merely nodded half-heartedly, because all that was on his mind was figuring out how to get his job done. The sudden appearance and strong smell of a coffee cup in front of his eyes wasn't helping.

"Decaf?" Steve asked, as he was the one offering the coffee.

"I'll pass…" Milo waved aside.

"Your loss," Steve shrugged at the rabbit's utterly lifeless mood. He slowly sipped from the rabbit-sized cup, which was about a single gulp to the wildebeest. Wiping his lips, he hummed with satisfaction, "Good coffee. So, what's on today's agenda?"

"Ugh. Same old situation as usual," Milo began to explain, nervously wiping his left eyebrow with his index finger, "Lengthy scene in a park with great acting and beautiful scenery, but oops! The power generator's throbbing all over the boom mic, and the wireless ones aren't enough for a good overall sound." He flailed his arms into the air in exasperation, "One more candidate for ADR. And you know what that means?"

"Yeah…" Steve tried to put on a façade of understanding, but eventually showed all his cards, "No. No." Even though they went to the same faculty and shared some subjects, the wildebeest didn't know all the finesses of working on sound.

Milo let out a growling sigh, not only because he had to recite it for the thousandth time, but also because he really hated what he was about to do, "Means I gotta go find the set location, and some other parks, and squat at each for an hour straight…"

Steve felt a little foolish for not remembering this, because it was the case on most of his editing assignments. He nodded considerately: "Mm-hmm…"

"The bottom line? Nobody cares about the trouble I have to go through..." With that said, Milo scowled and folded his arms, sitting far back into his chair. Another symptom of his hapless existence. Nevertheless, his own hardships weren't the only thing on his mind, "And what about you?"

Steve mumbled questioningly at first, before his whole face lit up, "Oh, yeah! I'm designing the texture for the Doctor Howl T. rex. Coming along nicely if I say so myself…"

"Very nice…" Milo smiled sourly, feeling that Steve was very fortunate to get such a serious assignment. Something the rabbit was sure he'd never get to work on in his expertise. Nevertheless, he wanted to indulge at least a small amount of amusement, "Mind if I check it out before I head outside?"

"Sure," the friendly artist replied, cracking a wide grin as he began to head to the bedroom, which was also the location of Steve's studio.

The Tyrannosaurus was set to appear in a later part of the episode, which Milo was not working on in his roll of production footage. The model that Steve received was that of an adult animal, which was very anatomically accurate, and met the standards of modern paleontology. It did not look shrink-wrapped, unlike earlier restorations, and showed a very rotund build. A challenge, but one that Steve took with excitement. His work desk also had a Markhortosh, with a powerful video interface, and double screens. A cluttered shelf stood to the left, with a painting easel to the right. Once his go-to texturing software, TailBrush, was fully open, Steve took the work into his own hoofs and started with some fine textures, seeing as he had already applied a layer of rough textures.

"So, you're telling me that this kind of skin texture was the one the actual animal may have had?" Milo asked, while perched on the wildebeest's desk. While he was no expert on extinct animals, listening to Steve's rambling about them made him remember a lot about their physiology.

"Based upon the latest scientific research," Steve confidently assured, as he began to create very delicate skin hardening and scars on the dinosaur's muzzle, "He was definitely no overgrown chicken…" This remark lampshaded the belief that Tyrannosaurus and kin may have had a thick coat of feathers, which was put to scrutiny by recent scientific discoveries that showed scales to be primary. In the wildebeest's belief, if there were any feathers, they would have been as sparse as elephant hair.

Milo, like most mainstream viewers, was impressed by the business end of the animal - its jaws. They were filled with enormous, almost blunt-looking teeth that resembled railroad spikes, "Wow, look at those jaws and teeth… It looks more refined than Jurassic Park, for sure."

Steve was quick to provide a scientific explanation, "Yup, fifty teeth in total. All designed to crunch through meat and bones like hard candy."

Even though he was sour about almost everything and everyone, seeing Steve make progress and impressive work on a daunting task made Milo genuinely happy. Throughout the years of school and University, the wildebeest was the only one who gave him a reason, no matter how small, to believe in other mammals. He smiled fondly, and patted his friend on the right upper arm, "You're really showing your work, Steve."

"Thanks, little buddy." With this kind of compliment, Steve believed that Milo's mood was starting to improve, so he decided to bring forward something considering his own work, "So, when do you think you're gonna get that raise?"

Milo frowned before Steve even finished the question. He wasted no effort, "Short, or long answer? Short: never…"

"Oh, c'mon!" Steve tried to spur his roommate to life with a light punch on the left shoulder, "I think you're just overreacting!"

"Payments are fixed for a given job, and my forty-eight-hundred a month just happens to be the lowest. Them's the rules, so…" Milo finished, shrugging. He honestly did not believe anything he'd do would make a difference.

"Well, if you ask me," Steve began to counter, "I think you're ready to take it to the next level…"

"Sound effects design? You've gotta be joking!" Milo almost jumped in fear of the notion of trying to aim for promotion - he dreaded the thought of being perceived as an impudent upstart, "What do they need me for, when they have Gary Roestrom? Everybody wants to keep their share of the trough, and they're not going to let it go that easy… If they're materialistic and have a high position, it doesn't matter what I say, or do."

Steve was becoming bored and annoyed with Milo's constant search for excuses for his own shortcomings. Still, he stayed patient, because he'd already gotten accustomed to these kinds of talks. Nevertheless, he gave the same response as ever, because in his experience, he was sure that it was true, "Well, if you don't try, you'll never know."

"Hmph. Yeah, right. Might as well quit on my own will…" With these words, Milo already started turning to leave. He still took another longing look at the Tyrannosaurus. He knew he wanted to take on a sound design task of that nature. He always knew. But no matter what he wanted, he was always certain that the odds were stacked against him. He sighed, and trailed off.

There were times when Steve genuinely cared about his Milo's troubles, but every time his friendly, and, ultimately, true advice had been rejected without a seconds deliberation, he wondered why the little rascal hadn't killed himself already. Milo contradicted himself on every claim, and was crazily unaware of it. He whimpered incessantly about a troubled past, instead of moving on with his life, and living in the moment. The only hope he had was winning the battle against himself.

Before opening the door, Milo stopped and turned around again, "Do you… happen to know any big parks around Savanna Central? Something like Baobab Canopy?"

After laying a hand on his chin, and twirling his beard, Steve finally came up with an answer, "Dude, you're asking the right wildebeest. I know of this one place…"

Well, at long last, I have given this a shot!

Zootopia was something I'd never expect to be taken in by, but when I saw it, my expectations flew away like a flock of mockingbirds that figured out they were bullying a dragon.

I know it's all OC so far, but it will not stay that way! ;) I've created both Milo and Steve, for the record, with some help from Stegosaurus1412 on proofreading the latter character.

Hope you enjoy the ride.

LionKingAlex!

P.S. - This chapter has been thoroughly revised in the latest edit. Alongside a new and better name for our protagonist, it also touches up on his situation more carefully. A shout-out to Ubermunchkin for beta-reading the new version – thanks a bunch!