sounddesign

Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2002 2:27 pm

hi all,

i asked that question a couple of months ago, but maybe now someone can help me.

i'm looking for books, websites or any other resources about sounddesign (fx), because i don't have the money to buy soundlibrarys.

so any tips are greatly appreciated.

kind regards.

Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2002 7:14 pm

You can buy just the FX you need at www.sounddogs.com

Smile

Posted: Sun Mar 31, 2002 11:50 am

hi,

thx for the tip, but i really want to get into soundesign, so i need some ressources or ideas how to start.

sure, i can walk out in the fields and record some noises, animals, surroundings or whatever, but i would be interested how to best manipulate that noises then to get the desired effects, some kind of "cookbook" with recipes and ideas for a start (of course theory would be also greatly appreciated), so that i get a grip on that matter and some kind of platform to start from!

for example, i checked the usersection of digidesign where some sounddesigners are telling how they made the voices for jurassic park etc.

so more of that would be really nice!

is there really nothing out there of that kind?

Posted: Sun Mar 31, 2002 3:54 pm

Trade mags like Audio Media and Mix regularly cover sound design in film and have some nice interviews with tips and techniques. When designing a custom sound it's just that, customized for a specific image or event. Your best tool is your imagination. My advice to you would be to rent movies and watch commercials with the sound design in mind. You'll pick up on what's happening enough that you'll have some basic ideas when a situation comes up for an image or event you need to design for. If you don't plan on using libraries then you'll need to be very good at recording/creating your own stock set of sounds for basic impacts, bursts and moves etc... In a lot of cases you'll just be reinventing the wheel though. A good basic fx library like Sound Ideas or Hollywood Edge will cost you less than a nice mic pre and will pay for itself in no time. A nice synth/sampler will come in handy too. I always say that when I see it, I can hear it. Though sometimes I design to a storyboard or a description and then the animation is done to the sound.

Posted: Mon Apr 01, 2002 9:03 am

hi there,

Quote:

Trade mags like Audio Media and Mix regularly cover sound design in film and have some nice interviews with tips and techniques

i live in germany, so it's very expensive to get those, if possible at all.
also, how much of those interviews is related to what i want to know, or how often does such appear at all?
imo it's not worth it-what i'm looking for is something right on topic.

Quote:

When designing a custom sound it's just that, customized for a specific image or event

i'm not sure, but i guess the underlying techniques are always the same, they just get modified.

Quote:

Your best tool is your imagination

sure, and i have plenty of it!
but how to make them come true is what interests me. i know how it should sound, but i don't know how to get there.

anyway, thx for trying to help!

still hoping that somebody knows what i'm interested in.

kind regards.

Posted: Mon Apr 01, 2002 10:15 am

Synergy,

I can't tell you where to go to get the info you need, but I can tell you how I learned sound design. I got a job as a sound FX editor, and when editing FX, you end up doing basicly, sound design to one degree or another. I learned, by doing.

Good luck. :w:

Posted: Mon Apr 01, 2002 10:26 am

Quote:

Originally posted by Boom Chic:
Synergy,

I learned, by doing.

Me Too!

Synergy, check this out
http://www.audiomedia.com/
I bet you can get this for free... does anybody actually pay for trades??? (I don't)

Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2002 12:38 am

As many other creative sound issues, it's very hard to construct a formulated answer for your sound design question.

I think the first question is, how literal is the sound your creating? Big time action movie sounds are very exaggerated, where as a drama might have more realistic sounds.

My tips for creating sounds...???

1. Approach sound design like creating a song, layer parts togather with frequency range in mind to create final sound.

(Ex. You have recorded the sound of some one punching a watermelon to get a really wonder full pppppppptttttttt??? sound, now at the beginning of the hit layer a lower frequency muffled sound. Togather the two sounds create one slightly exgrated punch sound that will hit the listeners in the chest .......ok this won't work if played back on a mono TV set. )

2. Sound design is much like 3d modeling, every thing has a basic core shape, in this case a core sound. Lets say you wanted to create the sound of a crackling fire without sampling a real fire ????

You could use a piece of Velcro. Record your self tearing apart a piece of Velcro then put some Eq on it mabe time stretch it a little ect...........

3. You don't need every tool on the planet but a good mic and 2-track editing program with basic fx is a good start. Some kind of software synth helps to.
>I use Digital Performer, TurboSynth and Reaktor.

4.If you cant find it create it with youre mouth.........yes!!!

Hope this helps.

Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2002 10:44 am

Quote:

Originally posted by DL:

4.If you cant find it create it with youre mouth.........yes!!!

Created nice "dinosaur footsteps thru jungle" this way last week. Made impact noise with my mouth and pitch shifted down, layered in "woody"/"veggie" crunches and the shrieks of birds and monkeys from fx library, added verb... let simmer for 4 minutes...

Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2002 2:09 pm

I guess now a days it is called sound design, we just call it effects, or audio special effects.
One effect we needed was an arrow flying through the woods, and hitting a tree.

For the flight sound, we used pfhhhhhhhf sound, with our lips, and modulated/phase ever so slightly to resemble passing stands of trees, the tree strike was made by finding a solid part of the counter, and slapping it, it gave a nice woody sound, then for the vibrating arrow we used a ruler, laying on the counter with a little less then half hanging off, we pulled down and released and adjusted so the vibration was very quick. All that edited together rather tightly, with a touch of reverb, sounded fantastic.
--Rick

Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2002 3:18 pm

Quote:

Originally posted by Rick Hammang:
I guess now a days it is called sound design, we just call it effects

Not now Rick... now you're a soundscape architect! Remember... work like an artist, charge like a Doctor! :w:

Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2002 4:03 pm

Quote:

Originally posted by Curious G:

Quote:

Originally posted by Rick Hammang:
[b]I guess now a days it is called sound design, we just call it effects

Not now ! ... work like an artist, charge like a Doctor! [/b]

Or is it work like a Doctor, and starve like an artist?

There are many books on the shelf of the library, or on line, under creating sound effects, or how to make sound effects.
--Rick

Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2002 4:42 pm

hi all,

thx for your insightfull posts and very funny examples! Very Happy

?!

would be of great help to me, really!

kind regards.

Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2002 5:02 pm

Every basic film, and production book discusses at least a chapter of the making of common sound effects..I got over a million hits with this..

www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=making+sound+effects&btnG=Google+Search

--Rick

Posted: Wed Apr 03, 2002 4:57 am

hi rick,

i know how to use a searchengine Wink

!

i thought that, before i dig myself through tons of hits, it would be worth asking if someone could point me directly to the best books and links about this issue.

but it seems this is not the case, so i'll try to see what i can find myself.

thx anyway.

kind regards.

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