Examples of non-overt mixes

2012-02-02T08:01:06Z

What are some examples of mixes you've heard that are very emotionally powerful, don't knock you out of your chair because the concept, story telling & depth of character development makes all those action based blockbusters seem like they are aimed at 12 year olds? Beautiful performances captured with equally beautiful production sound & masterful dialogue/adr editing & mix... Films that make you glad to be a human, where you leave the theatre lost for words....

Deconvolver for OSX

2012-02-04T16:55:10Z

Hi folks,

do you know any deconvolver for osx other than Apple's IR utility?

Thanks, Luca

The Boring Stuff - Bookkeeping: Do you do it? Which program do you use?

2011-11-14T12:58:59Z

Hi Folks,

Due to a recent change in philosophy, and the realisation that I am making a living only doing sound, I realised that I needed to do some proper bookkeeping to get a handle on when, where, how much etc.

I don't want to add work that I don't need, but I suppose spending 1 to 2 hours a week sorting out my books will aenable me to see where I'm going ('When will I be able to by that 744T?') Or how I'm doing("How much do I need to put away to pay for renewing my AppleCare and replacing a mic if it goes down?") etc.

Ya dig?

What do you guys use to do the accounting. Ledger books? Or software? how do you split up expenses, e.g. batteries for a shoot, buying lunch when out recording sounds for work and the like?

Im looking at something FREE asn in beer or not more than 100 USD/EUR

Any hints (i.t.o. software and accounting process) would be appreciated

Kurt

Footsteps for Kontakt

2011-10-18T20:37:51Z

Try this free footsteps patch. Give me feedback please. Requires the full retail version of Native Instruments Kontakt 4.2.3 or later.

http://www.signoaudiodesign.com

Thanks

USB or Ethernet Jog/Shuttle Wheel for Pro Tools?

2012-02-04T05:39:47Z

Is anyone using a stand-alone shuttle wheel for fx, dialog or other general post-production editing in Pro Tools? I've fallen in love with the ICON and Euphonix control-surfaces at my college's studios. Interested in picking up a semi-portable controller that I can use with my own system....as well as float from one editorial station to another. Experiences? Recommendations?

Budget is small, but it doesn't hurt to put some better products on the horizon. Buy nice, or buy twice is always in full affect!

How's the Zoom H1 working out for you?

2010-10-12T05:03:54Z

I've recently been considering getting a small portable recorder and had my heart set on the Zoom H4N because of all the wonderful things that I've heard about it. But the recently released H1 seems like an even better solution. What do you guys think about the H1, if you've purchased it or gotten a chance to use it? I know the noise floor isn't going to be as quiet as the Sony PCM-D50 or a Sound Devices recorder, but is it low enough that recordings of relatively quiet sounds like Foley or backgrounds are useful?

New Sound Design Samples...Junebugs, Trams and Icemakers Oh My!

2011-12-08T15:58:19Z

Here's a sample of some stuff I've designed recently. I just wanted to get more ears and speakers on these.

Mostly recorded with my Sony PCM D-50 while traveling. Made from junebugs recorded on my front porch, the DFW Tram, icemaker on my fridge, some street traffic and buses from Nashville in there, thunder, lightbulb going bad, windscreen being rubbed on acoustic tiles in my studio, and on-and-on-and on. Obviously a lot of processing and playing around.

Let me know what y'all think.

BEC-Sound Design Samples 120811 by BEC Sound Design

Internship over the summer

2012-02-03T19:52:58Z

I am a freshman at USC who is very much interested in sound design. I am currently working on two senior theses, and am also studying live sound. School ends May 11th and I am free till August. Los Angeles is my current location; however, I can relocate for the summer. I am new to the 'industry' and don't really know anyone hiring sound design interns. Do you know of anyone who offers this sort of internship, or are you yourself in need of a summer intern? I can happily email you my curriculum vitae, portfolio list, or some of my work! Thank you! Larissa S.

Sound Design for Cinematic Feedback

2012-01-20T17:09:26Z

Hi all, Just finished a design replacement for this short extract of the Dragon Age 2 cinematic. I'm looking to spread my scope beyond the film world and would be great to get some feedback. I've only used designed atmos and no music.. was wondering if I could of done more with the backgrounds?

http://vimeo.com/35246979

thanks,

Phil

Negative Space / Figure-Ground Perception in Sound

2012-02-03T06:21:23Z

My mind has been preoccupied lately with the concept of negative space and figure-ground perception. As an example of what I'm talking about, check out Rubin's face / vase or the Young Lady / Old Hag. You've also probably seen Escher's tessellations before. But what I'm trying to come to a conclusion on is whether or not this phenomenon is possible to accomplish with sound.

Certainly we can construct backgrounds that evolve through a scene or level that become the foreground object. But we make the transition for the listener. We mix and edit with the transformation as our goal. But is it possible to design sound that can be perceived two different ways by people upon one listening? How about by the same person upon repeated listening?

I'm taking the stance that it cannot, simply because we all work along a linear timeline and this is a concept from 2D art. For these images to work you have to essentially overload your visual input to the point that you can switch your mind to begin seeing the other image. But I really, really want to be proven wrong. Can you rationalize this for me? Have you or some sound artist you've heard of explored this terrain?

I may be out in left field here. But this notion has been rolling over and over in my mind.

Best mic to record wind with.

2012-02-03T07:22:09Z

Tomorrow I'll be going out to a stretch of highway and coasting a pickup truck down a hill with the engine off and placing things with holes (plywood, old fridges, big empty bottles and containers, etc. etc. etc., anything that whistles when wind passes them) and I wanted to see in this last minute if any of you have done this sort of thing or recorded in high high high wind scenarios and have a golden tip I might be overlooking.

I've got my W5Ds and baskets and rycotes for my stereo pair of omni MK5s, and I'm bringing a stereo pair of Senn 421s and of course, the good ol' SM58s.

Is there anything you encountered that caused a face-palm moment for you on the day? Something ridiculous like "Bring a piece of plexiglass to put in front of your mic stands and mic to deflect some of the air because going 60 miles an hour or more makes your mic fall over", or "bring a miniature sandbag to keep your hat on", or "look out for cops because putting your truck into neutral with the engine off coasting down a hill is extremely illegal".

Thanks, Ryan

Are the battery power and gain related in a digital mixer?

2011-11-24T05:03:59Z

I was using Sound devices772 recorder (without mixer) for pilot recording.I landed up loosing gain in the recorder when the battery went down.Does that happen with digital recorder?

Examples of Exciting Mixes

2012-02-02T00:16:10Z

What are some examples of exciting mixes you've heard? Very dynamic, powerful, knock you out of your chair but are still very pleasant to listen to?

I'm interested in studying further how mixers use dynamics and mixing to really create excitement and suspense and exhilaration in the soundtrack.

Mixers: What are your Dialogue Editing Preferences?

2012-02-03T03:25:38Z

I have just come to a new town and am editing dialogue for a good number of different mixers who have very different preferences in how they like their dialogue edited. I would like to know if there are anymore common permutations I have not yet seen.

What do you like when you sit down at the board?

Do you like 4 frames or 2 frames fade outs and ins on scenes?

How long do you like your fades from character to character in a scene?

Do you like muted extra tracks on the dialogue tracks in addition to inactive AAF tracks at the bottom of the session window?

Do you prefer characters to consistently be on the same tracks? Do you require this throughout the project or just in a scene?

Do you want your dialogue editor to Izotope clicks and crackles?

Do you checkerboard your dialogue from one character to another even if it was recorded on one mic?

A FB Page or a Blog?

2012-02-02T20:38:26Z

Hi guys,

This is a slightly off topic question...i want to have a online presence to share my sound design/audio work...but im confused between having a blog(wordpress) where i can discuss my work and a FB page..

i want eveybody to see...not just FB users
link to wordpress blog to FB or vice versa
ability to link it to a profile website in future..
have my custom header image
easy update, insert vimeo / soundcloud links

so what do you suggest?

Also, if a blog, then self-host a blog or use wordpress hosted?

Pinna iPhone Construction

2012-02-02T19:18:01Z

A variety of mics has to be the equivalent to the swiss army knife of field recording.

Some very unique and useful recordings have come from iPhone microphones. Whether it be some random ambience, a funny noisemaker in a toy shop, or any spur of the moment capture ...

I was wondering if anyone had actually made or found a pinna/cone/etc like structure to successfully enhance, focus, or modify in a desirable way the input to the phone? I have actually cupped my hand around the microphone and had greater focus. Also, placing the phone on a resonant structure coupled with the sound source has allowed me to capture more bass in a sound.

Any thoughts?

Just found these - not much for non mic devices but still some cool products:

Use this in conjunction with this to use any mic (or using a T or Phantom box additionally) http://www.kvconnection.com/product-p/009-541.htm / http://www.kvconnection.com/product-p/km-iphone-2trs.htm

Cardioid Condensor Mic - http://www.bluemic.com/mikey_for_ipod/

Quarter Inch Line Input - http://www.ikmultimedia.com/irig/features/

SoundClip for iPhone 3G (VCProd's product suggestion for audio output) Would love a 4 version of this! http://tenonedesign.com/soundclip.php

Small mic attachment - http://touchmic.com/products-page/view-all-products/touchmic-mitymic---voice-recording-and-interview-mic/

Interesting lil array of products.

Examples of recent web sites/IOS stuff with great or innovative user interface sound design/sonification ?

2012-02-02T21:28:51Z

Hi mates,

I am looking for web sites with successful sound design (no matter the technology behind). I don't mean background music but interactive sounds only. Thanks !

Xavier

SFX hunt for a particular cymbal

2012-01-19T15:57:16Z

I've got a client who used a cymbal swell with the title graphic of their show for the pilot (mixed elsewhere), and now that the series has come to us they want to re-use it, but don't have the original effect. The 20-odd similar choices I sent them from our library were rejected, so I'm hoping someone here might recognize this particular cymbal, and which library it came from (out of all the thousands of canned cymbals, I know! I've got great faith in the knowledge of this community though).

[soundcloud]saxtonpope/cymbal-example[/soundcloud]

Thanks SSD!

Snowman icy voice

2012-02-02T18:44:12Z

Hey! I have to design the voice of a demonic snowman and this voice must sounds "icy"...

Any suggestions?

Somebody use Rode NTG-8 ?

2012-02-02T16:01:11Z

Somebody use RODE NTG-8 ? I think new model.

i want learn about sound mixing when shooting film, can anyone suggest me a good DVD or book to get start?

2012-01-19T10:29:19Z

i want learn mixing for film. i know the boom pool connect to audio mixer and it connect to a recording device when you shooting. i don't know even basic thing about how to separate 2 different audio coming from different mic or mix that together in shooting, its just basic but i don't even know that. can u guys please recommend me any good book or DVD to get start??

Showreel feedback

2011-11-08T19:39:01Z

Hello i've just uploaded my first attempt at a sound design showreel and thought it would be a good idea to get some feedback off like-minded people. It can be viewed here

http://vimeo.com/31798677

Thanks Adam

Microphone safety....things like, when sticking your microphone in a pipe always...what?

2011-12-10T21:22:35Z

When sticking your microphone in a pipe, always check these things: 1) What's in the pipe? 2) What's going to be coming and going in the pipe? 3) Always have a softie or something on it to be safe.

During SFX gathering on top of a skyscraper, there was a nice looking pipe that had some cool echo and a regular beeping that I could hear when I put my mic down there. There was also a funky smell and some water sloshing sounds. When I took my mic out, my dead cat looked like a side of it had been licked like actual cat fur looking licked--matted and wet. Always use a softie!

Mic was unscathed.

It turns out that the machines on the roof near the pipe were sewage treatment/water treatment for the building and that also explained the smell coming from the pipe.

REQUEST: WWII Airplane Bys

2012-02-01T23:32:06Z

I need some extremely close, exciting P-51 or similar deep, throaty, exciting airplane bys. Preferably extremely close, high quality recordings with lots of punchy low-end.

Willing to trade or buy.

Thanks, Ryan

Sound Design on Tribes: Ascend - Part 2

2011-08-12T21:02:51Z

Hey Everyone,

Here are some updated gameplay videos from QuakeCon2011. I would love any and all feedback that you guys have on my sound design for this game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlEJESgTEZE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8w9XggeRD4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Nj1J3YOfnw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnXAJN_jY0k

Thanks,

Benjie Freund

Who is using the W735EQ plugin?

2011-12-06T17:39:11Z

hi guys,

i downloaded the demo and need to say, it's special but very nice!

there are so many choices out there, what kind of equalizer do you prefer for sound-design?

Removing background location music from documentary dialogue

2012-01-31T10:52:46Z

Has anybody had experience of removing location music from documentary dialogue? A filmmaker has approached me to tackle an issue with broadcast rights on the music coming from a stereo in the background during a couple of shots in her documentary. I was thinking of editing the dialogue as I would for a scripted film and then replacing the gaps with ambience from the shoot as well as a royalty-free music track of similar style fitting the reverb of the warehouse where the film is shot. I'm not sure how well this will work. Is this going to be insanely difficult? Any one else had a similar job in the past? Thanks Phil

Separating Early reflections from Diffuse in an Impulse Response

2011-03-14T21:14:40Z

How would you separate the early reflections from the diffuse in an Impulse Response?

I'm talking about before you put it into a convolution plugin.

I'd like to use only the early responses of a file but IR-L is not built for that kind of massive processing.

The IR could be any type of sound really, how would you separate the early reflections from the diffuse?

Low budget dialogue microphone ideas?

2012-01-15T22:49:07Z

Hi everyone!

I'm doing the sound editing for a £2000 budget film that has been shot.

They sent me a test scene and the audio was awful. It's meant to be one continuous scene with each angle change occurring in real time. Naturally with each angle change there was an actual difference in the time it was recorded. This means that with each angle change, the air con level changes, other sounds occur etc.

I managed to fix al, this though it was quite difficult and I'm inexperienced ....but have a questions that is based on the future for me.

I order to ensure that no jobs in the future are so awful I want to get in a hyper cardioid (or shotgun) mic. I'm not professional, in fact this is my first actual bit of real experience.

Obviously as a sound editor I want pretty much audible silence other than dialogue. . .as opposed to what I've been given . . .dialogue with massive amounts of noise embedded.

Could someone suggest the cheapest way I could go about this ? The audio for this film was obviously recorded with the camera microphone. . So I'll be suggesting for our next movie to do it my way (a microphone that gets everything. . Dialogue and ambience (as back up) but also this hyper cardioid or shotgun mic that gives me pretty much NO ambience or sound other than the dialogue. I can then add in the ambience, foley etc.

How would I go about getting a microphone that gives me clear audio dialogue and little else. Is it a case of just making sure the hyper cardioid is pointed directly at the actor? Does the microphone ignore the room noise? Giving me clean dialogue?

If I turn my sm57 on . . It gives a really loud room noise on top of the vocals. . D hypercardoid mikes block this out?

Thanks for any cheap suggestions!! :):):)

Aaron

How to choose where to sell my sfx?

2012-01-24T10:40:01Z

This article I found today. I think that might be of interest. You what is your opinion about that?

Selling Sound Effects: How to Choose Where to Sell – Part 1

Selling Sound Effects: How to Choose Where to Sell – Part 2

Top Questions - Social Sound Design