underwater Questions - Social Sound Design

Underwater Worldizing

2012-01-09T00:33:59Z

Just for fun, are there any die-hard audiophiles out there that have tested and experimented with underwater worldizing?

I was clacking together large rocks at the bottom of the ocean a while back and thought the echo it created down there sounded pretty cool and wondered if it was possible to experiment with some underwater speakers and mics to create some nifty SFX via water instead of air.

It seems to me that something like this could possibly yield some great results, but it could also be a large waste of time. Has anyone heard of anyone doing something like this before?

What sort of frequency range does a submerged mic pick up?

Could be a fun summer project of mine. I could imagine an elephant roar might sound pretty cool if it's sent via water... Or some sub harmonic info if it's possible... Or it could sound just plain lame. That's why I'm asking - I have no experience with underwater speakers or what is possible to recreate frequency-wise underwater. Has anyone got any experience or info with recording underwater?

Waterproof covering for microphones

2011-05-02T08:52:22Z

So, this is kind of an embarrassing question as it alway seems to raise eyebrows.

I'm looking at trying out some underwater recording and I'm looking to find out your recommendations as to which condoms are best for covering the microphone. There are many different types, thicknesses etc, so which ones are best? Is strawberry flavored better than banana? just kidding! I'd also like to know what you have used to clean the mic afterwards?

I'm going to use a Sennheiser E845 (similar to an SM58, I actually prefer it to a 58!) and see what sounds I get.

Thanks in advance for your help.

"Underwater" sound tricks!? How do you make it sound underwater-y

2010-10-17T02:08:37Z

Hey folks,

You can skip the italicized section if you're in a hurry - that's background for the question.

I'm working on the second iteration of an art game. It's a cool project, you should check it out on my site (www.wraughk.com, navigate to Sound Work > Games > Deep Sea). The game works like this:

Player is blinded and wears a gas mask.

Gas mask monitors their breathing, and plays back bubbles as they breath out.-

Player must hunt down a seamonster by listening for it, but every exhalation/movement makes it harder to hear where the monster is.-

In my first iteration, which you can hear on the site, I produced a world that sounded underwater according to hollywood's rules of what underwater sounds like. Bassy. Filtered. You get the picture. One of the problems that presented, predictably, is lack of audio resolution and distinct sound design. What's sound design limited to < 1k?!?! Sucky sound design.

Inspired by a recent conversation on the filmsound.org listserv, I'm reworking the game to sound more like underwater actually sounds. High frequencies emphasized, not filtered, etc.

I'd like to ask you folks what your tricks are for getting that underwater-quality to a sound? It'll help me out a lot on this project. I'll start with some cool tricks I've learned on this project:

1) Use EQ to emphasize the resonant frequency of a sound.

2) Sounds transmitted through solids are closer in quality to sounds transmitted through liquid than sounds transmitted through air. Therefore, contact mics are awesome.

Now your turn!

Hydrophone Recording

2010-07-27T21:47:51Z

Hey Folks,

I have to record a variety of underwater movement and I'm in the process of doing some experimentation. I currently own 2 dolphin ear pros, but I'm not totally happy. I'm wondering if anyone can share their experiences and maybe share what sort of movement is most useful.

I have access to a pool and a lake.

Best,
Michael Raphael
http://rabbitearsaudio.com
http://sepulchra.com/blog/