Clifford on Sound Design

The amazing sound of Spider-Man

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Thomas) — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 01:19:00 +0000

Hello once again everybody, it is time for the last of my scholarly blog posts. This post brings a conclusion to the monthly blog posts for class assignments. Don’t fret though, I will continue to maintain this blog and keep it up to date with fun and exciting post about sound design and the wonder world of film audio.

Today, my post is about the new addition to the comic book movie genre. That’s right folks; I’m talking about “The Amazing Spider-Man” film. I really liked this film and was impressed with the audio and sound FX in general. I think this films audio was better mixed than that of the previous movies in the franchise. I noticed this and decided to take a look at whom the supervising sound editor was and I noticed they went with a different person than the previous movies. For this movie they employed Addison Teague for the position. Known for his work on “Avatar”, and “Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” he has managed to do a fantastic job with this movie and I’m sure he will be signed on for the next addition in the Spider-Man series. I am really excited to see/hear what comes next.

The previous two Spider-Man movies were completed under another supervising sound editor/sound designer by the name of Paul N.J. Ottoson. Paul has worked on many films and is known for his work on the Spider-Man movies as well as “The Hurt Locker” and “2012”. I personally thought the sound for “Spider-Man 2” and “Spider-Man 3” was great especially the sound design for the films. However, The sound for the newest addition was amazing! Every little sound had it’s place and didn’t seem to fight with the dialogue or music as much as other films. Don’t believe me go hear for yourselves. Even if you don’t appreciate audio your in for a great treat, the movie was amazing. That’s it for tonight, until next time, long live audio!

Graduation Plans

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Thomas) — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 19:14:00 +0000

Hello everybody, it’s time for my monthly blog post. As many of you know I am a student at Full Sail University. I am in my final month of class for my Masters of Science degree in Entertainment Business. As graduation creeps closer and the working world is looming in the horizon my mind is focused on employment post graduation. I have a degree in audio from my undergrad and that is where my passion lies. The field of audio is near and dear to my heart. It is a world of endless possibilities and creativity and that is why I fell in love with it instantly. I have already interned at Full Sails Dubbing stage and decided that audio post production is definitely the field I want to build my career in.

With this in mind I have started researching California and have decided that this is the best place for me to pursue this career path. I will rely heavily upon my skills that I have built during my time as an audio student at Full Sail and the skills I have acquired during my internship at the Dubbing Stage. I will not be able to move right after graduation so I am looking at doing another internship at the Dubbing Stage to build up more credits to add to my demo reel for when I make my move to California.

Once I make the move to California I plan to take my demo reel to Anarchy Post and try to work with as a freelance editor. This will enable me to build more credits perfect my work flow and still be available to work on other various projects. Another post production studio I would love to work with is Wildfire Post Production. This would be a great opportunity to work on amazing projects and really expand and grow my career as a sound designer and sound FX editor. I eventually want to end up working for Warner Bros. Post Production. This would be a dream come true for me and is currently a goal for me to reach that level in the industry. It will be a hard and bumpy road with uncertainty and many trials but I have learned that anything in life that comes easy is not rewarding and is often short lived.

As I make my move out into the mist of uncertainty and uncharted territory for this Army vet, I will keep you posted on my success and failures. It has been a pleasure check back soon for my post graduation post. Take care and God bless.

Film sounds, the Fx we all know.

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Thomas) — Thu, 17 May 2012 01:15:00 +0000

http://thoughtsinflight.typepad.com/.a/6a0120a873ef36970b014e87d4259a970d-800wi

Hello everybody, tonight’s post is all about film sounds, the sound FX we hear in TV and film everyday. While working on film, editing sound FX and designing sound for various film projects I have come to realize a certain fact; sound FX get recycled. Yes the same exact sound FX are used in multiple different shows/movies. I never really realized this until I started working with audio and my ears were tuned into the sound Fx.

Don’t believe me? Try this, go to that site we all know and love; YouTube.com. Search for “Wilhelm Scream” and a series of videos will come up that offer a compilation of many movies that use this particular sound effect. I promise you that after this scream is pointed out to you every time it is used in a film you are watching you will be able to pick it out right away.

http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/205/5/5/Scream_by_arontd.jpg

This scream is not the only film sound that is repeated in many different films. I found an article that highlights 10 sound FX that have been used over and over again in many of the films we have saw over the years. Here you can read about and even hear some of these sounds for film. I’m sure if you are reading my blog you will find it as amusing as I did.

The more I hear these sounds in the films I watch the more it seems the editors follow the school of thought that if it works, then use it. This isn’t bad but I wonder how many times these sound will be used in feature films before they find another sound to replace them? Now there is a little food for thought.

So, I leave you with that thought, do you think the movies of the next generation will contain the same recycled film sounds or will we finally come up with something new? Oh, and until my newt post, my challenge to you is to go watch all of your favorite films and see how many film sounds are used in more than one of them. If you find any please comment and share them with me.

Catchin' up

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Thomas) — Wed, 09 May 2012 01:43:00 +0000

Hello sound editors, sound designers and fellow audio heads. I know it has been a while since I have written a post and updated my blog and for this I apologize. I have been interning at a dubbing stage working on student 35mm films editing dialogue, music, sound FX and designing sound for the films. I completely immersed myself in film and have been noticing the battle between music, sound FX and dialogue not only in feature film but in regular TV programs as well. There seems to be an internal battle for which element will stick out the most in the final mix. Each element is crucial to the final product however the dialogue is the most important element of all, take it away and most people find themselves lost rather quickly. This is a hard fact for me to admit due to the fact that I am a sound FX guy and spend my time designing sound to bring life to the scenes of the projects I work on. The trick is to get all the sound to work together to create a sense of feeling to match the visuals to bring the audience into the film and make them feel like they are partaking in what is going on. I found this article dealing with a well-known movie that explains audio elements working together a little better.

Movies today need great audio to match the stunning visuals they provide. I am very pleased with what I have been seeing as of late when it comes to this. It used to be that I would see a movie with great visuals and not so good sound because the budget was spent on visuals, or visa versa. I recently saw the new Marvel movie, “The Avengers” and was pleasantly surprised not only with what I saw but with what I heard as well. The audio was crystal clear and each element (music, dialogue and sound FX) complimented each other. This really made the movie more dramatic and memorable in my opinion, I was definitely happy with what I saw. For more information on the movie I have included a link here. I hope you have enjoyed this post more will follow soon.

Copyright Infringement

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Thomas) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 03:04:00 +0000

In the Post Production Industry everything is contingent on audio. From dialogue, to music all the way to the tiniest sound effect, audio is responsible for a good portion of the content. I am currently doing an assignment where I am supposed to research and discuss 3 court cases that impacted the industry in which I plan to open my business. After looking and looking I couldn’t find anything relevant to the topic I wished to speak about, so instead I’m writing about something that has an effect on the creators of audio content in my industry. I am going to talk about copyright infringement.

Sound designers work hard to create content for all types of media. Creatively spicing together audio to engineer unique and original works of art. This is how they earn their living creating content and selling it in libraries and for using it for film. Now, what happens when the work they create is stolen or pirated and used without consent? It takes money and credit away from the original creator and hinders business. This may seem to be not such a big deal but the more it happens the more it effects out industry. Companies are even going so far as to offer rewards for information about copyrighted work being infringed upon. Whole productions can be effected by the improper use of any copyrighted material used in it’s content. This is something serious that is having an effect on the industry. If you would like more information on this topic, here are a few links on the subject of copyright infringement, prevention, and relevancy.

Take the time to read these articles and really think about what you are doing when you use audio that you did not create, acquire the license to, or that does not belong in the public domain. If we each do this we can put a stop to piracy and copyright infringement.

Avid, new software?

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Thomas) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:11:00 +0000

Avid, new software? Is Pro Tools going to change? What does Avid have up their sleeves?

Changes to Pro Tools?

Pro Tools 11?

Hello everybody, I know it has been a while since I have posted anything. As many of you know I am currently enrolled in Full Sail University’s Entertainment Business Masters degree program. I also am interning at Full Sail’s Dubbing Stage editing dialogue, sound FX, and backgrounds for student film projects. This has occupied a lot of my time, however it has been a great learning experience and brings me to tonight’s topic: rumors about Pro Tools 11 and what might be in store for Avid's new software.

Technology is forever changing, progressing and evolving. This is a great thing because it extends our reach and capabilities in ways far beyond comprehension. However, this can also put a strain on the bank account as well. A lot of the technology we use in recording and processing is reliant on software and hardware that work together to give us the tools we need to create and complete our work. With that said, what happens when Avid's new software, essentially, a new version of the software you have been using comes out and requires a new operating system and new gear to utilize it? As a studio manager or owner, you are faced with using out of date software and equipment or upgrading the gear in your studio.

With that scenario in your mind, lets talk about Pro Tools and review rumors for Pro Tools 11. Pro Tools 11 is rumored to be released sometime in 2013. All of the forums and discussion boards are riddled with rumors about this new launch. There are rumors about it not supporting RTAS plugins, which many people who are running Pro Tools 9 or 10 have spent a lot of money acquiring. Also there is a rumor that unlike Pro Tools 9 or 10 you will have to have Hardware to operate Pro tools 11, which means buying an interface. I have also read that the program will only work with the Lion operating system leaving people with Snow leopard having to upgrade that as well. This biggest rumor out there right now is about having to purchase new HD racks and gear to run the program. This will cost studios thousands of dollars just to keep up. Whatever changes will come with Pro Tools 11 studios are preparing to have to drop a lot of money to stay current in the industry. Don’t take my word for it, look at what people are saying about what might come with Avid's new software and rumors about the new version of Pro Tools. The price of staying current most often is a hefty one, but it seems that most people except this fact when working in an industry that deals with cutting edge technology.

Dubbing Stage

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Thomas) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 04:21:00 +0000

Ever since I can remember I wanted to work with audio. I started off writing and recording music; I was in love with expression, especially expression through audio. I decided that I should go to school to receive a formal education for audio. After a lot of research I decided to check out Full Sail University. I instantly knew this was the place I needed to be so naturally I enrolled into the Recording Arts Bachelors degree program.

The Recording Arts program was my dream come true. I was working in multi-million dollar studios with professional grade equipment. About half way through the program I took an audio post production class and found out that Full Sail offered graduates an internship at their dubbing stage. After I graduated I decided to further my education and go for my Masters in Entertainment Business. I recently applied for the Dub Stage internship and got it. This is where I work now after class, isn’t it awesome?

This is taken from http://www.myspace.com/fullsailuniversity/photos/4280417

Full Sails Dubbing Stage is the biggest one on the east coast. I feel very fortunate to have been accepted for this internship. I was worried that I wouldn’t get it because I am still in class and cannot be there full time. However they were willing to work around my schedule and I spend about five or six hours a day, after class working on projects there. Right now they have me working on student projects. This is really good practice and experience for when I graduate and head out into the working world. I would really like to stay at Full Sail and be apart of the work they do there so naturally I am trying to work really hard to impress the people I am working with now. Here is a little more information on Full Sail’s Dubbing Stage. This is definitely a great opportunity for me and I can’t wait to see the good things that come from it.

Inspired by a Library

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Thomas) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 05:03:00 +0000

Ever since taking an audio post-production class at Full Sail University, I have wanted to learn how to create and design great sound FX. We worked on various projects where we had to utilize sound FX from a sound FX library to create and establish mood for pieces of video. Among the many libraries we had access to my favorite was Hollywood Edge. The sound FX files in this library were crisp and clean, they were very easy to manipulate and edit. The way they were arranged and archived made them easy to locate and use. It was this library that inspired me to become a sound designer and start to gather the equipment to create my own sound FX libraries.

Here is a link to the website for Hollywood Edge that offers samples of their work and a look at their extensive sound FX library. You can see the level of professionalism and creativity they put into their sound FX. This has been an inspiration for me and I hope to make such a name for myself in the industry with the sounds I capture and design.

I plan on starting my library by recording and designing simple ambience such as park ambience and city ambience for example. After I cover the simplest and most basic of the libraries sound FX I will move to more detailed sounds such as random car sounds and car function sounds. As I get more detailed in my sounds I plan on using better equipment than just a regular microphone or digital recorder. As soon as I receive my living expense check from Full Sail University, I will purchase a ZoomH4n digital 4-track recorder.

This picture was taken from Sweetwater.com

With this I will be able to go anywhere and capture great quality audio recordings in the field. The Zoom will make it easier to build my library and make a name for my self in the sound design community.

The sound of the Universe

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Thomas) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:22:00 +0000

As an aspiring sound designer I have always been fascinated with natural sounds that nature makes. As a student of technology I have always been taught that space is a vacuum and is absent of sound. I watch a speaker on ted .com named Janna Levin discuss sound that the universe makes and it blew me away. I would like to share the link to her speech so you can come to your own conclusion.

In her speech she breaks down black holes what they are and how they operate. She started to lose me at that point a little bit because I thought this speech was about the sounds that the universe makes. She then showed a model created by NASA of two black holes orbiting each other and their gravitational waves. She went on to explain how these waves were literally the sound of space ringing as a result of these black holes. Jana then explained if it were possible for us to be near enough to the black hole our ears would resonate with this stretching of space. What fascinated me is she played a mocked sound of a black hole banging in space and t literally sounded as she described it, like a drum.

This speech to me was really thought provocative. Sound is everywhere; it is almost like audio is a living entity inside our universe. I absolutely love how we can capture these sounds then manipulate them, create new sounds, unnatural sounds and evoke emotion. I see audio as a world of possibility, where creativity is limitless and every sound has it’s own very distinctive voice and personality. This speech ultimately showed me that our entire universe is made of sound and we are able to associate sound visibly with colors and shapes. It is this thought process that I try to apply when I am creating sound FX and designing new sounds. There literally are no limits with audio and that really excites me.

Sound FX libraries

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Thomas) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 00:41:00 +0000

I have always been captivated by the creativity that goes into creating and manipulating sound. In earlier blog posts I have touched on sound design and have given a general definition of what it essentially is. I have also touched on a bit of sound design history and how far the art form has come. In this blog post, I want to touch a little on sound FX libraries and field recording.

Sound designers not only make money off of the sounds they create and manipulate for film, they also sell their sound files and libraries. A sound FX library is essentially a collection of categorized sounds. They can include general categories such as: Ambient sounds and Nature FX as well as far more detailed categories such as: Mechanical sounds and Movements. The libraries often contain very specific sounds, for example: the sound of a 2011 Chevrolet Camaro engine start and idle. These sounds are recorded with a field recorder mixed and then archived in a library. However this is just the beginning, those sounds then can be manipulated and used for other sounds in the sound FX library. That is the beauty of it, natural and unnatural sounds combined, manipulated and mixed to create new sounds.

In my undergraduate program at Full Sail University, we utilized sound FX libraries to re-create movie trailers with our own sound design. We manipulated the sounds in the libraries to create or own unique sounds for the trailers. One sound FX library we used was Hollywood Edge. Hollywood Edge has provided sound FX for film for years and chances are you have heard sound designed FX from their libraries in some of your favorite films. Here is a link to their website where you can see a video with examples of their sound design as well as purchase theirs libraries and collections.

Now that I’ve touched on sound FX libraries, I want to talk about field recorders. Field recorders are used to capture sound outside the studio and then loaded from the recorder to your DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) or your consol to be mixed. I have been searching for a good field recorder and was pointed in the direction of the Zoom H4N. Here is a photo of the Zoom H4N taken from http://www.kraftmusic.com/catalog/audio/paspeakers/8545.

The Zoom H4N is a portable, digital 4-track recorder with fixed X/Y stereo condenser microphones. After reading reviews for this product, I have decided that I am going to purchase it and start building my own libraries. After I purchase this recorder I will post with examples of the sound quality and designs I have created using the Zoom H4N. More to come soon.

How far we've come

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Thomas) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 00:33:00 +0000

I remember learning, in my audio post production class at Full Sail University, about sound design. The instructor had us watch a video on early sound design and how it was implemented in film. The sound designers had to be creative to not only portray what was going on and establish mood but to draw the audience in as well. They often used instruments as sound effects for crashes, hits, slaps and other animated uses. The orchestral sound effects were innovative for that time but as time progressed so did the technology for the sound design. Sound designers began to use random things lying around to create their sounds. They often designed and built custom contraptions for specific sounds. Below is a picture of an early contraption used in the sound design for early Disney animation taken from www.imagineeringdisney.com.

Looking at movies today it is phenomenal how far technology and sound has come in film. I’m sure a sound designer from early film would be amazed at how the art form as evolved. Design has gone from instruments and homemade contraptions, to using field recorders and vocoders to manipulate and shape the sound.

Wall-E is a perfect example of excellent sound design. The movie was done completely with sound design and very little dialogue. The sound design was crucial to this movie. The success of the film depended on the sound designers ability to build this world of sound and captivate the audience. That is no easy task and to take a better look at some of the details behind it you should read this article. Ben Burtt is known for his unique methods of sound design and in known to the sound design world as the "father of modern sound design". He created a world of imagination in the film Wall-E and through his sound design, brought the characters to life. If there is anybody in the industry I aspire to be like it is this man. Here is a video from youtube about the sound design inside the movie. I hope you have enjoyed this post on sound design and maybe learned some things you didn’t know already.

Sound Design

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Thomas) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 03:32:00 +0000

Have you ever watched a movie or played a video game and wondered how the creators of the material came up with the sounds you were hearing? How do they get sounds that cannot be recorded from the source because the source does not exist? For example: the sounds for a futuristic plasma rifle, or the sound of a dinosaur roar. How do they capture these sounds? They don’t, well not technically. They design the sounds by manipulating previously recorded audio files.

Lets say I wanted sounds for a dinosaur to use in a video game. I cannot go out in the field and record a dinosaur because they are extinct. Instead I would use sounds that already exist in nature, a bear roar, an alligator growl, and other animal sounds mixed with any other sounds I could blend frequency wise to create and design the sound I was going for. Sound design is essentially manipulating audio and blending it to create unique sounds. It is used in film, TV, radio, video games, and even theatre. It is all about creativity and expression. Here is a link that will show what a sound designer does and the purpose behind it. Sound Designer

The greatest thing about sound design in my opinion is that the designer has no limit to the creativity they put into their sounds. They can be something as small and as simple as a slight move of an object to something as detailed and complicated as a robotic mechanism morphing and transforming. The possibilities are endless and that makes it even more intriguing to me.

I was introduced to sound design in an audio post production class I attended at Full Sail University. I instantly fell in love and decided that this was the field I wanted to start my career in. I feel that sound designers do not get the credit they deserve. This is simply because, the majority of the consumers that watch these films and play these games are uneducated on the process that goes into the audio implementation. That is something I hope to change through this blog. This blog is not only for the sound designing community but for those who have no idea what sound design is.

I hope you enjoyed this post about sound design. Anybody that is interested in reading about sound effects, I recommend The Sound Effects Bible by Ric Viers. If you have any comments or questions about this post feel free to contact me through my email on my profile.

Introduction

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Thomas) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 02:48:00 +0000

Hello, my name is Clifford Thomas and this is my blog dedicated to the art of sound design. This blog will showcase articles, product reviews, books and information relating to sound design and the audio post production field. I am a student, an audio engineer, a writer, an artist and aspiring sound designer. I hope my blog will educate and intrigue everybody that chooses to read it. Hope you enjoy.