How to design lava/volcano sounds

2013-05-17T19:07:45Z

Just wondering if any of you have any tried and true techniques or suggestions for designing lava and/or volcano sounds (anything from volcanic eruption, flowing lava, molten volcanic rock movement, etc)

Waves S360 R360 Room Emulation

2013-05-19T02:12:33Z

I was looking for any posts on waves S360 and R360 used together for room emulation and couldn't find anything...

I'm using them on a feature right now and I'm really thrown off by some of the design in S360. The Room Size in the S360 has a minimum number of 1200. In the manual it states that this is a measurement of square meters, which would make that room roughly 3960 sq. ft. So even at a Distance setting of 1.5 meters, there seems to me to be large amounts of the early reflections mixed into the signal for say a bedroom where the source sound is 1.5 meters into the scene.

I like the R360, but the room size in that is just a number from 46 to 100. In the manual it doesn't state that it relates to any measurements.

Am I missing something? I'd like to model smaller rooms. Right now it's also working pretty well to balance echoey production with ADR the client could afford to do, but I feel like for that purpose it spreads the ADR to the left and right too much. Kind of wish there was a negative width setting, too.

I really liked the S360 when I first started using it, but I keep second guessing myself and turning down the distance more and more. It does sound pretty awesome even at a minimum setting though. It gives a sweet divergent spread that really makes the dialog pop

Do you use S360? and if so what do you feel works best? pointers?

Can you stop an elevator?

2013-01-30T04:01:14Z

Hey Sound Designers! It's been a while since I've been on the forums, but I'm back, and I have a question for you: How would you stop an elevator?

A 1930's era elevator is careening down it's shaft when something goes wrong (a crack! the snap of cable, or an explosion?) and the car comes to a stop. Is it slow an ominous (with the creak and screech of metal on metal) or is it violent? What do you hear? What elements are involved? Give me ideas. Stop this elevator.

I will be forever indebted to you! --Phil

Pre Dub mix question.

2013-05-18T08:33:22Z

Hello all!

i'm not new to sound, but new to this site and i must say this place is a dream come true! amazing things on here!

So my Q is a little long, but plz bare with me. also my spellings not the best in the world due to my dyslexia. but thank god for spell checker!

My Q is to do with Pre Dubbing. and what you commit to at this stage. IE stereo sounds. how do you know what will work or not work later down the line when you come to do the finale mix? is it a gut thing? or is it more planned out? (keeping some sounds out of the pre dub mix cos you know they will be a ''feature'' sound)

My fear is i will commit to something and ''bake'' the sound in. then later down the line in the mix i will be like ''ahhgg, that sound is too wide, but not alot i can do about it now''

hope you get me! lol.

thanks in advance for advice. jx

Exporting clips in Pro Tools and sound card conversion

2013-05-17T23:06:27Z

This may be a noob question but when exporting clips out of Pro Tools, say with fades and what not, does anyone know if the sound card is engaged at all? The reason I ask is I have some sounds I've recorded using some pretty high-end conversion via firewire and I don't want those sounds degraded if I do some editing to the files when not hooked up to the firewire sound card and just editing on my laptop, and then exporting the clips/regions out. Hope that makes sense and isn't too ridiculous a question to ask. thanks.

Zoom H2 with the IMR Vortex encoder?

2010-11-30T15:04:43Z

Looking at the specs of the well known Zoom H2 I stumbled upon the following: a relatively new and low cost piece of software by IM Research, which converts multi-channel files from the H2 and H4 to various 'surround' formats:

http://im-research.com/products/vze/

I've found metric tons of information about the H2 on here and elsewhere but very little to no user experiences with this specific software. (Excuse me if it has been discussed on here, I did a search.)

Who has actual experiences with this, I'm quite curious. Surely it will not compare to Soundfield, Holophone and the likes, I guess. But is it actually useable or just a gimmick? The concept in itself is quite nice, it could potentialy be a great alternative for the very low budget productions.

FEL Mic Preamplifier for Zoom H4n & Rode NTG2

2011-10-19T07:23:28Z

Hello Audio Professionals,

Im new here & kindly help me out with my queries.

I have a Zoom H4N & i recently bought a Rode NTG-2 with the Rode Blimp but the levels are really low when i record even @ REC Level 100%. So im thinking of buying a Preamp for my setup - Sound Devices & other high level mic pres are too expensive for me right now, So i thought of buying a "FEL Mini MicBooster Extended XLR" - here is the link - http://www.felmicamps.co.uk/products/felminimicbooste.html.

I've seen a little good reviews about this mic pre & its handy for field recording + cheap aswell.

I would like to get some professional opinion before i buy this stuff.

Kindly help.

Cheers,

Bala.

gift ideas for an aspiring sound designer

2013-05-16T08:25:26Z

hello!

my boyfriend is graduating in a few weeks and will soon apply to a sound design program. i want to get him a basic starter kit with different tools he can use as he works on his portfolio. i've been reading some posts here, and i ordered the vmeter usb midi controller and zoom h1 recorder. i'm thinking about ordering the korg monotron as well.

are there other fun and useful gadgets out there that you suggest? or any comments about the items i already mentioned? i'm a noob, and i want to get some great stuff for him, though my budget is $200.

he checks this site often, so i'm worried he'll see this...

anyway, any recommendation/suggestion would be appreciated! thank you so very much!

A Living Sound Effect Library

2011-02-23T20:02:05Z

I don't know if any of you have seen this but I just found it while looking up bird songs on youtube and I was pretty amazed..

[youtube]VjE0Kdfos4Y[/youtube]

South African Sound FX?

2012-06-05T13:20:28Z

Hey there. Anyone based in S Africa, or have good recordings from there they'd be willing to trade? Working on a show based there - could do with some more specific recordings - preferably crowd bgd street chatter, towns, kids or any rural ambiences specific to S Africa - jo'Berg/Capetown or anywhere really.

Please let me know, I have UK/London specific recordings i could trade. Thanks

Importing OMFs into Pro Tools; 2 mono tracks instead of one stereo...

2013-05-17T08:19:14Z

When I import an OMF into Pro Tools they enter as two mono tracks, panned left and right as opposed to one stereo track - any ideas as to why this is the case?

Logic Pro - Remove Leftover Echo

2013-05-16T14:57:44Z

How do I cancel the leftover echos after I pause a track? I can mute the track but when I un-mute it's still there.

23.976fps vs 24fps nightmare

2013-05-11T03:57:43Z

So I just started work on a 23.976fps project that has some scenes that were accidentally shot in 24fps (of course, these scenes are sprinkled throughout every reel...). Sound was recorded at 23.976fps throughout -- at least that's what I was told. The editor also told me that they didn't convert any of the footage, so the Media Composer sequence has mixed frame rates.

Got the AAF today. Of course, all 24fps scenes are majorly out of sync. There are two workarounds I can think of, but if those don't work I'm out of options:

a) Perform a video mixdown in Avid prior to exporting, so at least all the video is in 23.976.

b) Export two AAFs: one from the regular sequence at 23.976fps, another from the same sequence reinterpreted as 24fps. Then combine both in Pro Tools.

Of course, neither workaround solves the drift issue, but I'm hoping that at least the In points for each clip will sync up. And most clips are short enough for the drift to not matter. For longer clips I guess I'll just manually slow audio down by 0.1%...

Do any of you have experience with this sort of problem? Any ideas? I heard that Titan can deal with these types of problems, but that's definitely not in the budget.

Tips for mixing dialogue

2011-02-19T07:22:16Z

Can this be a thread for tips on mixing dialogue?

Do you EQ the voice a certain way or ever use different sync for different characters? Reverb/delay?

Do you have a certain workflow for the dial mix?

Do you treat the mix differently for things like camera angles or whether the character's back is facing the camera?

Thanks!

Mix levels for Facebook game interface sounds

2013-04-18T11:38:39Z

I'm working on a suite of around 25 interface sounds for a Facebook game, and wondering what kind of level to bounce the sounds out. There is no musical or ambient bed to mix the sounds against, so I'm setting the standard myself.

I usually mix music, and if I'm mastering my tracks, I'll place a limiter on the master channel and push it to 0db digital. (Let's not get into a loudness war argument here!)

In the case of the game, let's say I take what I consider to be the most important sound - the one that needs to be loudest in relation to all the other sounds - what level should this sound come out as? Should I go for full scale digital to maximise loudness, mixing the others lower in relation to this high point, or should I choose lower levels for everything so I won't risk the sounds being alarmingly loud?

Thanks!

Interactive Audio: Learn how to build web & mobile audio applications using Javascript & the Web Audio API.

2012-12-21T04:03:14Z

Hello, I operate wikiaudio.org and am developing an "exclusive" tutorial series dedicated to teaching people familiar with MIDI,DJ'ing,Sound design etc how to program using web technologies. Specifically using Javascript and the Web Audio API. It's directed at complete beginners.

I haven't formally "released" it but I am looking for feedback on the first tutorial. So if you would like a "beta" invite feel free to email admin@wikiaudio.org

Hope this isn't considered spam. If so feel free to delete.

Ciao.

interactiveaudio.wikiaudio.org

Specific Interface Sound

2013-05-15T19:48:40Z

Hello,

I've got a quick question that i wonder if someone could help me with. Now i'm fairly comfortable with most interface/menu/hud sounds, however there is one in particular that is proving problematic. Its the sound of a stream of information cascading on a screen. I've put a few examples below. Its a digital chattering type of sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqqEriE0ogc @ 1:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bqr4i1dmNTY @ 1:29

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbj3XSvDyw8 @ 2:09 in the background

IS it merely a case of micro editing a sequence or arpeggiating high passed glitch sounds or is there another wya im missing?

I've had a look at the other threads on this subject and theyve been veyr helpful, im just having issues with this specific sound!

many thanks in advance

Tom

Canned Laughter SFX

2012-11-11T12:44:05Z

Does anyone know of a decent Canned Laughter resource/library, preferably British/English and able to buy online and download?

I can only seem to find packs of sounds costing $200+ or expensive individual sounds, but I need something in between.

Cheers

How do you get rid of the birds in your recordings?

2013-05-13T19:16:46Z

It's spring here and the birds are singing - but sometimes you just don't want them in your recordings ... so my question to you is what are your tricks for getting rid of those birds in your recordings?

setting a session for dialogue editing (question about John Purcell book)

2013-03-20T12:17:17Z

I am reading the john purcell book, and finding it very useful, I need to set my session at best way to improve my work, right now I am editing dialogue and will have to mix too a low budget movie, audio has been recorded directly on dslr, so i have had just one omf track mono of dialogue, and many stereo music tracks to mix,

i dont have any external hardware mixer, all my job is based on the DAW (PT10) (audio interface has 4 channel outputs) in john purcell book I read that he uses 12-14 tracks for each scene and never uses same tracks on adiacent scenes, and he does checkerboard about angle and/or about character ( I come from music and there normally you set each track with one and only one instrument), I get confused in about the how to save tracks, but if I want to use some plug in, am is assuming to have same plug in on all those scenes based on those tracks?

AKAI MPK25 Midi controller

2012-08-01T19:07:17Z

I'm starting to learn to use samplers and synthetisers and I'm looking for a suggestion for a midi controller. An AKAI MPK25 would be a nice option to work with Alchemy? If not, could you suggest something in the same price range? Thank you all for the input.

Vocal Disguise Effect

2013-05-15T16:32:05Z

Any suggestions on how to achieve an "Anonymous Vocal Disguise" Effect? Along the lines of: "Ransom Phone Calls" or "Anonymous TV Interviewee".

I haven't started to experiment yet, seems to be a bit of "Pitch modulation" correction (ie making it mono-tone, so maybe melodyne for this) there is also some pitch shift, doubling and distortion.

If you have any suggestions to speed me to my goal I would really appreciate it!!

I know I'm way behind but .. is 10.7 stable for DAW ?

2013-03-13T22:23:05Z

Hey a quick search on the ssd site doesn't return what I'm looking for.

I'm finally switching a PPC G5 rig over to an intel MacPro for Protools HD9 with a Magma chassis etc. Is 10.7 "generally" a stable platform for DAW / audio creative ?? I mean really general like yeah its good or no don't do it "XX___XX" is broken. Thanks

I'm working on a short where there are three actors, all wearing VANS shoes. Would you use a different pair of vans for each actor?

2013-05-12T22:36:03Z

The short is about a coach who's trying to teach his players how to play baseball. All of the players are wearing vans in the scenes and the surfaces range from the dirt on a baseball, concrete, and grass.

Would you guys use different pairs of vans for each actor even though they're the same on picture? I don't want the foot steps to walk over each other, no pun intended.

Thank you!

ProTools plugins which have MIDI 'learn' functionality.

2013-05-15T12:48:52Z

So, this isn't news, but ProTools keeping the door welded shut on 3rd party controllers which haven't kissed the ring is .. frustrating.

After spending a week experimenting with combinations of my iPad running TouchOSC--->Osculator, and using Ableton like a big FX pedal for ProTools (sending and returning audio using SoundFlower) I've come to the conclusion that it's just too unstable and unwielding to make it practical in a working context. (Please convince me otherwise!)

Which is a shame, because the beauty of TouchOSC and the iPad is that you can tweak your controller as you figure out new uses on a daily basis.

And again.. this isn't news for you folks who don't use ProTools at all (laugh away) as pretty much every other DAW makes the effort, but the reality is that I need to work in ProTools.

(Note: Rewire cripples Ableton when it's a slave.. otherwise this wouldn't be an issue.)

SO ---------- and this is specifically about sound effects design, not mixing --

As I am soon to kiss goodbye to the use of a Dcontrol + Dcommand, other than buying an Artist Mix (which as far as I can tell still doesn't let you customize the specific automation functions to the faders you WANT ... ?!?!?) The only other option as far as I can tell is to seek out ProTools plugins which include their own inbuilt MIDI Learn functionality, and then have them listen to what TouchOSC\Osculator tells them to do.

Which is all a roundabout way of getting to my question:

Which plugins do you know of (RTAS or AAX) that have MIDI control functionality inbuilt by the manufacturer? I'm not talking so much about Instruments, more FX --- EQ \ Reverbs \ Delays \ Etc.

The ones I know about so far

-Fab Filter plugins (which are pretty cool) http://www.fabfilter.com/

-Blue Cat Audio http://www.bluecataudio.com/Products/Bundle_AllPluginsPack/

-Massive http://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/synths-samplers/massive/

Suggestions?

And this is a separate question\can of worms\Avid reps close your eyes, but has anyone reverse-engineered the Ethernet controller protocol..?

I.. just.. want... to automate.. plugins.. with my iPad.

What front speakers are to be used with a 5.1 when compared to a 7.1

2012-07-19T08:04:04Z

I am not having good knowledge on AVRs...but wish to buy one because I love sound. When I read some reviews I felt as if there would be not much improvement in the kind of effect a 7.1/.2 would produce when compared with a 5.1 ( Atleast not worth the money spent on the extra speakers).. Please correct me if I am wrong. Coming to my actual question...in this regard if I wish to buy a 5.1, then can I use the tower speakers or should I settle for the normal front speakers ( similar to the virtual presence speakers)?

Patchbay Advice

2013-04-16T00:28:16Z

Not interested in switchcraft or bittree (nice but out of budget)

Looking for soem advice and suggestions on lower end market bays - specifically from those with experience with them.

Thinking the behringer model is nice, switchable on top for normalling options and 1/4 trs standard cables throughout.

Any help?

Batch audio 'watermark' adding for OSX?

2013-05-14T17:55:15Z

Hi all,

Just wondered if anyone knew of a simple bit of software that can add an audio 'watermark' ident onto an audio file easily, for OSX? Something that I can mix to a certain volume level and decide the spacing of the repeats would be useful. I think there's something for PC but not sure of anything for OSX.

Any help appreciated! Cheers Andy

need a location for warehouse or dilapidated building footstep recording

2012-02-28T20:13:36Z

I need to record a bunch of footsteps in a dilapidated building. Ideally with both tile and unfinished hardwood surfaces, and also with a layer of dust and dirt (but not overly dirty or crunchy). I am located in NYC, but can travel if need be (locally in NY/NJ would be preferred...). If anyone has any ideas or leads, please let me know.

the scene is too long and too exposed to get away with it being done in a foley studio.

thanks!

greg at eastwestaudio dot com

GDC 2012 -- Meeting Up, Sessions of Interest

2012-02-10T03:58:10Z

Editing this post as the whole thing starts tomorrow -- check in here if you're at GDC or have any good parties to go to, would be cool to meet up with some of the SSD crowd!

GDC 2012's only a few weeks away and I've managed to get a pass as a volunteer / CA. I'm curious as to who from the SSD crowd is making the trip out to San Francisco -- would be nice to put some faces to names. Let's see a show of hands!

And also are there any panels that you're specifically looking forward to? I remember seeing the Spore panel in 2008 and having my mind absolutely blown.

Top Questions - Social Sound Design