Sound Design Week 6-7

Limiter

A specialized compressor used to simply keep a sound level from getting any higher than a specified value. No make-up gain. No chance of clipping in recording.

Types of adjectives used in sound maps?

Adjectives describe sound communication goals, such as "Innocent, sinister, pulsing/driving dramatic, dark, magic light, magic dark, etc"

Change Pitch?

Adjusts just the pitch of the track

Change Tempo?

Adjusts just the tempo

Change Speed?

Adjusts pitch and tempo

What is the difference between automation in an audio track, and in an automation track?

Automation in an audio track shows the automation line over the audio and in a automation track it shows the automation below the audio.

Ambinence

Background noise and sounds

How many layers did you hear in the hiker in the waterfall scene?

Carabineers and ropes. Water pouring. Water hitting rocks and the climber. Feet against the rocks. Wind.

What is automation in a DAW?

Changing the characteristics of a track as it is being played.

In Studio One, what is a shortcut for showing automation?

Click A

Where is automation found in Studio One?

Click A (or right click and select show/hide automation) and the automation track will appear. You can also add an automation track that corresponds with the track you are on.

Non-Diegetic Sounds

Comes from outside the story space. Film score music, and a narrator

What is the obvious tool to control if the atmosphere mix is too dynamic?

Compression

What kind of mic should you use?

Condenser

When layering atmosphere tracks, besides location, what other characteristics must be planned for?

Create a consistent-sounding atmos track that's neither too repetitive nor too busy. A bed of sound that sets the tone in the audience's subconscious.

What is Foley sound?

Creating sounds in sync with the movement and whats happening on screen.

Most important entry in a sound map, for a designer?

Cues to Emotion

Jack Foley

Developed a unique method for performing sound effects live and in synchrony with the picture during a film's post-production.

Three general subcategories for a complete film sound track?

Dialog, music, & sound effects

Post-Production

Editing the sound, compress, EQ, etc Mixing and mastering

Which uses the most compression in pop music, vocals or electric guitars?

Electric guitar

How many tracks in a typical commercial film would you allot to Foley?

Five or six mono tracks for Foley

How many tracks in a typical commercial film for spot effects (object sounds, etc)?

Five or six more mono and stereo tracks for spot effects

What created the sound of a bird's wings?

Flapping feather duster

Effects Sounds

Foley, object (alarm clock), actions (breaking), environment/ambience.

Foley Sounds

Follow the actors movements

What makes for "bad Foley"?

Footsteps may be mixed too loud or be of the wrong type, overzealous cloth or movement noise might prove distracting, and any sounds that are played too prominently in the mix can ruin the illusion.

Sound Editor

Gathers and creates sound effects

Sound Designer

Get in on the planning for a project Design sound to enhance all the director's goals

What created the sound of a dog's paw?

Gloves with paper clips on the fingers

How did the Star Wars sound designer set up the missile explosion in the asteroid chase scene so that the audience anticipated it? (A technique copied ever since!)

Have complete silence before.

What would a 2:1 ratio do?

If the input rises above the threshold by 2 dB, the output will only change by 1 dB. Or if the input rises above the threshold by 10 dB, the output will only rise 5 dB.

What would a 10:1 ratio do?

If the input rises by 10 dB, the output will rise by 1 dB.

"Beat" in film production

In the plot, an event, decision, or discovery that changes the actions of the protagonist

What happens if the atmosphere mix is too dynamic?

It can distract from the other sounds that need to be layered above.

How should we move our eyes as we read VO script?

Keep your eyes reading slower and where you are in the copy

Buss Compression

Light compression over an entire mix.

How do you get the beat of an imported song file to align accurately with the grid lines in Studio One?

Listen to the song and watch the track to find where the beat is and where that is in relation to the beats of the measures. We will see a bit of a beat and can move the track to line up with the beats of the measures.

How can a sound recordist, make certain they have consistency from take to take?

Make notes. Use same mics, levels, locations.

How does compression affect the dynamic range of a sound track?

Making the difference between the highest level and the lowest level less of a difference.

When you first read a script, and you make a mistake, should you go back right away to try to correct the problem? Why?

No, continue through the script. Don't give yourself permission to make mistakes.

What created the sound of cracking ice?

Pine cones

Preproduction

Planning with Director. A sound landscape or sound map is developed to support the thematic material, including the desired emotional character of the sounds.

What are zero crossings in Audacity? Why are they significant?

Press Z in Audacity when you are going to make a cut to avoid click sound that happens when you cut in the middle of a waveform.

The main character in Ratatouille, Remy, is small. How did the sound designer adjust the design of sounds that Remy himself would be hearing?

Sound design that enhances its scale, making everything seem larger and more ominous (exaggerated interpretations of meal trolleys passing by, with wheels that squeak and grind menacingly, the burners of a gas oven sound like an inferno)

Diegetic Sound

Sounds that exist in the scene area. The characters would hear these sounds

Cues

Specific points in the timeline where the music needs to change, come in, stop, have emphasis to support the action.

Purposes of a music cue sheet

Start as a planning tool, but continues as a licensing document. It contains a detailed listing of all the music used within the production, and substantiates royalties.

Explain the "file tempo" setting in Studio One.

Tells the DAW the original tempo of the track so that it can adjust the tempo to fit the new tempo.

When bringing in a song to match tempo, why didn't we simply make the file tempo of the new song 140 bpm, to match the mix tempo?

That would cause no change to the track and it would still be off beat with our new tempo because our song is not a loop with tempo built in. Instead we need to tell the software the original tempo so it can edit this.

What is Nick Metcalfe's job description as a sound designer?

The craft of creating sound effects, editing music and finessing dialogue for film, TV and radio, computer games and even theatre

In Pitch Black, how did sound design use contrast to enhance the drama of the ship losing power and starting to fall?

The external shots as the ship descends is quiet and we get a sense of the silence of space and the imminent fate of the ship with only a sombre, synthetic tone underscoring the shot. In the cockpit the sound design shifts and we hear the groans of a ship in distress, with warning alarms playing, seemingly, from every one of the flight controls.

Why do we need gain make up after compression, in say, a television ad?

The gain brings everything in the track up after the peaks have been compressed so that it never gets quiet. TV ads require sound that never subsides to grab your attention.

What is dynamic range?

The range of levels from quietest to loudest

How many tracks in a typical commercial film would you allot to atmosphere?

Three or four stereo tracks

Do novice sound designers tend to produce too many or too few sound layers?

Too few

What do you do if the script calls for you speaking loudly?

Vary the distance, get farther away, 16 inches

What would he leave off if the explosion was supposed to be farther away?

less of the close-up detail provided by the metallic sounds and the debris raining down

How is the force of the explosion that almost deafens Captain Miller, in Saving Private Ryan, conveyed?

silence or near-silence is used to express a moment of calm in a storm of battle and noise

What does a compressor threshold do?

- 1st holding the peak levels down - 2nd amplifying the whole signal back up. -The threshold control sets a level in dB. Whenever the sound rises above the threshold level, the compressor starts to compress. Any sounds below this level are not affected.

Sound Map

- A plan to be approved by the director -Adjectives describe sound communication goals -Includes "cues" for music -Supports mood changes, transitions -Includes ideas for specific sounds

How does layering of sounds make them more effective?

- Benefit of being richer, more vibrant and more sonically interesting - Can control the levels of each of those separate components in the mix. - Add more detail.

After you acquire a story board of key events, the author recommends using markers in your DAW that correspond to the story board and your sound map. Where is this tool found in Studio One? How does it work?

- Click on the marker track flag at top right - Adjust start and end markers. - Click where you want a marker and then click on the little plus sign to add it.

When doing footfalls, what should you keep in mind for a complete job?

- Consider the direction a character has come - Consider their weight - Consider their shoes - Consider the surface they're walking on - May need to cut individual footfalls and set them to the action - Make sure it sounds natural with a rhythm that makes sense against the visuals. - Add the details such as scuffs, changes of direction, and the character shifting weight from one foot to the other. - Pan and mix according to the character's position in relation to the camera — but please be subtle with that pan pot!

How is reading a VO script different than reading a book?

- Don't sound like you are reading. - Mark it up and keep where you are in script. - Get a message across with feeling, as if you mean it, as if you know the listener personally. - Don't try to be someone else.

How can you increase the dramatic content of an impact sound?

- Embellish the movement of the object preceding the impact itself (a "whoosh" of an arrow for example). - A beat of silence just before the impact.

What do you do first to begin a sound design project?

- Find out as much about the project and your client's creative vision. - Identify the genre, the period in time and the style of the project (basic details). - Ask yourself some questions. Creative influences? Visual or graphical style? Atmosphere? - Acquire a storyboard of key events and any stills or visual inspiration, such as clips of other movies the animators are using as their own reference - Discuss with the producers their creative goals, and have them explain the style, mood and themes of the piece. - Start to build yourself a style guide.

What does a mulit-band compressor do that a regular compressor can't do?

- First divides the frequency spectrum of the sound into 2 or 3 bands - Second applies a separate compressor to each of the frequency bands

Noise Gate

- Has a compressor in it - Threshold is set but the compressor operates only when the level drops below the threshold - No Gain Make-up

Ways to EQ for easier-to-understand dialog?

- High pass between 100 and 200 Hz, or higher - A slight low pass at 8K Hz sometimes eliminates unnecessary esses and breaths - Boost the whole octave around 1750 Hz - Add +2 dB at 250 Hz for warmth

Why is natural speech different from reading aloud?

- In natural speech you make up all the words, you put in your own inflection, you know when to breath naturally, the words flow from our ideas - Reading is not your ideas, vocabulary, or phrasing

What kinds of sound issues are addressed by simply moving the microphone relative to the voice?

- Move closer to the mic when you lower your voice & back away when speaking louder. - Move closer if you want a warmer sound. - Move talking point just to the right or left of the mic to prevent bursts of air and drops of saliva ruining your recording.

What is in your speech non-verbal tool kit?

- Non verbal things you do when you speak - Talk louder or softer - Raising or lowering the pitch of your voice - Putting emotion into your words

Story Board vs Sound Map?

- SB: director's summary, often illustrations - SM: sound plan, includes communication goals and adjectives, cues, scene transitions, lists of object sounds, moments of drama

Guiding principles of sound designers?

- Support the images - Suggest emotions - Same goals as in mixing... do not mask, separate frequency bands, etc, make key sounds easy to notice - - Support the "beats" of the production

Which products have been compressed the most, and so have the least dynamic range?

- Television commercials never get quiet. - Radio mixes are designed so all the parts can be heard above the road/wind/engine noise - DJs and Talkers also compressed.

What did we do to the white noise to make it support the image of a realistic storm? Be specific as to variables and how they were changed.

- Volume automation to cause swells of storm - Adjust EQ and add mid frequency automation

What are the four categories of performance details that are often marked up on a VO script?

- Which words should be emphasized? - Where should you take a breath? - Places where you should pause for emphasis? - The last words of each sentence where you might trail off. - (Which words give you trouble).

What types of elements did the author add to the explosion?

- a bass element - beginning of a car explosion - sustain and release parts came from a second explosion - metal rip/tear sounds at the beginning - debris sounds to give a sense of aftermath

Assume the threshold was set at -20 dB, and the ratio was set at 2:1. If the peak level before the compressor jumped to 0 dB, what would that peak level be after the compressor?

-10 dB

Assume the threshold was set at -20 dB, and the ratio was set at 3:1. If the peak level before the compressor jumped to -8 dB, what would that peak level be after the compressor?

-16 dB

Assume the threshold was set at -20 dB, and the ratio was set at 4:1. If the peak level before the compressor jumped to -8 dB, what would that peak level be after the compressor?

-17 dB

Which products have the most dynamic range?

-Cinema -Classical and jazz genre music

What are four good uses for compression?

-Making sure a particular track, sound or instrument is always audible (Never allowed to get quiet) - Keeping the level of the sound even (No surprise peaks jumping out) - Making a final musical mix more "energetic" - Making commercials difficult to ignore

Story Board

A range of documents from a set of illustrations to a formal proposal, or scope of work that takes you through the story.

What does the crafting of sound effects and Foley provide for the medium?

A sense of realism and it cements the characters into their surroundings.

Why should you remember the microphone is like a flashlight shining in your face?

So that you stay talking directly into the mic (where the light would be).

Ben Burtt

Sound Designer for Star Wars

What are Metcalf's 8 suggestions for efficient editing of sound? (There is a good chance this will appear on a quiz!)

1. Listen intently to what you are doing. 2. Learn Keyboard Shortcuts to speed up your work 3. Dedicated Edit Track 4. Keep one audio track assigned just for editing 5. Accuracy in cuts, edits, and transitions 6. Off The Grid: Use slip mode (Pro Tools), or your DAW's equivalent, making sure that things aren't set to snap to any grid! 7. Multi-tool: If you're using Pro Tools, as I do, the multi-tool can save you time. It allows you to access various editing tools contextually, based on where you position the cursor on the sound clip. 8. One Sound, Two Tracks: Some sounds you might be tempted to place on a single track are better off placed on two or more.

How many audio tracks should you expect could be perceived any one moment?

3-4 is enough

What is the starting distance for lips to microphone?

6-12 inches

How did he enhance the sound of the arrow hitting HARD?

A "wood split" sound and a sound of the flex of the arrow resonating.

Sound Mixer

Puts together the dialog, music, and effects to form a soundtrack

What is a hard cut?

Quick changes in audio from one scene to the next. Emphasize the sudden change. You want the energy or style of your sound to pop from one context to another to be effective.

Production

Record, invent, write the music

Production Recordist

Records while filming - dialog and some sound effects

What can you control with automation?

Volume, Pan, Mute, Reverb, EQ, or other effects.

What created the sound of snow footfalls?

Walking in play sand and stepping on corn starch in a bag

What dramatic sounds were heard in the 2001 Space Oddessy extra-vehicular (space walk) scenes?

We hear only the characters breathing and the sound of air being pumped through his helmet. The silence of everything else emphasizes this tension.

What is an advantage of creating a separate automation track, over simply adding automation to an audio track?

You can have multiple automations and see them and edit them at the same time. More organized and clear.