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In the US, are illegal immigrants more likely to commit crimes? Trump has claimed numerous times that part of the reason we need to close the border is that the illegal immigrants are prone to crimes. I want to check these claims. Are illegal immigrants more prone to committing crimes then the average US citizen? Ob... | Numerous studies show that immigrants (legal and undocumented) are actually less likely to commit violent crime.
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Is trichina a deadly parasite? This book claims: Wikipedia says the disease caused by trichina is trichinosis and the risk of death is low (citing a book which is not available online, ISBN 978-0-7020-5101-2). About 10,000 infections occur a year.[6] At least 55 countries including the United States, China, Arg... | Yes, trichina can cause deaths and it has caused deaths. The mortality rate of trichinosis is about 1%.
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Is tequila a probiotic? This viral video on Facebook , with 31 million views, claims that tequila is a probiotic, enhances insulin production, and helps potentiate certain medications. Is there any truth to this? <Q> No. <S> A probiotic food, as defined by the dictionaries (1) (2) (3) must contain benefical... | Prebiotics are carbohydrates ( WebMD ), so if tequila does not contain carbohydrates, it does not contain prebiotics.
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Did Donald Trump say that "global warming was a hoax invented by the Chinese"? In the Presidential debate of 26th September, Hillary Clinton claimed that "Donald Trump said that global warming was a hoax invented by the Chinese" . Trump replied several times "I did not say that". Did he say (or write) that? <Q> He d... | Yes, Donald Trump did call climate change a Chinese hoax . Yes, he absolutely said that.
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Has any immigrant from any of the countries named in Trump's executive order been guilty of terrorism on US soil? President Trump has recently issued an executive order titled Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States , suspends the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) for 120 days a... | To get a truthful point one must say: no foreign born terrorist has killed an American on American soil and been convicted in a US court of terrorism.
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Is the USA murder rate at a high? Specifically is it at a 45 year high? Current US President Donald Trump is on record as repeatedly saying that "The murder rate is the highest it's been in I guess 45-47 years." Is that true? <Q> NO! <S> The EXACT OPPOSITE is true. <S> According to this comprehensive listing sh... | According to this page from fbi.gov , the murder rate and the total number of murders for the year 2015 is lower than every year between 1996 and 2008. No, the US Murder Rate is not the highest it's been in the past 45 years.
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Do airlines in North America make around $10 profit per customer? A quick google search returns several articles such as this one claiming that airlines make less than $10 in profit from each customer. I feel there are a few reasons to doubt this premise: You can connect through some destinations more cheaply than ... | Another source is the IATA's Dec 2016 forecast for 2017 per passenger profits: North American carriers: $19.58.
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Do wind turbines consume more energy than they produce in a lifetime? A rumor in my region states that a wind turbine consumes far more energy while being built and setup than it can produce in a lifetime. The debate is about modern, freshly built turbines in Southern Germany. Is there evidence that this is true? ... | The Guardian cites a 2010 study that found: the average windfarm [sic] produces 20-25 times more energy during its operational life than was used to construct and install its turbines.
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Could someone who sent a letter in 19th century London expect a reply within 2 hours? The official QI Twitter account (@qikipedia) today said the following : If you sent a letter in 19th century London you could expect a reply within 2 hours Is there any merit to this claim? <Q> I interpret the claim to not be abo... | Victorians expected that a letter might arrive two to three hours after posting, although to the dismay of many patrons, it often took eight to nine hours (still far speedier than mail service today).
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Does the owner of the Washington Post have a deal with the CIA worth 600 million dollars? Jimmy Dore says in this video , Their owner has a 600 million dollar deal with the CIA. Six hundred million dollars, how much is that Jimmy? That's three times what the Washington Post is fucking worth. He has a deal with the CI... | Sources (swiped verbatim from ChrisW's excellent answer ):The current owner of The Washington Post is Jeff Bezos , who also founded Amazon.
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Do Russians get depressed the same way Americans do? In 2010, The Wired wrote an article called "Why Russians Don't Get Depressed" , describing a paper in Psychological Science. Others, such as The Atlantic and Reuters , wrote about the study as well. The article made many bold observations, such as While rum... | A more accurate title would read: "Why Russians Are Less Likely to Get Depressed When Ruminating."
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"Chance for a Spinster": Is this a real newspaper advertisement from 1865? I recently encountered this tweet , claiming that an ad was placed by a man "Looking for a wife in 1865." (Click image to enlarge.) CHANCE FOR A SPINSTER. -- A young man in Aroostook County, Maine, advertising for a wife, speaks of himself ... | So I put the words into Google search, and I found that it's from Harper's Weekly , Volume IX, Issue 453, Page 551 , in the section called "Humors of the Day."
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Is charging your phone overnight dangerous? There are a number of news stories like this (in Russian) of an iPhone 5 burning up and causing a fire while charging overnight, seriously damaging the owner. There's another story going around of a girl dying because she was listening to her headphones overnight while t... | charging your phone overnight is no more dangerous than charging, using, or carrying it at day. All rechargeable batteries have a risk of causing injury if they are misused or they are faulty. The battery is left alone without current going into or out of it.
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Did spaghetti originate in China? From an English-speaking competition at Beijing in 2005 , a contestant claimed that spaghetti came from China. The contestant said that Marco Polo lived in China for 20 years. He learned making noodles there and then brought the knowledge back to Europe. Is that true? <Q> This is a ... | Pasta was made and preserved in Europe well prior of Marco Polo.
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Has ESPN removed broadcaster Robert Lee from a game, citing the name of a confederate general? From Fox News ESPN pulls Asian-American announcer from Virginia football game because he has a Confederate general's name In the wake of the events in Charlottesville, Va., ESPN decided to pull one of its announcers from ... | It is true that the announcer Robert Lee scheduled for the game in Charlottesville was switched to a different game by ESPN.
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Do companies sometimes sabotage their products before selling them? This might be the case for the iPhone. I'm skeptic that this is a general practice because on the surface, customers would just migrate to competing products... Maybe this practice is common for products that are in the lead/have a monopoly? From ... | For the more general question, yes, planned obsolescence is a thing and not just because companies want to make money (though that can be a motivating factor ). Evidence suggests that it still happens (as in the case of HP), but is relatively rare, perhaps because they're punished (by the consumer and/or legal system) ... |
Has Trump's administration been making more human trafficking arrests than the Obama administration? I come across this image below circulation on the internet. The image is comparing the human trafficking arrests during Trump's and Obama's administrations. Are these figures true? <Q> The earliest mention online - an... | This graph is a false comparison, as has been stated earlier.
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Is this a real photo of Australia? How was this photo captured? Is it CGI? It looks a little odd to me. EDIT: No, nobody claimed this was a real photo, I was personally curious and skeptical to whether it was, and unaware of the requirement before I posted. (This was my first question on skeptics.SE) <Q> No, it is n... | They were actually created by graphic artist Anton Balazh (Антон Балаж) from St. Petersburg, Russia. The following images are not actual photographs from space, though many people on the internet have mistaken them for real photos from NASA.
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Is there a death penalty if you jump off a building (and don't die) in New York? According to dumblaws.com , in New York (City? State? or both?): The penalty for jumping off a building is death. It is the second most-voted weird law in NY in ranker.com also: If Jumping Off a Building Doesn't Kill You... the C... | If it ever existed in New York, I'm pretty sure that New York City did not have the authority to execute people, so as stated the law is probably bogus. All laws related to attempted suicide in the State of New York were repealed before 1964. Under the current US Constitutional regime (since 2008), the Death Penalty ca... |
Can psychedelic drugs cure depression? Some friends that I have met over the years who are into psychedelic drugs such as 'shrooms, LSD, and ecstasy (aka "molly") seem to be considerably happier people - they have lots of friends, they go to lots of parties, and seem to always have a jam-packed social life outside of w... | Psychedelics were explored as treatments for a many mental disorders including PTSD and depression by many reputable psychologists before prohibition began.
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Are more people killed with hammers than with guns in the US? There are countless sources claiming that There are more deaths from being attacked by hammers than by guns. http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2017/10/second_amendment_gun_control_a.html http://gunssavelives.net/assault-weapons-ban/more-people-ki... | Thus, it's apparently not true that there are more homicides per year by hammers than by guns.
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Is Microsoft going to produce an operating system based on Linux? I just read from this title that Microsoft is creating a Linux operating system called "Azure Sphere OS" . Is this true? <Q> Yes, this is Microsoft's entry into the world of internet connected devices <S> It is using a customised linux kernel as this ... | Microsoft has released a Linux-based system before (though not as an "operating system" product): https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-demonstrates-its-linux-based-azure-cloud-switch-operating-system/
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Did 64,000 married Indian men take their own lives in 2012 after charges of domestic abuse? Section 498a of the Indian penal code makes it an offence for a husband or his family to subject his wife to cruelty or harassment. Hridaya-Nest of Family Harmony is a Men's Rights organisation that claims that Section 498a i... | There were a total of 79,773 deaths by suicide of Indian men in 2012, in which 63,349 were due to non-illness, regardless of false claims of Section 498a or not.
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Is the F-35 aircraft literally invisible? Donald Trump said of the F-35 "You can’t see it. You literally can’t see it. It’s hard to fight a plane you can’t see" The video of him saying this makes it seem as if he really believes it can't be seen. Is the F-35 literally invisible, as Trump claims? Can it become invi... | Russian VHF radars can spot F-35s ... If you mean invisible as "not be seen", which I do believe you do, the answer is: No, it cannot be invisible.
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Did Republicans take 10 of 13 Congressional seats in the 2018 North Carolina general election with roughly the same number of votes as Democrats? This image has been shared on social media Transcription: Gerrymandering in North Carolina 1,747,742 votes for Democrats = 3 Congressional seats 1,638,684 votes for ... | Ten of the seats went to Republicans and three to Democrats (Districts 1, 4, and 12), with most Republican wins being quite narrow and Democrats wins overwhelming.
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Do people in USA have to take an unpaid vacation day to vote? As a European I was quite shocked to hear that people in the USA have to take an unpaid vacation day from work to be able to take part in elections. Is that really true? So do people really get their salary reduced in a month where they take part in an el... | Some state laws require employers to give their employees a specific amount of time off to cast their ballots. The rules vary by state.
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Did the UK government pay "millions and millions of dollars" to try to snag Julian Assange? In a Fox News broadcast (timestamp 2:59) , Greg Palkot (London-based senior foreign affairs correspondent for Fox News) said of Julian Assange: "He has cost the UK government and security forces, police here, millions and mill... | The Metropolitan Police said the costs were covered by the budget for diplomatic protection , which provides policing for embassies in the UK. Yes, back in 2015 a figure of around £11 million was estimated by the Metropolitan Police. Scotland Yard has spent about £10m providing a 24-hour guard at the Ecuadorean embassy... |
Does the Creighton Method of Natural Family Planning have a failure rate of 3.2% or less? The Creighton Method of natural family planning claims to have a 3.2% failure rate for typical use, and a failure rate of 0.5% for perfect use. However, my primary care doctor said that Natural Family Planning in general has a... | The Creighton model is an effective method of family planning when used to avoid or achieve pregnancy.
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Does Australia produce unique 'specialty steel'? Wikipedia quotes Bob Woodward's Fear : Trump in the White House , writing: Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull successfully lobbied President Trump to get an exemption at the 2017 G20 Hamburg summit, arguing "[w]e do this steel that's specialty steel. W... | So yes, it's quite likely that Australia produces some steel alloys that are unique to its steel mills.
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Does ascending one step burn 0.1 kcal of energy? The Tsukuba Express Akihabara station has 0.1 kcal markings painted on the steps up from the platform. Is this accurate? Obviously it's going to depend on the person but broadly speaking do you burn approximately 0.1 kcal per step? The top step is 4.0 kcal. Pretty dep... | An actual study found that the cost of climbing stairs for a 70 kg person was about 0.15 kcal per step, for 20.3 cm (8 in) steps (going at 1.17 step/s), i.e. about 0.74 kcal/m.
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Can social isolation kill babies? According to the Wikipedia page for Language Deprivation Experiments , An experiment allegedly carried out by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the 13th century saw young infants raised without human interaction in an attempt to determine if there was a natural language [...] The ... | I would guess that such extreme neglect might not directly cause death but could make the body less good at fighting infection so that such children might die of an illness that a normal child could fight off.
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Has the flu already killed 20,000 Americans during 2019-20 flu season? Fox News has this article titled "Flu has killed 20K Americans including 136 children so far [as of March 2020] in this [2019-20] flu season, CDC says". The CDC said that so far this season, 34 million people have gotten the flu, and about 20,00... | The number of confirmed deaths due to influenza has been much less than 20,000 for the 2019-2020 flu season through March 5th 2020.
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Is this 'United Nations New World Order' website affiliated with the United Nations? I stumbled upon this website: https://unnwo.org/ . The United Nations New World Order Project is a global, high-level initiative founded in 2008 to advance a new economic paradigm, a new political order, and more broadly, a new worl... | According to a press briefing published on the official un.org , the website is not associated with the UN:
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Is there more police brutality in cities controlled by the Democratic party? Shaun King posted this claim on Twitter: Democrats, from top to bottom, are running the cities with the worstpolice brutality in America right now. Is this true? It seems to have been picked up by several right wing news outlets, including... | Yes It's not a very technical or precise claim, but its essence is factually sound.
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Sound Recording for Film Recently I shot a short film but needed to do this film with NO budget. I was able to get a camera for free as well as someone to shoot it - Sound however became a problem. Very few sound guys are eager or willing to "sponsor" equipment for a day and then further than that to work on-set and mi... | A good sound mixer will know how to use good gear appropriately.
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Can you suggest a good contact mic for sound design? (average cost of proposal would be much appreciated) I would like to try some ideas for some really wierd sounds and I think a good contact mic would give me better results at that! Also I would like to ask if you think its a good idea to plug this mic or any mic o... | Chuck Russom and Tim Prebble use Barcus Berry Planar Wave contact mics , and there are many contact microphones like the BB that are intended for use on instruments that are pretty professional, albeit at a higher price.
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A good value sound library search engine for the Mac? I'm looking into having a sound library search engine for my sounds. My organised folders and filenames work to a point, but I can see soon it will get a little too much. I've looked at some of the professional sound library search engines, like Sound Miner and NetM... | I guess I'd recommend AudioFinder for a turnkey solution that is very affordable.
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Movies with "POV" of deaf characters Hi, I' m doing some research right now for a movie i ll be doing in a couple of months. Can you recommend me any movie where a sound "POV" from a deaf character is used? I d like to see different approaches to this situation.Thanks a lot! <Q> I did a short film a few years ago where... | Another valuable reference might be the documentary about deaf percussionist Evelyn Glenny, Touch The Sound - there are excerpts from it on youtube including a beautiful improv with Fred Frith... There Will Be Blood Sur Mes Lèvres (Read My Lips) There was also a recnet Australian film called "Noise" (written and direct... |
How do you insure your gear? Or do you? I recently took a trip to Hawaii and decided to bring some of my recording gear with me to record some ambiances, whales and other things I don't get the chance to hear in Southern California. I went to my insurance agent (with one of the big agencies) and inquired about gettin... | I have renter's insurance (which is about $300 a year), which covers my house (which I currently rent), everything in it (up to an amount that you specify to them), and anything that is with me on trips (as long as you have the proper documentation).
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As a sound designer, do you buy 'audiophile' equipment for home use? I'm interested in finding out the 'professional view' on audiophile equipment. Based on your professional experience, would you spend hundreds on an HDMI lead, thousands on an amp etc? <Q> I do. <S> I would, and do, spend a lot of money on speakers,... | The audiophiles I've got to know all care about gear that sounds musical (often at the cost of looking weird) to their ears.
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Looking for a good but cheap hardware mid-side decoder. I currently have a DIY M-S decoder, which is very noisy and the stereo image is wrong. The mid is much lower than it should and the sides are overbearing. Basically, it is impossible for me to monitor properly. I don't want to decode before going into the reco... | Most field mixers have m/s decoding built in.
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Getting past your sound design "writing blocks" I'm usually pretty good at imagining what I want something to sound like. I helps that I don't do a whole lot of work that require any fancy sound design, so most of my sound design so far is for my own edification. However, I'm just about to start work on a horror / gh... | One thing that has always been helpful for me is to simplify my workflow.
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Good visual source material to practice sound design on? Hello. I'm curious to where I can find good visual source material to practice sound design on and maybe get a sound reel out of it to show off later? Currently I have composed music to an image. I've done a few sound reels which are purely audio and are just m... | If you can rip an animation or film from a DVD and re-design the sound, is great too. In game trailers and gameplay stuff you also can find a lot of material. My mind went straight to Archive.org, as Andrew already mentioned. For example; http://www.artbeats.com/ is one of them.
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What sound design books have influenced you the most? There are so many great books on sound design. I'm interested in hearing about a book that has been your faithful companion. You can pick one per discipline you're involved in. My selection is: Sound design for film : Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music,... | Sound on Film: interviews with Creators of Film Sound by Vincent LoBrutto My favorites: Soundscape Edited by Larry Sider Soundscape:
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Tips for recording/designing ball kicks I need a bunch of sounds of rugby balls being kicked. I need big, I need small, and everything in between. In the movie, the kicks always happen on the field outdoors. I have an idea as to how I want to approach this, but I don't have much time to experiment so I want to get it... | Parallel processing can work well with ball kicks, ie heavily compress the ball kick to make it really thump but play it together with the original recording at an appropriate level so you can control the amount of impact without it sounding unnatural. I have also filled a sports bag with wet clothes and hit that with ... |
Budget not large, really need to get an on location sound kit together for a possible job! Hello everyone. My budget isn't large and I'm looking to get together a little on location sound get together quickly for a possible job that is coming up. Now, as usual with me, I jump before I can even walk, so I may of landed... | Rent is the way to go and get some cash coming in - no point in jumping in and buying gear without thinking it through or ultimately, buying what you can afford now and having to upgrade a few months later - worth saving your cash and buying good stuff once. If possible have a talk with the director to assess what kind... |
What's the strangest sound you've recorded? The 'strange' aspect can be the context it was recorded in, or the actual sound recorded..come on - weird me out! <Q> Took cave tour in Arkansas and the tour guide was talking about how he could play "Greensleeves" on the stalactites, the pitch was so pure. <S> I arranged a p... | One of my strangest must be the recordings I made of a broken toilet that produced plenty of interesting noises after you flushed it. I once recorded a pig that could strum an acoustic guitar that was lying on the ground. I managed to sneak my Zoom H2 onto "Tower of Terror" ride in Disney World in Tokyo!
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How creative can you be as a working sound designer? This is obviously going to change from project to project. But in general how much freedom do you have within your porjects? Are the budgets and schedules so tight that you just have to go with what you can within the constraints, or are you given free range in ord... | Factors that I find might dictate how much creativity I have on a particular project are: Time Budget Director/producer/client
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RØDE wishlist - What would you recommend? I must put together a wishlist of RØDE equipment (I can't yet say why). I'm okay on the accessories side, it's the mic choices my main concern. My priority is to have a descent kit to record sound effects (in the field mostly and in the studio secondly). Any advice? So far,... | You have to add NTG2 shotgun mic on your wishlist and the mini boom pole suggested by Fiona Fung.
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Best Convolution Impulse Response combos for SFX? I am always searching for new combination of sounds to run as the source and impulse in a convolution plugin. I'm not looking for reverbs so much as cool sfx. I once heard a flame whoosh sent through a glass breaking and it ended up sounding ice fireball! Got any ... | I like to play around with TL Space's "Effects" IRs, although they can be hit and miss - sometimes it ends up only sounding like the IR sample itself, while other times it can create interesting results.
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Who is using a vocoder these days and how? This wonderful little device has stood the test of time but rarely does it make its way into my sound design bag o' tricks. Who has good tips or stories? Btw, my version of a vocoder comes by way of Pro Tools plug-ins…what are you folks using? <Q> I don't often use a vocoder,... | I usually use vocoder to create unusual rhythmic elements when I need an uptempo track for chase scenes or high intensity moments in the video footage.
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Types of Computer Generated Music Software As an Artist and also a Software developer I have always Loved the idea of computer generated music. I was just wondering about all of the types that there are. I have written several myself in ruby.. That converts number patterns and Text into Music along with images etc.. ... | SuperCollider is a very interesting software which uses code to create sounds: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SuperCollider
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Hmmm what about Sound Design talk? (jet engines) OK I'll try to change the typical "what's the best mic, best recorder, etc." question and ask something about Sound Design!!! To the point now! I have to make a sound like jet engines (airplane fight scene), and I want to achieve that characteristic Shoooooooshhhhh effe... | I've gotten a pretty cool jet sound (interior perspective) from two industrial fans that were on the set of an airplane interior shot.
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Do you trust Firewire Audio Interfaces for live performance? I wonder if anyone would like to weigh in on their experience using firewire interfaces. I have a MOTU Ultralite mk1. I would be EXTREMELY happy with it, if it didn't flake out and lose contact with my laptop every now and then. I could be tracking in Logic,... | I have used Focusrite's Saffire Pro 10 interface for 3 years and it has been rock solid.
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What behind the scenes videos about sound design would you recommend watching on the web? I love watching videos about sound designers' work. I particularly enjoy anything about or by Ben Burtt . What videos would you recommend? It is always great to see other's working environments as well as hear about their moti... | Everything from designingsound.org is great: the interviews the sound designer profiles etc
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Travelling with gear (customs) So far I have never declared or had issues on arrival but as I'm getting more gear, I'm getting a little apprehensive when going through customs. All this expensive electronics could amount to a serious set back if one has to pay import duties. I'm very unclear as to how it all works. W... | The key seems to be having complete documentation around ownership of the equipment, and paperwork that states that this gear is for a specific use and will not be resold.
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Affordable D to A I am looking for some affordable DA for monitoring. I have an MBOX Pro at home, and I want something a bit better for monitoring. At this point I'm looking at the following which are all in the $850-1100.00 price range: Benchmark DAC1 , Lavry Engineering DA10 , Mytek STEREO96 DAC , Apogee Mini-DAC... | Out of all of those, I'd definitely go with the Apogee.
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Closed headphones, closed, the best for like $ 175 max, which ones? CLOSED headphones you would use when for example micing a voice. <Q> For the talent who's being mic'd or the engineer who is doing the micing? <S> If you want a pair of closed headphones with very little bleed to use for the vocal talent, I would mos... | I recommend the Beyerdynamic DT770 pro 80 ohms , they are a safe bet.
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What are your favorite spectral tools? What are your favorite software tools for spectral analysis/manipulation? And what do you use them for? <Q> Frequency Analysis can show areal-time spectrum SonicVisualiser (open source) - spectrum or spectrogram for pre-existing waveforms <S> Visual Analyser <S> (freeware) ... | Adobe Audition (commercial) - SpectralFrequency Display produces aspectrogram for existing waveformsand
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Tripods/Grips for Handheld Recorders Does anyone have some suggestions for a small and portable tripod or grip for a basic handheld field recorder with tripod mount? I'm mainly looking for something that will help reduce handling noise... <Q> What about the Gorillapod ? <S> I haven't used it myself, but I think it is... | If you're looking for something that will give you height too then you would need a proper tripod with expendable legs.
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552 Mixer or 702 Recorder? (Sound Devices) Background: My main focus is sound effects recording. A very close second at the moment is onset recording (no huge productions though). I own a Fostex FR2 but it is slowly dying on me. It won't switch off unless I cut it's power supply, and it has a serious hard time impo... | Some quick observations on the differences: The 552 won't record higher than 96kHz, so the 702 is the way to go if you want to record 192kHz audio.
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Sound design that cuts through crowd noise I'm about to embark on a sound design project for an interactive piece that will be a public installation. It will always be surrounded by people in a large space (think a trade show floor or lounge-type area), so human background "walla" and environmental noise will always be... | From a psychoacoustic standpoint, you could focus on those sound characteristics that make it stand out from the crowd (-noise):
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How to clean a digitally-distorted recording? We all know what happens when the recording level goes too high during Analog to Digital conversion: harsh non-musical sound covering everything else (ok, on occasion it might be sort of musical, but that's not the point here). It may also happen for no apparent reason with... | Waves De-crackle does an OK job of helping to repair clipped audio but the iZotope RX is brilliant.
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Usefulness of "guerrilla" vs. "pro" recordings Many of the sounds used in feature films are recorded by professional recordists using professional gear, ie. expensive mics, multiple mic setups, multichannel recorders, and multiple days on location. I believe that a well-recorded sound is a useful sound, no matter the ... | With masking and layering in the edit, many times it's hard to tell if the recording was pro or guerrilla (assuming that one is using said recording device to their greatest advantage in terms of proximity, mic direction, etc).
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What is expected from a sound effects editor? What are the exact tasks that a sound effects editor is expected to fulfill? Apart from choosing the effect and editing it, are we expected to also mix, place the SFX in a space, EQ to context, etc.? I'm in a smaller team so I do a lot more than just edit, but it's sometime... | In the most traditional sense of the job, a sound effects editor is expected to take sounds that have been selected for him/her by the supervising sound edtior and edit them against the picture.
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Do you listen to any podcasts about sound design? I regularly listen to a number of audio related podcasts, and I was wondering how popular they are and if I have missed any out. Here's what I currently listen to: AudioNowcast , EM Podcasts , Fistful of Cables , Gameaudio , The Home Recording Show , Home Studio ... | Sound Ideas had a little series on the sound effects .
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Any good sites for collaborating on small projects? ie animations, short films etc? Hi all! I'm looking to collaborate on some projects so that I can update my showreel with a few more recent works. Does anyone know of any sites where it might be useful to post some sound design/editing requests? I enjoy animation and... | Another useful site is Talent Circle . You could start posting on school forums, contacting placement departments, etc...
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How to deal with OMF/AAF on PC platforms When I first started in film, I was coming from a music production angle and could pretty much work on any DAW I wanted, since nothing ever left the program. I was blissfully unaware of the problems with FCP talking with some PC-based products. To make things worse, I'm invest... | This is probably not what you want to hear, but I'd advise migrating to one of the two major platforms commonly used in film post-production sound, which are ProTools or Nuendo .
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Indie Feature Production and Post Production Audio Budgets If you were asked to work post audio on a film, one man band style, and you knew the budget was $150,000, what would you think a fair price would be? This is just for your services. No dolby stuff or anything fancy, no music licensing, etc..., just your editi... | I've done plenty of "one man band" projects and if you aren't VERY STRICT with your clients, you'll end up working for less than $10 / hr.
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Sound Devices New 702, or Used 744T? I've been offered a used 744T , which has spend much of its time in a lab, but also some work in the field. The price is about $500 more then a new 702 . All of my field work has been two channels only up until now, but the extra two seem tempting (I know they don't have the mic... | In my experience, Sound Devices gear holds up to a ton of abuse, so I wouldn't even flinch at buying a used one.
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How do I record snow-based foley without real snow? At the time of recording, conditions were so severe on set that recording on-set foley was out of the question, much less getting clean dialog. Lo and behold, it's now May, all the snow is gone, and I still don't have my footsteps in the snow. I have some library ef... | It depends on the depth & form of the snow - nothing will replace the real thing, especially for deep snow... for footsteps & movement on 30 Days of Night we often used 3 layers: the initial impact was from rock salt that had been wet & left to dry so it formed a crust, then the deeper crunch was from a mix of rock sal... |
How important is union membership for sound designers and production sound mixers? Being relatively new to production sound mixing and post production sound, I've been wandering my way through the indie world not doing too much studio work. How important will it be for me to be a union member to begin working on large... | There are organizations, such as CAS, that a lot of Sound Designers (and Production Mixers) join, but those aren't usually unions. if you wish to work on Union films or TV (which are pretty much all the big films and TV shows), you must be in the union-
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Is the Neumann KMR82i suitable for FX recording? Anyone have experience using this mic for all-purpose FX and/or ambience recording? How's the noise floor? All info is, as usual, much appreciated. Thanks, group - (source: audiorents.com ) ALSO: Also, how about the Sennheiser MKH415 T? (source: saturn-sound.co... | Mono shotgun style mics are not appropriate microphones for ambience recording. I wouldn't use the Kmr82 for ambience, as it is only mono.
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While editing dialogue, what tool do you use to eliminate clicks within words? In order to eliminate clicks in words in Pro Tools, and I use either the Pencil Tool or cut out a cycle of the waveform. What would software tool would you recommend? <Q> I'm all about iZotope RX . <S> It's such a lifesaver for me. <S>... | I check if the job can be done with iZotope RX. If it's something really tiny and don't want to spend time in RX (it can be very time consuming for more complex fixes), I'll go with the old pencil tool trick.
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Futz to make a good newscast sound? I just did a mix on a video that had a clip from a newscast from TV. We re-recorded the line (ADR). I used a lapel mic as that is what they probably used on set.. Do any of you have a preset or certain compression techniques to make the voice sound like a mashed-up news broadcast s... | Try using your favourite distortion plug (I like lo-fi, and SansAmp) set to taste, followed by EQ (6k and 400 cut filters, and then a bump at around 2.5K -adjust to taste). Check out the Cosmonaut Voice plugin.
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How to widen a sound effects dynamics? Uncompression? Hey guys, I have done a lot of sound design using some punches, body falls, kicks, etc. that were mashed and mastered and normalized and compressed and every-which-way processed. Does anyone have a trick to make them sound less compressed and mashed? Is it pretty... | For impact sounds I'd first try to shape some dynamics back into the sound using a combination of volume graphing and EQ spikes on the transients.
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Director knows nothing about sound. Take the job? If you were offered a job as Sound Designer, Re-recording Mixer, SFX editor, or anything to do with sound on a feature film with a director who knows nothing or cares nothing about sound (or not enough to give it much importance in his script or actions or budget), woul... | In short, take the job. In these kinds of situations, my main aim is to IMPRESS the director with sound design, before starting the work.
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Tips on Recording Gunshots I'm headed down to Pennsylvania to help on a shoot this weekend, and I'm really excited because I'll be recording gunfire courtesy of a local Civil War reenactment group. I've never tried recording gunshots before, so I'd like some tips. The max number of tracks that I can record are 4, as I'... | Earplugs or a set of these from BH Photo work great!
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Tips on Car Recording? I was just wondering if anyone had any tips on recording car engines/cars in general? I'm thinking of hiring a Marantz PMD671 to record with, and as for mics, I was going to hire a few different ones to test, mainly a Neumann RSM 191 . But I'm not really sure what would be the best choice ... | One thing to note is that it takes quite a few mics to get the sounds you will need, and it takes a VERY long time to do a full workup of a vehicle, so make sure to plan for that. I have very limited experience recording cars specifically, but when you do get access to great cars and a dynamo setup i would NOT just go ... |
Favorite Mic for Dialogue Dear All, I was wondering what your favorite mic/mics are for recording voice-over or dialogue for whatever type of project you guys are sound designing - video games, films, etc. Additionally, do you have a specific mic for different applications? Like a mic you use mainly for screechy cart... | The mkh8040 gives lovely sound, when positioned down like a boom mic. For filmic sounding VO we use the schoepps CMC 6 with the cardioid capsule about 8-10" away with no pop filter.
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In ear headphones for stealth street recording Hi everybody I've been looking into getting a pair of good in ear headphones, preferably providing decent isolation. This is to use with handheld recorders, if possible to avoid people asking stuff like "are you recording sound?" or "are you looking for radiation?". I'm s... | I love my IE30s and IE 40s made by Ultimate Ears (distributed by M-audio). For the price, you can't beat them.
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Near-Fields or Secondary Monitors? I'm curious if anyone else uses a smaller speaker system or near-fields along with your main monitors to mix or cut effects on. What are you all working on? <Q> Genelec 2029A's at home. <S> Genelec 8030A's with Genelec 7070A's at work. <S> Beyerdynamic DT770Pro <S> 250 ohms ... | I use JBL LSRs as my mains, then I have my rig hooked up to a consumer home theater system in the neighboring room, a pair of Altec Lansing speakers, an assortment of headphones, etc...
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Has anybody used Earthworks microphones for sound effects I think some of you may find this video interesting for the sound recording link text My question is, does anybody use Earthworks microphones on here as I am thinking of investing in a pair. On this video they can apparently pic up the sounds of ants walking... | These mics are unsuitable for recording low-SPL sources as they are very noisy. I haven't used an Earthworks mic for SFX before, but I've used them for many other things.
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3d sound from 5.1 (dolby cinema) speaker system hiis it possible to create fake 3d sound panning (like with headphone and htrs) with a standard 5.1 system? i think no, never heard of any tool or technique that can allow that... <Q> No, you really need a binaural system to allow that. <S> You can simulate the illusion... | I am using wavearts panorama 3d to create hight feel with sound effects in surround and using only the stereo field for these sounds with maybe a little wet reverb in opposite speakers.
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How can I create, or where can I find a decent neck breaking sound? So I am currently busy doing the sound design on a student film which has a character snapping another character's neck with her hands. Thus far I have cut in a sound effect that I found of someone taking a bite out of celery. The sound effect hasn't... | It depends how overt it needs to be, but for breaking internal bones try wrapping objects in towelling eg the celery as one element, wrapped in a light towell & twisted can produce interesting 'internal' breakage sounds that are different to EQing... grab the free VEGETABLE VIOLENCE sounds from http://hissandaroar.com ... |
Sound design courses and full education programs. I live in a not very progressive country, especially with regards to specialisms like sound design. It is in north-eastern europe. And after researching the web I can not find out if there is a place to receive a good education in sound design from a professional perspe... | The MSc in Sound Design at The University of Edinburgh has an excellent reputation.
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How are your Quickeys workflows? Hi I think that Quickeys is a great tool to speed up the workflow in Protools: it fill some hole in PT keycommand and some more. If you use it, how? which are your preferred shortcuts and macros? Here some of mine: A key that zoom at sample level and select pencil; when I releas... | I use QuicKeys with nearly all the applications I use on a regular basis.
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What is your favorite scream? Hey guys, sorry for absence from the forum lately... crazy times... I'd like to know what your favorite blood-curdling screams from film or television are. And nobody better say the Wilhelm scream! I'm talking about bone chilling, brutal screams! <Q> Jaws: <S> When the little boy, Ale... | I recall a lot of interesting yells, screams, and fear vocalizations by the character of Tetsuo in Akira . One of the bullies at school gets pulled over by the zombified dad and when he flips the motorcycle over to play with him - the sound the kid makes is just horrible. Mark Hamill didn't do too badly at the end of E... |
How can I make this deep thud sound, like a cannon in the distance? Hi everyone, I'm working on an art project (http://ll.frey.co.nz) and I'd like to synthesize something that sounds like this. It's a low deep bass thud, as heard on Mark Lanegan's glorious cover of 'Man in the Long Black Coat' from the 'I'm Not There'... | The synthesis trick is to set up a bank of FIR low pass filters, and hit it with an N-Wave.
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Best uses of contrapuntal music in film? First off, if you don't know what contrapuntal music in film is (correct me if I'm not explaining correctly): Music opposite to the emotion expected from the narrative. So for example, to put it plainly, fun music over a sad scene. I just watched "9" and I loved the sound.... | The ear-scene in Reservoir Dogs was the first thing that came to my mind too. My favorite is from Batman (1989) while the Joker is killing his boss, there is a kind of circus vibe to the music. Fallout 3 (as mentioned already), where the radio plays cheery oldies that lie in stark contrast to the nuclear wasteland befo... |
Hearing protection during editing/mixing sessions Ciao How do you protect our most valuable property: our ears? Especially, what's your behavior during editing/mixing sessions? I'll try to take a brake every our or so, even only for a few minutes, but it isn't always easy when you have clients or when you're focused... | ear plugs (custom molds). During mix sessions, I takes breaks as often as possible. If I'm doing panning and general levels and nothing extremely critical like EQ and fine level control, I'll put in flat response I'd imagine people who mix a lot of loud horror or action films will be buying hearing aids in later life, ... |
Most unusual sound technique What was the most unusual and innovative technique of capturing or generating sounds in your entire experience with sound design ? What you have you been forced to do, to achieve the goal? <Q> I once caused a large traffic jam in Belfast. <S> I needed lots of different car horn sounds to r... | I once placed my windscreen/zeppelin on guy wires while striking them, in order to both capture the in-air sound as well as the low-frequency mechanical vibrations, not unlike a contact microphone. putting cheap mics in condoms for underwater recording
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Nice SFX recording mics that are cheap enough that you wouldn't be too upset if they were blown apart in a freak recording accident? My first question to this group. Maybe a gear question is kind of a lame start, but here goes. I've been field recording for quite some time and have acquired over the years some Neuman... | I've used MXL mics for bullet impacts and got good results. I'd go with SM57s for sure, plus try some Radio Shack PZMs (the older Realistic ones) and possibly some DIY contact mics.
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Best Sound Design for a Villain Sound Designers go to great lengths designing their villains. Whether it be foley, pads, atmosphere, ambiences, etc. The one I can't get over is The Joker from Dark Knight. There's also the villain in The Lovely Bones. What are some of the best examples you've come across of Sound Des... | I was always a fan of the pitch-shifting effects on "The Gemini Killer" Brad Dourif's voice in Exorcist III . Regan from "The Exorcist" Donald Sutherland's "silent scream" from 1978's "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"
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What's a good basic mic set for recording SFX Hi my name is Eric. I'm a 21 year old student and I'm going to Full Sail University here in Winter Park, FL. I'm getting my degree in Recording Arts, but I'm definitely more interested in audio post work rather than creating music. I've been doing a lot of research on diffe... | One of my staple mic's for stereo recording is the Rode Try looking at something like the Røde M3 for $150.
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How do you edit out wind? I'm using a Sony MZ-M10 with the stock mic, and a sock wrapped around it (not much wind protection). I just recorded the recycling truck making its rounds, but the wind blew just before it drove off. I loaded it up on soundtrack pro to edit, but it hit me; I don't know how to take the wind out... | Depending on how bad your wind noise is, you might try a multiband expander, if you have access to one.
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How often do you use limiters during field recording? Most field mixers and portable recorders have basic limiters at least for the stereo output. Stereo linked, no threshold or release, just switch it on or off. When recording vocals I prefer recording without limiter even if I have to record at lower levels. For ambi... | I don't use a limiter for any recording, field or studio. I find that limiters help with sounds that have a long attack time and go out of control such as public transport, especially trains...
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How do I charge for sound design? Hey All, We've had variations of this question before, but here goes: Let's say I've been hired to do the sound design for a company ident 20 secs long. The job requires a bit of composition, sound design and then of course, final mix is on my time too.I estimate that I sound have 2 ... | If I'm doing a longer project, say a week to a month, I'll either charge by the job (if it is a defined, simpler job) or by the day.
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Recording Sound Effects in Urban Environments So, I'm a sound effects recordist that lives in downtown Orlando. Now, for a huge city, Orlando isn't terribly noisy (compared to NYC or LA at least), but I do often find it difficult to capture clean sounds. I've picked up a few tips, tricks, and techniques here and ther... | Mic selection and placement can help a great deal as well. If I am really pushed I use phase cancellation. Two simple techniques that work here in LA: Record on Sunday mornings.
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What's your favorite mix / sound design from a Suspense Thriller? Suspense Thrillers are a little bit about the visual, and a lot a bit about the audio. What is your favorite mix and/or sound design in a suspense thriller movie? What really drew you in about it? Was it more music based sound design or effect based? ... | The atmosphere in the house, along with the best "something happening in another room" sound.
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