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Best use of sound design in a comedy? OK, we've covered "favorite sounds" and "best sound in a thiller", but what about comedies , where the sound effects usually cower in fear of dialog and music? And what is it about those moments that sell the comedic for you? A couple bold, in-your-face quickies for me are: The...	The Simpsons has brilliant sound design, almost every episode has some very funny sound design moments. I think I saw a recent episode where Mr Burns was playing a WWII video game, all of the death screams were Wilhems :D
What's your method of making time slow down? There are a number of different ways to make audio slow down. I'm talking about sound that slows (and pitches) down to a stop, much like if you were to stop the motor on a record player without lifting up the needle. It's a lot easier to do now with elastic / flex audio. ...	In reaper and any other hosts I can always automate a pitch plug-in, I could use a sampler with a pitch wheel as well or if I have a lower bitrate file
How do I make "sound booth" sounding ADR sound natural? I recently completed a short film that needed a full dialog re-recording. The only space we were able to find was in a musician's studio with a sound booth. It sounds good as voice over, but for natural sounding dialog, I cannot make it sound like it is in the e...	For yelling or loud passages try changing the microphone axis and if the sound "colors" the voice try a different booth or placement of the talent in the room, if he yells facing the glass you always will get those harmonics changing the natural timbre and destroying the illusion of outdoor.
How do I practice Sound Design? I'm relatively new to sound design and audio for film but am extremely interested. Lately I've been downloading commercials, video game trailers and movie trailers and just trying to recreate the audio and fill in with my own creations I think are appropriate. I was wondering if anyone ...	I can only speak from personal experience but I learned a hell of a lot from working on short films for free when I started out.
How do you maintain good ear health? There was a question here a little bit ago asking about ear protection during mixing. A broader question for us all that use our ears for a living is: What do you do to maintain ear health? Do you go for regular checkups? Clean ears with something specific? Keep ear plugs wit...	I think it makes sense to respect your ears, and not meddle with them too much unless there's an obvious problem. I've had doctors tell me to clean my ears out daily with Q-tips Take frequent breaks when you need towork/mix at loud volumes. Always mix at a reasonable volume. Carry ear-protection with you. Through resea...
Career Potential in Field Recording Hi there. After using field recordings prominently in my own creative work over the last couple of years and going on a few workshops I'm seriously considering it as a bread and butter work line. My only education is as an MA fine art graduate where all the guidance was based around ...	Not to sound negative, but I doubt you'll be able to make a living just field recording sound effects. I think the way to set yourself apart in field recording is to take the time, effort, and energy to either record things people haven't yet heard, haven't recorded well or deeply
Good examples of internal conflict in film, using sound design I am staring work on a full length feature, and one of the main characters is prone to anxiety/panic attacks. Can people help me compile a quick reference list of their favorite uses of this sort of sound design in film. ie. when a character is freaking o...	Inglorious Basterds has some great sound design that's heavily influenced by music. The scene in Jarhead where the narrator states that his 'combat action has commenced', is well done, almost complete silence, but i'm not sure it really fits what you're asking.
Oktava MK-012 as a SFX recording mic? Alternatives? About SFX recordings, I've read a lot on here. About mics too. I still am surprised not to find anything on the Oktava being used for SFX. I'm in a situation where I have a bit of money, but not so much. Just bought a pair of Adam A7's and now I want a cardioid conden...	The oktavas sound really good, are physically small, and you can get a tonof different capsules.
How to Develop Critical Listening Skills? I'm new to the world of sound recording, and one of my questions is: What are some good ways to develop "critical listening skills"? While I realize that "listening" is highly subjective, I'd like to learn to discern the more subtle characteristics of various sounds and become...	Another well-regarded technique is sitting somewhere and writing down every sound you hear.
On the hunt for a new pair of ears Hey. I'm looking for a new pair of lightweight and compact (ideally closed back) headphones for field recording as my DT100s are a little bulky and I'm not happy with the quality with any other pair I have. Does anyone have a recommendation? <Q> The Sony MDR-7506 headphones could be ...	I'm a fan of the Sennheiser HD280 headphones.
Length of time working on an unpaid internship As a recent graduate, I'm about to submit a couple applications working as an intern at an audio post facility and at a production company. Both do not specify length of time. I assume the quality of my work as an intern would ultimately define that. But I was wondering if...	This is up to you because internship is not all about proving yourself to get a job, but gain experience which will establish a solid foundation for any future project.
In the studio, should I have a sub or not? One of my early teachers in music production indicated that having a subwoofer in the recording studio will skew the true nature of the sound. We can all agree that without proper room treatment, even the best monitors won't be worth their weight, however, in a well balanced ...	I think it all depends on what type of mixing your doing.
this is probably a dumb question Does nuendo4 work on the icore7 macbook pro properly? I have been having a few problems with it. For instance when I import an omf, the sounds are all squashed together and out of sync, when I import i select the timecode position option and it still goes out of sync? Is nuendo 4 compa...	If Nuendo works on an Intel Mac, it works on all Intel Macs until they dramatically change of architecture.
Suggestions for books on sound synthesis and electronic music production Hi,I'm mainly interested in producing electronic music (breakcore, dubstep and so on). I have a decent knowledge of music theory and I can create not-so-bad drum patterns, but when it comes to create or manipulate a sound (for a drum kit, or a syn...	I would recommend two books: The Art of Digital Audio by John Watkinson and Elements of Computer Music by F. Richard Moore.
Can you plan field recording to avoid flight patterns / air traffic? To piggyback on Colin's post about recording effects in urban environments. How do you avoid air traffic? I'm in DC and between two major airports and in the flyover zone for the Pentagon and White House. Unpredictable government air traffic aside,...	You're only bet is to record late night / early morning when planes don't fly.
How do I get meaningful experience if I'm in the middle of nowhere? I'm an aspiring sound designer who is going to school in a tiny Southern town. We don't have a film program, and while the music department has some music technology, there are only four courses. I can sound design for theater and work at the radio sta...	You can learn a lot from the internet
Organization of Pro Tools Sessions Hey all you professional peers, I am curious how you organize and keep track of different versions of Pro Tools sessions. How do you write the date? Do you have a standard naming convention you use? Do you use a Revision system? Like "R1", "R2", etc. tagged at the end of the sessi...	My session name is something like: ProjectName_reelNumber_id_progressiveLetter_versionDate
My Academic Research- Would LOVE some suggestions! Hey you guys! Hello from a sound design/ sound engineering student from Brazil :) Recently I decided to come up with a Research to apply for the Master's Degree in USP (Sao Paulo University, in Brazil) since one of the programs has an specific class for Sound Design (...	You may also consider looking at the sound design employed in films by the Cohen brothers.
tricks to generate emotions through soundscapes Of cause, one of the main tasks of sounddesign is to create subconscious emotional conditions at the listener. For example the sounddesign of the movie >silence of the lambs<. May you remind of the scene in buffalo bills basement, where little Catherine is caught in a wel...	Silence is one of the most under-utilized tools in the sound designer's repertoire to manipulate the audience.
keeping insects away from furry windscreens Not sure how common a problem this is for people... Lately I've been recording in 'buggy' places to capture ambient nature sounds. I recently upgraded to some decent cardioid mics which always need wind protection because of their high sensitivity. Problem is, mosquitoes, fli...	But I'd be most concerned about the insect repellent coming in contact with the wind screens due to a chemical reaction with the foam. You could try and distract their attention away from your microphones with some strategically placed jam
In defense of narration... Voice over narration gets a bit of a bad rap. I hear detractions all the time. "It's just being used to tie together a poorly written story." "The audience is smart enough to figure it out without this crap." It goes on. I'll admit, when it doesn't work, it's just plain awful. Sometimes...	One sign that gives voice over a far better chance of working is when its actually written into the script (as opposed to adding it later because the film doesn't work)
How often do you send mics to the doctor? I own 4 vintage U87s from the 70s among other vintage Neumann, AKG and Telefunkens. But those are the main ones I use for voice-over and they get a lot of mileage. I'm thinking of sending them in somewhere to get checked up on. They are doing fine but I don't know if a routine ...	Back when I worked in music the engineers I know would send their prize vocal mics to get cleaned every year.
Using a Bow for Sound Effects When bowing cymbals, wires, plates, etc. to create sounds. How much does the quality of the bow matter? I was looking on ebay for a bow and the price range is insane. Can I cheap out? What's the point of diminishing returns? Is there a benefit to certain types of wood? What other qualitie...	The size of the bow is important as well as the choice of rosin. Regarding technique, it completely depends on the surface of the object and where its "sweet spot" is - you'll only figure out your technique after some experimentation.
Best way to format a drive for sound? I have a Mac, but to ensure Windows/Mac compatibility, I have always used FAT32 to format and never had an issue - until now! FAT32 is limited to 4GB files, and while doing some file arranging last night, I couldn't move my project videos, which are often over 20GB. I need to re-...	On any Windows PC you do manage, install Macdrive
How do I prepare my sound files professionally to share with others? Hello. I have a question about embedding the correct sort of metadata and general professional preparation for my sound files so I can pass to others and it'll be appropriate for their professional uses. I have read this thread where other threads (...	I'd strongly encourage the purchase of Soundminer because you can really wrangle metadata much more efficiently in that program - inclusive of embedding descriptions in the bwav header file that is read by wave agent, PT and all of the others.
Creating insect-like voices for talking flies I've been asked by a friend to help create some convincing and comical voices for talking flies in a stop motion short. After thinking about how to do this the best I could come up with was to pitch up normal speech a few semitones and then put a vocoder on the track chann...	He used a combination of his own vocal sounds and buzzing noises made by talking through the edge of a piece of paper, which he then cut up and rearranged to make it sound less human.
Noise reduction on my library sounds? Yes or no? Hi everyone, My recordings are all noisy to some extent, but I want to say it's only preamp noise. Should I process my audio for NR just now and get rid of the raw file or should I leave that NR to appreciation for each and every case I'll need this particular effec...	For me it depends on the sound that is going to be mastered. I'd agree with the suggestions to keep the raw files, even if they're just backed up somewhere and the drive collects dust for years.
Compression? When do you use it, if ever? If at all and when and how do you use compression? I'm curious to see who out there actually uses it. You can answer with referring to either recording or mixing. I have already asked if you use compression to master your mixes when you are finished. I am more interested in t...	I often use compression in post-production, both in subtle and radical ways:
Creating sounds of a Air Conditioning Shaft I've got a programme coming up in a couple of weeks, where the characters spend most of the episode crawling around inside a big air conditioning shaft. I'm taking charge of foley, and obviously want to shoot the sound as authentic as I can. I want to get some material togeth...	If this is for a scene with people who crawl through a metallic shaft, go get a large flexible metal serving tray/platter and bend it around for all of the knee-steps and crawling noises - I think that would sound great.
Have you ever not made a deadline? This is kind of a fun question and forgive me if it's not necessarily relevant to sound design: But, I'm going to ask it anyway! Have you ever missed or gone over the deadline for Television or Film? I hear horror stories about a Sports post production facility that the guy had to ...	I mix a investigative journalism show (kind of Canada's version of "60 Minutes") and we were always running up against the deadline in a near miss fashion.
Should I Buy A Sony PCM-M10? I have a first generation M-Audio Microtrack (which I'm not a fan of) and was looking to pickup another portable recorder that I can fit in my pocket and barely notice it's there. This guy is getting good reviews but I was wondering what you guys thought. Have any of you tried recording q...	The internal mics are good (especially for ambience stuff - check out the Nature Recording Group as there's a good few people who like it there and comparisons between the D50 and M10 were damn close).
How do you tackle time lapsed footage? More action to articulate, less time to do it in. What's your approach to Slo-mo's evil twin? [youtube]coWd4YHVe14[/youtube] Pitched-up, time-compressed FX have gotten me through plenty of short clips of scenes like this. Sped up stopwatches have become a standard element, and i...	I would, again, use some time compression on the head of the clip, but only enough so that the listener could identify that the effect isn't playing back in real time; I'd like it to be a bit more subtle in this use. It really depends on what the intent & meaning of the timelapse is.
What do you think about Sanken css 5 for recording ambience? HI! I d like to know if anyone have used a Sanken CSS 5 for recording ambience. What do you think about it? Is it noisy? I m planning to use it with a sound devices 702 to record some forest ambience.Thanks a lot! <Q> I think it's an awesome microphone <S> bu...	If all you're looking to capture is ambience I would check out some other mics. I think it is a great sounding mic, and I too wouldn't recommend it for quiet ambiences.
Slates and jamming time code We've run into a little bit of a conundrum here at work. We're still going to do more testing, and I'm sure we'll be able to figure it out, but I thought I'd ask here to see if anyone has experienced something similar. The overall test was for a multi-camera shoot using a SONY EX3 XD came...	Daisy chaining time code through a recorder doesn't appear to affect the time code running to the slate (read - doesn't further offset timecode).
Making dialogue more intelligible through M&E Dear All, I have a question about trailer mixing that hopefully some of you have an answer to: When mixing a trailer, or any mixing for that matter, what's your preferred method for popping out dialogue and narration and other important things through the music and effect...	I also will EQ the music subtly to make space for the dialogue if necessary. Definitely volume automation, but be careful you don't over do it in between close lines.
Designing a Humongous God-voice Hey all, So last time I needed to create a goddess voice. Now, since I did such a good job on that (thanks to birdhousesound) they want me to continue working for them and I've now got a task of making a humongous god-voice. It's supposed to sound as big as possible. Now, I know the ...	Vocal doubling often can help make something sound a lot bigger.
What are some sounds that interest you? And I'm not talking about sounds that hold some special memory, or that evoke a certain sensation. I go through little phases every now and then where I want to explore a particular type of sound fairly heavily. My latest one is electronics and the interference patterns they indu...	I seem to have developed a thing for tubes at the minute.
what would be the minimum required knowledge to start an internship/apprenticeship? Maybe credits on some student games or films? I want to get an internship, but I don't know what "basic knowledge" studios would want from me. <Q> I would say a working knowledge of the software they use, the gear that they have, etc......	Having some nothing of the studio, what kinds of things they do and the gear they have will impress them as this tells them that you have done your homework. Know what is going on and what is relevant.
Can instrument effects pedals be used for (live) vocals? Either at mic level or line level? I just saw Rosetta last night, and noticed that the vocalist uses some kind of all-in-one effects pedal. I don't know whether or not it was specifically made for vocals though. I would like to have some effects on my vocals (...	TC-Helicon (part of TC Electronics) makes vocal foot pedals, as well as other cool on-stage tools such as a touch screen vocal effects processor that mounts to the mic stand. Yes, you can!
What to buy 744T with TC-Slate or H4N with regular slate? What are the benefits to using a 744t with a slate running time code over a zoom H4n with regular slate if the camera is a Canon DSLR? are there any tutorials out there on syncing time code from a 744t to a slate? <Q> Well, first of all, the audio on the 744T wi...	If you want to go the TC route, it's very easy to sync a 744T to a Smart Slate (or a dumb slate). If it's something in long format, or you're using a lab to do your prints, I'd go with TC. There's also a plugin that will do this for you called Pluraleyes.
Security precautions when working with another crew. Dear all, Answers to another question of mine brought up this question I have: What security precautions do you take when working with other clients? Example: You get hired to do sound design for a commercial with another company than your own (most freelance des...	If you're really jealous of your property, you can specify that no sound effect you create be changed more than 15% or something like that.
How bright should Dialogue be? What is a good example of great dialogue mixing I can set as a foundation that I can judge my own work against? I have been told time and time again: "It sounds a bit dull." "It's too sharp." "It's too bright." "Just a little muffled." I don't think there's been one mix where the di...	For good TV dialogue, try Doctor Who (especially the new series).
Background Music: When to make it disaapear? When laying the dialogue over background music, let's say it's a party scene. Are you concern with portraying the reality, by keeping the music throughout the dialogue, Or you faded it out as the conversation gets more intense...? By the way, How do u eq the background musi...	Wait untill the first word is spoken, as it's being said or just after it's said, the music drops.
Mastering a demo reel So, I'm finally getting around to putting my demo reel together (I know, I know... Shoulda done that a long time ago), and I was wondering something... Is it okay to have someone that's not me do the final master? If so, should I mention that? Or should I just do the best I can, since it's MY re...	Dave, If you are emphasizing your mastering skills in your demo reel, of course you should do the mastering.
In search of sound schools Hi, I'm a young sound designer about to finish high school and i'd like to know what schools have the most reputable programs. Any suggestions? <Q> I graduated from Berklee College of Music with a degree in Music Production & Engineering. <S> It's only gotten better since I was there, and I...	I've been teaching sound design at Video Symphony in Los Angeles, which offers a Protools certification program and helps with job placement as well. I attended Full Sail University.
What does Foley mean? We probably all know & use the word Foley but everyone seems to have a slightly different understanding of what it means. From talking to other sound people & watching documentaries I've heard a few different definitions; Just footsteps & clothing movement sounds All character related sounds a...	The way i have it in my head, to try and keep it clear, is that foley is anything recorded to picture.
Linking to Source Media in Final Cut OMFs We're hammering out some workflow issues in prep for a new television series here at work, and I was just wondering, has anyone had any success in creating an OMF in Final Cut that links to the source media rather than consolidating and embedding? I sat down with one of the ed...	You'll have to look at a third party solution like VK, XML-Pro etc to link to your source media.
How would you mic a 5-actor audiobook. I'm curious to what mics and what positions you would use for this situation: Multicast audiobook that will have full musical score and sound effects. 5 actors, 1 narrator, 4 character actors. The character actors will play at least 3 different characters in the story. The na...	Another good trick is to throw an extra mic up for the director. I would say the narrator can be recorded by him/herself if narration is all they will be doing.
What does the future hold for video game sound design? I was reading this thread about sound design in the film/TV industry and I thought I'd apply the same question to video games. Do you guys suffer from a lack of time, budget, or respect? Thanks. <Q> This is an area I've been actively exploring for a few years --...	Video games require sound design from the earliest stages, while film usually doesn't start the sound department until after the first picture edit has been completed.
One last question for you about the sound design challenge Update (8/15/10): the first challenge is up. Sorry about creating a new post for this, but it's getting hard to keep track of where all the feedback is for this thing (some in the first thread, but there are a bunch floating around as comments in other threads...	I'd say it depends on the source and the challenge.
What is your favorite EQ? I know this question is pretty all encompassing and probably can't be answered, but: What are your favorite EQs? and: Do you have different favorites for different applications? Me, I like the Oxford EQ and the GML EQ plug-in for overall voice tonality. I do have a couple DNs in my studio...	Another cool choices are the V-EQ, SSL, API and Pultec emulations from Waves.. expensive, yes, but sound amazing :-) I'll also use the Ren EQ on narration for subtle voice coloration. I'm using the massey 3 band eq .... I use Sonar's built in EQ for almost everything, even though I can't figure out how to automate it. ...
Does anyone ever use Dynamic Transport Mode in Pro Tools? If you have never heard of this option and you use Pro Tools, please answer with that information because it answers my question. Why is it useful? What application does anyone use it for? I read about it in the manual and I couldn't for the life of me figure...	I found DT very useful if you want for example listen to a song or ambience file very fast without the necessity of hit the space bar every time you change your cursor, but for this you need to activate Dynamic transport
Is there a way to preview the sample rate and channel info for audio files in windows 7? I switched over to Windows 7 a month or two ago and was dismayed to find out that you can no longer view things like the sample rate and channel info (i.e. mono/stereo) in the explorer. In Windows XP, these were flags you could ena...	You could also download Wave Agent from http://sounddevices.com .
What records well to tape? I never had the privilege of cutting tape and splicing tape. However, the studio I work at owns a couple great tape machines. What sound effects do you think would sound great on tape? I know Horns and Brass record great on tape, therefore, would cymbals being bowed and dry ice on metal s...	I would argue that anything that has such incredible volume that it's going to blow out your recorder's signal no matter what you do, that's the thing to record to tape.
Acoustic treatment for glass I have searched for a bit but haven't found much on this but maybe some of you have fixed a similar problem in the past: Can I put something over glass to make it anechoic? It's a long shot, but I figured I'd ask you guys since most of you do a lot of recording in studios. My studio has ...	I did come across Clear Sonic Panels which may be of some help.
Portable mic stands, laptop bags, bags for mics? (equipment for a travelling recordist) Hello. I'm trying to keep my recording setup as efficient as possible. I don't have a car so all my travels will be on foot, by bus/train, or by bicycle. My budget can't stretch to getting a dedicated portable recorder yet (had my...	I also second birdhousesound's suggestion of the Joby tripod, just make sure you have some kind of shock mounting for the mic and you should be golden. If I'm traveling or really trekking to a location, I'll put stuff in and on a photo backpack with internal padded dividers. There's no one perfect bag for every person ...
Tripods and Tripod adapters for pistol grips Does anyone out there have a preferred tripod for mounting your pistol grips? I think I've seen photos of people using something akin to a small/cheap camera tripod before, but that could have been some overly-optimistic induced delusion. I'm also curious about these devic...	Small units like the Slik Sprint Pro (with ball heads) are good, lightweight solutions for even stereo mid-side rigs in zeppelins; stable in calm conditions and weighs less than 1kg.
Ever managed to fake the Autotune effect? I'll describe Autotune as a pitch "discretiser", though I've been unsuccessful in my attempt to recreate a similar effect. I want to create a bitstream effect from a water stream recording and I feel like it's the effect I need. First I tried Digi's Lo-Fi but this produces...	If you have any of the extra packs you should have gotten Melodyne , which will do a similar trick to AutoTune (draw in random pitches on the grid)...
Thinking outside the "box" When faced with a design challenge, what is your first instinct: To reach for a mic or a piece of software? Of course it often depends on the project or task at hand, but in general, where does your creative mind take you first? <Q> For a long time I was 95% library and processing and 5% rec...	Since I'm always in "the box" I'm already reaching for software when the challenge arises.
Do you use reaktor, Max, PD? When you are looking for a creative processing, what plugin's do you use? Do you often find yourself using Reaktor, Max, PD or any other modular languages? How often do you find yourself programming in them? <Q> I often use Max/MSP. <S> I know the quality isn't as good and <S> getting t...	SuperCollider is my weapon of choice for creating new sounds.
Do you keep copies of your work? If so, what type? Do you save the final mix and a video file in a Pro Tools session? Do you buy the DVD release or record it somehow? Is it smart to keep a copy of everything you have ever worked on? Small and big? <Q> I save everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) for at least a few years...	I save everything because I often want to know how I did something. I keep a copy of the ProTools mix session for each show and burn them to BluRay.
What are your mouse buttons programmed to? If you have a multi-button mouse like me (I use a Kengsington Optical Elite and a Mighty-Mouse), what do you program each button to? There was a similar thread but I don't think I ever saw what each individual button was programmed for (keystroke macros). Anyone care to share...	I use the mouse right click for scissors.
So, what do we do when we don't want to ask questions? First off, lemme just say, I'm totally in love with this site -- if one can have romantic feelings toward a few hundred-thousand characters of php, that is. But, sometimes I feel like all this Q&A is missing the point of the first word in it's title. "Social." So...	I love the idea of having a Facebook page for casual socializing!
What do colors sound like? Is there a way to convert a color to a sound? Does orange in particular have a kind of Hz/audio equivalent other than 5e+14? <Q> Yes, you can convert color to sound. <S> No, orange doesn't have a particular frequency or sound. <S> You can pick whatever mapping you want. <S> Do you want...	AudioPaint and Coagula use the color of a pixel to determine the panning of the sound.
Recording on impulse! Strategies for being prepared? Hey folks. For those of you who do a lot of recordings on the go, how do you strategize being prepared? I'm not satisfied with my GO! set-up, which is hyper-minimalist: I carry a Zoom H4 with me at almost all times, and use the onboard mics. Which aren't bad. I do...	Number one priority for me is: Extra AA batteries and empty SDHCcard!
Body Falls, Punches, and the like Hi everyone, I was wondering if you could provide some creativity for creating body slaps, punches, falls, etc...the like.. My idea is essentially to get some fruit, vegetables, and a few pieces of small steak (watch the wallet) and have at it with experimentation. As always, it is g...	I got some really nice sounds using a whole ham. For example, if you ask your local butcher a week or so in advance he'll probably be able to save a pig's head for you, as well as the more usual chicken carcassses, etc.
Do you use colored regions at all? I have a system where I color all the SFX originally done by the SFX editor black, and any fixes I do or changes I color them Red, and any fixes or new SFX from the editor are colored Dark Blue. I also mark pickups for narration a different color so I can find them easily. Have you ...	I use regions color and tracks color.
The best Pro Tools pitchshifter Can anyone make a good suggestion for a good pitchshifter? The standard one is great if you want to 'adulterate' the sound in question, but I'd quite like one that keeps the sound reasonably intact when taken to extremes. <Q> If you have access to 192k recording <S> it's great. <S> @tim ...	The ones I turn to are Waves' SoundShifter/Doubler or Digi's Time Shift.
What do you use to Conform to new picture cuts? For me, starting film sound post with a locked picture cut is practically unheard of these days, even on lower budget films. And big budget and/or VFX films tend to make picture changes right through the predubs and the final mix. So what do you use to conform your ProToo...	Sometimes I use it in combination with Virtual Katy. I use EdiTrace and it works great every time.
Best way to clean up plosives Last night I did live sound for a major awards event. I was working Front of House and there was this woman who came up to give a speech and she leaned into my MK41s at point blank range for the duration of her speech. I'm now back home at my studio prettying up a replay mix. Every T, K,...	Jay's suggestion of the C4 would definitely work too. Waves has a plugin called W43 and a preset called "Wind" I usually drop the low slider down until the plosives are under control.
Essential smartphone apps for field recording? I personally have an iphone and I use the living heck out it when going out for a shoot - planned or otherwise. Here's my list: Maps Top of my list. I use it to bookmark locations that may or may not be interesting in the future. I'll pull over and roll down the win...	Just a mention to audioboo for iphone and ipod touch.
What are some of your favorite voice effects? I'm collecting all kinds of voice effects to add to my arsenal. My absolute favorite is Worldizing a voice in a room by playing it back 4X real-time and recording it 4X real-time so when it gets played back at regular time, the reverb sounds 4X bigger. I haven't tried it f...	I've had some fun utilizing pitch shift.
Smaaashing a TeeeVeee :) My parents' big TV just broke :) When you switch it on, it switches itself off with a nice little "pfew" (kind of a "let me rest a little longer" kinda thing). I wanted to record it but it started to smell like burnt so I'd rather not switch it on anymore. H-o-w-e-v-e-r, I have a sledgehammer....	I still remember that the implosion sounded awesome, a unique sound that I never heard since. Have fun, take care (use common sense really) and please post some of your recordings so we can hear how it ended up... I did it once, used a mask and protection goggles, admittedly was to careless and didn't doany research at...
Backgrounds for a dead city? Hi guys (my English is failing me big time today for some reason! so please forgive me and bear with me if possible) I just started working on a short (30 min) settled in a (present)post apocalyptic, abandoned city. It is not clear why the city is deserted, but you can tell it was a rece...	Excellent background design and many areas where there is no dialog or music. If they're supposed to be damaged or falling apart, then that would provide you some great opportunities to bring in random debris/rubble/glass/etc.
How do you bill for video game sound effects? To this point in my career, I've dealt with billing in one of two ways: 1) by the completed minute, which works great for music and full cinematic sound design 2) by the individual sound effect. With that in mind, I have no idea how to bill for a larger project that will r...	I have done quite a few audio budgets for games and personally prefer offering outsource sound designers a flat fee for X amount of days designing sounds.
The trailer voice-over "This summer, blah blah blah" (Don LaFontaine) You know, this voice that sounds like it's the same guy doing all the trailers. I don't quite know how to describe it, it's a voice-over that's really well stuffed in the lows... that one: [youtube]ZPBvFXf9Q2U[/youtube] (http://www.youtube.com/watc...	In addition to the other points in this thread (actor, mic positioning) you can play a lot with the proximity effect - get the talent to get as close to the mic as they can. I have to agree that it's the talent, and not the treatment of the recording, that creates the magic trailer VO.
Need to ask something about Sony PCM-50 I am thinking of buying one Sony PCM-50 for capturing sounds i am going to use in a video game. And cause i am tight on budget i d like to ask if i can connect external directional mics on this portable recorder (without the XLR-1 adapter witch is going to cost me another 500 eur...	you can use the d50/m10 with ntg-2 and similar mics by just using a xlr to minijack cable.
How do you work with contracts? Exactly as the title says, how do you work with contracts? Not the type that come into you, but the type that you send to other people. Do you email them a contract to sign and fax back to you, mail it for the same, use digital signatures, or use something like Tractis, DocuSign, or Ve...	I always make sure there is a letter or invoice or email that states the terms with the hiring party agreeing.
Best way to record a phone? Okay so I have a couple reasons why I need to record a phone: 1) To get an authentic phone futz signal for a film where some dialogue needs to sound like it's on the phone. 2) A radio show I record has callers call in as guests and I need to record them. I have a jerry-rig to record the p...	You can stick it to the speaker portion of the handset(next to the ear) to record the output. I used a gadget called a "THAT" also made by JK Audio.
Is Sound Design the Best Job Ever? I mean, where else can you shoot machine guns at a van and call it work? Or set off fireworks all night long, Or walking in the mountains all day, Or visiting a Zoo, Or, or, or... What is your fondest memory from designing sound? Places you've been, recording scenarios you've bee...	So YES it is the best job ever. But THE moment was at the presentation of my final project in the audio engineeringschool i studied at. My fondest memory so far is when I was making a giant rubber tire sound, but the futuristic bot in the game didn't have any sort of combustion, so car was out of the question.
What scheduling software do you use? In my office we currently use iCal to keep track of when a room is booked and with who, and then just keep a paper work order to log hours through the session. When we were just starting out with a few rooms it was perfect. As we've grown over the years, it has been able to adapt, b...	For project management I'm using Manymoon paired up with Google Apps , Google calender and Gmail. We use EventPro , which is pretty good. In a former life I was a certified Daylite consultant and I've implemented it for a number of music, post and sound companies in NYC and the rest of the world.
Tips on Recording Horses? I'll have an opportunity soon to be out recording some horses in a large park in L.A. I'm hoping traffic won't be too bad and if it isn't, has anyone recorded horses before? I was thinking about strapping a Zoom to the under-strap of the horse saddle. Bad idea? Anyone tried anything similar ...	You'll probably find the greater LA region too noisy for recording horses. I would bring a professional recorder and the best mics you can get your hands on, then spend a bunch of time determining best mic positions, mounts and techniques.
Retaining High Frequencies when Varispeeding Aside from recording at 192kHz with the highest quality mics and recorders, how do you reinvigorate your slowed down/varispeeded sounds after they've lost most (or all) of their airy top end? (Varispeed, meaning slowing down playback in Soundminer, or using Pitch n' Time in...	What if you copied the file and pitched it up (just a simple pitch shift).
Who's using an Ebow and how? Never used one before but am interested - does it only work on stringed instruments? Can I use it on anything that can resonate, say a metal table leg or piece of wood? Does it feed out of 1/4" jack or something? <Q> I've used an Ebow a bunch in the past for scoring, and in a couple of "exp...	You can mainly only play one string at a time.
Favorite plug-ins for building creature vocals Besides the obvious like pitch shift, I have a few favorites such as Prosoniq's Morph and PiWarp, iZotope Spectron, and GRM tools as well as some of the Pluggo suite. What are your favorite plug-ins for use in building creature vocals? (Edited because I feel like I gave ...	I like AudioSculpt app for doing subtle pitch bends too...
OMF file size for Mac to PC transfer Pretty soon I'll be starting audio post production on another feature film. The video editor will be using FCP on a Mac and I use Nuendo on a PC. Most of my work is for commercials and other short films/videos so when I get the OMF the file size is under 4gb. In order to have a h...	Hey Matthew, If I'm not mistaken the file size limit for a single OMF is 2 gigs. You can now buy drives that are formatted to work with both MAC and PC.
Wind Shield - which makes? Hey all, I'm looking for a mini wind shield for my Zoom H1. I have looked and seen that Rycote don't make one for it. However, a company called Redhead do. Has anyone used Redhead products? Ian <Q> I have a Redhead <S> and I can't say enough good things about it. <S> I've had my Zoom H4...	I've got a pair of Redheads (gunmetal and black), and I love them -- after awhile, a naked h4n just looks wrong.
What were some of your first projects? I was wondering if anybody could share some of their first experiences and the first projects they worked on for sound design and maybe compare where you are now. Obviously things have changed but can you think of anything that's the same? <Q> It's overwhelming the first time you...	First audio project was the first film I ever worked on. My first "project" was a reality show that my school had shot, aired, and given to us to practice.
Recommend a good quality blimp and dual-mount system for pair of Oktava 012s? Have used the Shure A27M mounting kit and really liked it, but also need a couple of blimps with shockmounts that will accommodate pencil mics like the O12s, Neumann 184s, etc. A pistol grip attachment would be a huge +1. Thanks in advance ...	I know someone who mounted schoeps on a stereo rycote hot shoe bar http://www.rycote.com/products/accessoriesspares/stereo_bar_assembly/
Something is Missing... What do you do? Ok so I am doing sound design for fun and practice on a random video I found. I am putting in foley first - intimate and very detailed. The first scene is someone in a living room receiving a phone call warning him of a sniper and getting nearly sniped through a window (I know ...	As for your question on the outside ambiance.......I would try to find a storm ambiance and work on EQing it to give it a "muffled" feel like it normally would watching a storm in your own house.
very old, early 70s if not earlier cassette tapes I have 4 very old (I think) cassette tapes which have on them a friend's father's voice prior to him passing. They were recorded around 1968. I do not know if cassettes were around back then or what they used prior to recording them to cassettes. I am using Audacity on ...	It was most likely recorded onto another type of tape and transferred to cassette at a later date. Focus on getting the best possible sound into the computer first.
What's the origin of the word "Stem"? I got in a bit of a discussion today about the origin of the word STEM. I personally believe it comes from a combination of STEREO MASTER = STEreo Master = STEM. My coworker thinks that's bunk because 5.1 Stems are still called Stems, and they're 5.1. So, it's just a different us...	I have always thought of stems as a reference to plants.
Recording an ice hockey session Hi there, Been following this site for a while, but first time I'm posting - great initiative & resource! I am looking into ways of recording an ice hockey session - basically not a real ice hockey game, but where a handful of ice skaters will perform moves, that kind of thing. I'd lik...	I would also recommend recording in a smaller rink with shorter reverb times and less reflections, this allows sounds to remain somewhat close and clean without the muddying long reverbs of larger rinks. Record slapshot like a gun shot and combine the sounds to build up the power of the shot.
Inspiration from the world of music production Hello sound friends. This is is another 'list your top' question. Today: Which music producers do you feel created unique and inspiring sound design and in so doing made the albums they produced a unique sonic experience? To get the ball rolling, here's a few of my fave...	I think some of my favorite music producers who create unique sound design within their music are: Amon Tobin Tim Exile I'd have to say Arjen Lucassen
Dialogue editing on cans? Do you ever edit dialogue on cans? What if your speakers are sub-pro, is it better to edit the dialogue on a decent pair of headphones? <Q> I've done a lot of dialogue editing on headphones. <S> Bear in mind though that this was game VO editing, which is quite a different process from being a...	I've done a few dialogue edits in my headphones.
Sound Design and Composition For those among you who do both sound design AND composition, when you're doing both for one project, which do you start with? Obviously they will affect each other in the end product, but I'm finding it difficult to work out which I'd need to take into account first. Am I missing something...	I generally start with music, as I find that's more taxing, and do sound design when I need a break.
Lack of Actor's Breath Dear All, Don't mind me if I ask another silly question, and it is this: Say you're working on a movie and your main character does a lot of breathing and exhales etc. Your production dialogue is useless - lots of noise to capture intimate breaths, like the Saving Private Ryan beach scene. Yo...	It's quite common to have a group person come in to ADR and perform efforts/breaths/etc for actors in lead roles, due to either budget constraints (too expensive to have those folks stick around) or because the A-list actors choose not to do it.
Use of Master faders in a PT mix I have been doing some research about Gain staging and how being much more aware of it early on can help you make a clearer mix. I believe I have that concept pretty well down by now, after having studied the theory and doing various mixes. However, after reading about the difference in...	I'm on and HD system, and I use Auxes as my Master Faders, mainly because I use some complicated routing for monitoring, metering and decks (multiple destinations).
How reliable is Plural Eyes for syncing? I'm on a documentary where we're shooting on double system. For practical reasons we're mostly not clapping, and I'm worried for the poor editor... We're shooting on a few 5Ds and I'm wondering how good of a job Plural Eyes software will do in syncing it all up. Especially t...	Unfortunately plurales cannot synchronize "perfectly" for more than 3 minutes". Well, I've used Plural Eyes a lot during my work as editor, but Woowave WooSync is much faster
Recording an ultralight plane in flight Hi. I have the opportunity to record and ultralight plane in flight.I have a Sanken css 5, but i d like to know what do you think about wind protection.The wind up there ill be really strong, so is it possible to make a good recording?What should i use to protect the mic? Do you ...	Definitely use a zeppelin with a furry cover and mount the zep with foam underneath to decouple it from the vibrations of the engine.

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