Sound design and Foley - James Bond to Pixar style animation

I have recently been delving into the realm of TV and film sound focussing on sound design, foley and ADR.

I looked into the equipment used as well as techniques and tools. Videos on YouTube, blogs and papers were very useful! As an example: http://www.scribd.com/doc/35433777/Ian-Palmer-MA-Sound-Design-Dissertation-Saving-Private-Ryan 

Having experimented with a couple of trailers for films such as the James Bond Film: Quantum of Solace, i decided to take it further and design the sound for a short animation film called "Big Catch."
Having no dialogue or real footage in it has proved to be very useful for me as i do not have to worry about the effects and sounds being those that are expected as a result of a film's previous release. This way, I can focus on how I want the piece to sound and use whatever i would like to as long as it fits.
Half of the samples that are used are from royalty free libraries (unfortunately) that were found online at sources such as freesound.org and freefx.com; the other hal have been recorded by myself. This decision was made due to the fact that i have not got the access to half of the environments or sound sources that I would need.

Below, is a link to the first attempt which is 30 seconds of the film. A couple of bits needed tweaking, which have been done in the later attempts and will be posted once i have completed them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KJUAyvrOKE&feature=plcp

The later parts of this film have more of my own samples in it as i have been able to record the parts within my house/ home studio using my iMac, Alesis io2 and SE Z3300a microphone.
There is a technique that i discovered on a YouTube video for the film Saving Private Ryan which will be talked about in the next blog once the final video is up online.

Once the piece is finished, i shall upload the finished product. However, as it stands, after 16 hours of practical work, i am only 1 minute and 30 seconds in out of a 4 minute film!

Brighton Church Reverb Design

I recorded a balloon being popped in a church in Brighton, UK. We then imported the aiff. files into the Impulse Response Designer on a mac to create the reverb model for Space designer in Logic Pro.

The first piece is the dry signal that was recorded through the plugin: Philharmonik Orchestra by IK Multimedia. The second piece is the first of the two reverb presets and has the mic situated at the far end of the church in the centre of the isles. The last piece is the second of the two presets and had the mic situated directly in the middle both lengthways and widthways.
Thanks to Jamie Arneaud for aiding me in the MIDI programming.

http://soundcloud.com/phil-hutchins-prodctions/brighton-church-reverb-design

Jack Wilson Test Mix

It has been a while since i have updated this blog.
I have been involved with a few projects since my last post, including drum recordings for two separate EPs and some original compositions.

The track in question below is a drum recording mixed with the demo track that the composer had put forward for us to use as a guide.

We used an AKG D112 on the kick drum, sm57s on both snare top and bottom, Sennheiser E604s on both rack and floor toms. For the overheads, we used SE  Titan mics in an XY configuration.

The song is an indie pop song so the influence had to be on the hi hats and snare, with the other drums fitting in around it.

Only compression and EQ were added. However, a little reverb via Logic's 'Space designer' was added to both snare top and bottom for extra depth.

The track link is embedded below:

http://soundcloud.com/phil-hutchins-prodctions/jack-mix-1

Live mix - Spit Shake Sisters

I recently mixed a track for a Brighton based band called Spit Shake Sisters. They are a classic rock outfit and like to be considered as a harder, rawer version of Led Zeppelin.

http://soundcloud.com/phil-hutchins-prodctions/sss-spit-me-out

This was my first attempt at mixing AND mastering a track. There are a lot of elements that i like about the track but the stems that i received to mix with made it a little harder than usual as the quality was not great. However, this is probably due to the fact that it was live.

The kick and snare were compressed and EQd first followed by the overheads and bass.

I had to add a bitcrusher and a bass amp modelling plugin to add extra grit and depth to the sound.

The guitars were fairly hard to get right and to get them to sit in the mix well proved very difficult.

It was a challenge which i think payed off with the amount of time that i spent on it. However, i think that i could spend hours on them and still not be satisfied. As a result of this, i decided to leave them where i was most comfortable with them at the time and move on.

The vocals had to be redone as the vocalist was not happy with the way the originals sounded. As a result i had to be careful with bleed in the overheads and other microphones. This didn't seem to be too much of a problem in the final mix.

I used my standard vocal setup that i have used on him before - a single SE Electronics Z3300 microphone with a pop shield. The room (small rectangular room with bare plaster walls) proved to have very suitable acoustics for the project.

We used the elements within the original live take to add production value such as a throat clear or two as well as the applause at the end of the track.

I sent each of the tracks, bar the kick drum and lead vocals, to an aux - Aux 1 - which contained the space designer reverb plugin.  

The vocals had tape delay and space designer reverb inserted into the channel strip and automated.

The reverb was used as an insert rather than being put on an aux as it was the only channel using that setting so i decided to save CPU.

The delay was used right at the end of the track to give the last vocal line/ scream added impact. I increased the feedback of the delay to give the desired effect and faded it out using volume automation.

Mastering the track was very interesting and i am fairly happy with the result for my first attempt.

I added overall compression to bring down the highest transients in the waveform. I also used a bit of EQ and boosted the high end a little bit to draw out the cymbals a little bit more.

A Limiter was inserted as well to prevent the track from clipping and  distorting as the guitars sounded muddy and unclear at higher volumes. I limited the track as the original volume of the track in comparison to others in iTunes was very low.

The track took me two days on and off to mix and master as i had to come back to it a lot and a lot of automation and thought was required.

 

Periphery - Icarus Lives!

Periphery have a track called 'Icarus Lives!' on their debut album on Roadrunner Records called 'Periphery'.

The genre is progressive metal but also goes by the name of "Djent" for the guitar tone/style.

The album was recorded and produced at a home studio.
The kick drum seems to be tuned to a similar or same note as the kick drum. As the guitars and kick drums are so tight in how they are played, they both compliment each other and provide a lot of energy to the backbone of the song. The EQ seems very heavy on the bass and and a little EQ on the high end to give it punch.

The cymbals and snare seem to have been given a more live feel than the kicks and the cymbals really portray this.
This could either be a lot of overhead signal or artificial reverb on the snare/ cymbals - more likely the premier.
The toms, on the other hand, seem to be given the clean, dry signal approach to match the kick drums and seem to be in a similar frequency range to each of them and the kicks meaning that they fit really well with the guitar. This is very important for the style that they are playing in as Djent required tightness from all instruments otherwise it sounds really disjointed.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfOnq-zXXBw

SPL - Small Diaphragm vs Large Diaphragm

SPL is Sound Pressure Level.

This is the level of sound which the microphone can handle without distorting the sound or damaging the diaphragm.

The SPL is based on two factors:

• The rigidity of the diaphragm and distance between the diaphragm and the back plate.
• The power level the pre amp sets limits for the amount of signal that can be received by the mic without the signal clipping.

As smaller diaphragms are stiffer, they tend to have a higher SPL as there is a lower chance of the signal distorting/ clipping compared to a larger diaphragm.

                                     (http://www.dpamicrophones.com/da/MikrofonUniversitet/Tech-Guide/Large-Diaphragm.aspx)

In This Moment - The Great Divide - vocals

In this Moment have a track called 'The Great Divide' which is off their album: 'The Dream'.

This track seems really complex with the way it was produced, especially with the vocals.
The vocals have many layers that comprise the lead vocal part.
This is done through the use of many harmonies, delay, reverb and other techniques. The vocal takes are also panned both left and right for different harmonies to create the effect that the artist/ producer was after.

The backing vocals are also layered and blended into the main song.

There are accents present by using and emphasising effect processing and layering. This heightens the importance of certain lines/ sections and adds production value to the track.

Have a listen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPVjJU5LjKI

Recording Acoustic Guitar

As i have learned how to use and decode the mid-side microphone technique, i have begun to experiment with it.


As stated previously in other posts, i have used it with a drum kit for the overheads. However, i wanted to use it on a variety of applications. My next target was an acoustic guitar. 


I have previously used a spaced pair mic technique for this but i thought that i should experiment with others rather than sticking to just one.


As explained in a previous post, i set up the mics in the mid side format on two boom stands. The mics were positioned about 2m away from the front wall in a square room and dead centre width-ways.
The hole of the acoustic guitar was positioned inline with the mics but roughly 70cm away from it.
This allowed enough signal from both the room and the guitar to be recorded.


Once decoded, i used a little bit of compression to smooth out the dynamic range and a little EQ to brighten up the overall sound (to the artists choice). Reverb was also used to create ambience and add a little extra to the room. This was also automated for the crescendo in the middle 8. following the dynamics of the song. This also creates a slight illusion of double tracking, instead, its only one guitar/take.


I decide to duck the reverb completely on the last note and replace it with tape delay to give a sudden ending with the ambience. Compiled with a fade out, this worked really well and emphasised the ending with positive results. 


The track is called: 'Kentucky Crossroads' and is by a good friend of mine: Sean De Burca.
The link to the track is as follows: http://soundcloud.com/phil-hutchins-prodctions/kentucky-crossroads

Sean's Facebook page can be viewed and liked HERE 

CD Standards

This is going to show what the standards are for CDs

·      Format: Wav

·      sample rate: 44100Hz - The number of samples that are recorded per second - measured in Hz. - Chris Bagwell. (1998). Audio File Formats FAQ Audio File Formats FAQ .Available: http://sox.sourceforge.net/AudioFormats-3.html. Last accessed 13th Feb 2012.)

·      Bit Depth: 160 kb's the number of points that are definable per sample. as the bit depth increases, the number of points that are noted, increases. For example: on an axis, a low bit depth would have a point on every value from 0-10. Whereas, a high bit depth, would have a point that can be noted on every number between 0 and 1000. 1 and 1000 in this case, are the same value but the accuracy of the points, increases.
      All this basically means is that, the higher the bit depth, the higher the resolution of the signal. - Image-Line. (). Exporting Project Dialog. Available: http://www.image-line.com/support/FLHelp/html/fformats_save_wavmidmp3.htm. Last accessed 13th Feb 2012.

·     Nyquist – Shannon Sampling Theorem: this is the theory of the conversion of an analogue signal to a digital signal. This is how many samples are taken per second. It is measured in hertz - Hz.

If the highest frequency component is stated as fmax, according to the nyquist theorum, the sampling rate must be 2fmax. If the sampling rate is lower than 2fmax, then not all o the signal will be represented properly.  - Davin Matsuda. (2002). Nyquist Theorem. Available: http://searchcio-midmarket.techtarget.com/definition/Nyquist-Theorem. Last accessed 13th Feb 2012.

Colin Richardson on metal (guitars)

Great interview with Colin Richardson on how he records metal music - mainly guitars.
Some of the techniques are inspiring! The quad layering idea for a full sound etc!

http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/interview-metal-production-guru-colin-richardson-400260

Mid-Side Technique

I experimented with the Mid-side technique in lectures today.
This technique can be used for many different applications from Drum overheads to acoustic guitars.


The technique involves using two mics, each with separate polar patterns. One set to Cardioid and the other to figure of 8.


We set up two SE Titans on mic stands as overheads for a drum kit.
The mics were set up in the way that the microphones were about 2-3m away from the kick drum and were pointing vertically one on top of each other.


The top mic was placed facing downwards directly over the bottom mic but not touching. The top microphone was set to the cardioid polar pattern and was facing the source.
The bottom microphone was set to the figure of 8 polar pattern and the pickup areas were perpendicular to the cardioid pickup area. An example of this is shown in the link: Click Here.


This creates a stereo feel to the mix but this can only truly obtained once it has been processed.
This is because, in order to obtain 'stereo' imaging, you need to be able to have a left an a right channel.
There are several ways to process the signal in order for this to happen - these include - digital processes and re-routing the signal back through the desk in a similar fashion to the digital option.
More than one digital option is available to use: track duplication (which is the process that we used and that i will explain) or the use of a plugin which does this for you. It is completely to your preference and there is no set way - everyone has their own way of working.


In order to obtain the stereo image, you have to duplicate the track in the Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) (such as Logic or Pro tools). The microphone track that had the figure of 8 polar pattern is duplicated so you had two identical channels. After two of them are present, you need to open up a plugin in either one of the channels (doesn't matter which) that allows phase inversion to occur. In Logic, this option is available in the 'Gain' plugin. Once the phase has been inverted, you notice a difference in sound - this is due to phase cancellation. In order to resolve this, you need to pan the tracks hard left and hard right. This eliminates phase issues and mix is back to the sound that you are aiming to get.
Once the two tracks have been panned, the process is almost over. 
There is one final stage and that is bringing back the cardioid signal and blending it with the other tracks. This is all down to preference and taste - depending on how much room sound you want in relation to the source sound.


The drums sounded really full and defiantly benefitted from the technique.
It can take a while to get used to but it brings out a wider perception of the instrument at hand.


We used this process and compared it to the original two microphones before hand and there is a big difference! I would highly recommend experimenting with this technique!