Advice on Recording Sound Effects for a Sound Effect Library
In order to record sound effects for a personal or professional sound effect library one first needs a quality recorder. Personally I've tried all sorts of pricey gear and microphones throughout my sonic adventures only to discover that a solid $150 to $400 handheld digital recorder no larger than an old-school cassette tape box suffices to create sounds good enough for placement in any Film, TV, and media project. In addition, these units run on battery power and the recorded files can be dragged onto your desktop via USB.
Since video has a 48k sample rate then sound effects supplied for video need to be 48k, not the standard 44.1k used for CDS, so any recorder you purchase must be able to record up to 48k quality. If you have a library of 44.1k these samples always have to be up-converted by a video editor and their quality can be compromise. Therefore, do yourself the favor of recording at 48k and you will have a more valuable and usable sound effect collection.
There are two basic types of sound effects that you will be recording: "hits" and "ambiences." Hits are single short sonic events such as a slap, gun shot, or dog bark. Ambiences are longer background elements such as ocean waves, restaurant environments, or playground noises.
Any quality sound effect library needs both types of sound effects so you should be intent on recording both types. Ambiences are the easiest to obtain because they require only being at a location, standing there, and recording. Hits, though, need more planning because you often need to do foley to get what you need or wait around at various locations for the right moment, such as visiting a new mother and her newborn in order to capture that perfect baby cry.
The basics of recording a sound effect is literally as simple as hitting the record button. However, there are several tips to keep in mind in order to get the best recordings possible.
2. Record all of your sounds as "hot" as you can, meaning as loud as possible without overloading the microphone. You need to pull back from your source if you notice a red LED light on your recorder which signals that your incoming signal is too hot. Capturing the strongest signal without distorting is the goal.
2. Very loud sounds such as explosions or loud cheering requires that you purchase a 10dB pad which will allow you to record high volumes. This sort of pad lowers strong signals by 10dB and can be bought on the web for $20.
3. Try to keep background noises at a minimum but don't be too obsessive over a "pure" recording because these background sounds can often afford surprising results such as an unexpected car honk, bird call or human noise. Remember that much of the background noise can be filtered out when editing your recordings and will slow yourself down being overly strict about the "perfect" recording environment.
4. Protect the microphone with a windscreen or simply keep your recorder out of the wind by using physical barriers such as trees, walls, or even your jacket, because wind hitting the microphone head will ruin your recording efforts. Sometimes wind noise can be cut out during editing with a high pass filter and cutting frequencies below 200-500 khz but for the most part wind will destroy your work.
5. Keep background music from loudspeakers or live performances out of your recordings. Your efforts will be compromised if you inadvertently include music in the background, such as the music played in a restaurant. This music is copyrighted and if it appears in your ambience recordings you will be violating copyright law.
The previous points, though simple, are mentioned to help the aspiring sound designer in the assembling of a valuable sound effect library. Articles that cover the editing, organizing, and promotion of these recordings will follow in the future.
Since video has a 48k sample rate then sound effects supplied for video need to be 48k, not the standard 44.1k used for CDS, so any recorder you purchase must be able to record up to 48k quality. If you have a library of 44.1k these samples always have to be up-converted by a video editor and their quality can be compromise. Therefore, do yourself the favor of recording at 48k and you will have a more valuable and usable sound effect collection.
There are two basic types of sound effects that you will be recording: "hits" and "ambiences." Hits are single short sonic events such as a slap, gun shot, or dog bark. Ambiences are longer background elements such as ocean waves, restaurant environments, or playground noises.
Any quality sound effect library needs both types of sound effects so you should be intent on recording both types. Ambiences are the easiest to obtain because they require only being at a location, standing there, and recording. Hits, though, need more planning because you often need to do foley to get what you need or wait around at various locations for the right moment, such as visiting a new mother and her newborn in order to capture that perfect baby cry.
The basics of recording a sound effect is literally as simple as hitting the record button. However, there are several tips to keep in mind in order to get the best recordings possible.
2. Record all of your sounds as "hot" as you can, meaning as loud as possible without overloading the microphone. You need to pull back from your source if you notice a red LED light on your recorder which signals that your incoming signal is too hot. Capturing the strongest signal without distorting is the goal.
2. Very loud sounds such as explosions or loud cheering requires that you purchase a 10dB pad which will allow you to record high volumes. This sort of pad lowers strong signals by 10dB and can be bought on the web for $20.
3. Try to keep background noises at a minimum but don't be too obsessive over a "pure" recording because these background sounds can often afford surprising results such as an unexpected car honk, bird call or human noise. Remember that much of the background noise can be filtered out when editing your recordings and will slow yourself down being overly strict about the "perfect" recording environment.
4. Protect the microphone with a windscreen or simply keep your recorder out of the wind by using physical barriers such as trees, walls, or even your jacket, because wind hitting the microphone head will ruin your recording efforts. Sometimes wind noise can be cut out during editing with a high pass filter and cutting frequencies below 200-500 khz but for the most part wind will destroy your work.
5. Keep background music from loudspeakers or live performances out of your recordings. Your efforts will be compromised if you inadvertently include music in the background, such as the music played in a restaurant. This music is copyrighted and if it appears in your ambience recordings you will be violating copyright law.
The previous points, though simple, are mentioned to help the aspiring sound designer in the assembling of a valuable sound effect library. Articles that cover the editing, organizing, and promotion of these recordings will follow in the future.
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SFXsource's sfx library can be found, demo-ed, and seen at Download Sound Effects, and Free Sound Effects and Loops
posted by Marcondes Allen at 11:02 PM
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