How to Record Sound Effects for a Sound Effect Library
One first needs a professional quality recorder in order to record sound effects that can be good enough to be used personally or professionally. Though there are many expensive options, a handheld $150 to $400 digital recorder no larger than a small digital camera will provide professional quality .wav files. Furthermore, many of these units accommodate up to 4 gigs of recorded audio with the use of a flash card and utilize a simple drag and drop method for saving the .wav files via a USB connection.
You must make sure that any recorder you purchase records up to at least a 48k sample rate .wav file because audio for video is prepared as 48k. Any 44.1k samples you have would work fine on a CD but for DVD usage they will have to be up-converted to 48k which can result in "aliases," sort of sonic ghosts that compromise the quality of your recording. Also, 48k sound effects command a higher price on downloadable sites because their sound quality is simply better due to more samples per second of audio.
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.
In creating a library it is most valuable to have many of both types as they are both used in sound design. You will find that ambiences are the easiest to obtain, as you merely have to go to a new location such as a supermarket or post office and just stand there and record. Hits need a little more forethought and preparation such as collecting the items you'd like to record or stalking the neighbor's dog for that perfect dog bark.
Recording sounds is simply a matter of pressing record on your digital recorder. Although, it is advised to keep the following points in mind as you record since they will make your work more productive and fruitful.
1. When you record you want to have the loudest signal possible without clipping the microphone, called recording as "hot" as possible. If you notice a small red LED light lighting up during your recording then you need to pull back from the sound because your incoming signal is too loud. The goal is to avoid distortion but capture the strongest sound possible.
2. Purchase a 10dB pad that fits between your microphone and digital recorder will enable you to record sounds with high decibel levels, such as jet engines or weapons. The pad lowers the incoming signal by 10dB and can be found online 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. Wind hitting the head of your microphone will ruin your recordings so keep your recorder out of the wind by using trees, walls, or your body as a physical barrier. If you cut frequencies below 200-500 khz during editing you can get rid of some wind sound but usually your recordings will be ruined by wind.
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.
These tips are simple and meant to point an aspiring sound effect artist in the right direction toward the creation of a sound effect library for use or for sale online. Future articles will discuss the process of editing, categorizing, and marketing these raw recordings.
You must make sure that any recorder you purchase records up to at least a 48k sample rate .wav file because audio for video is prepared as 48k. Any 44.1k samples you have would work fine on a CD but for DVD usage they will have to be up-converted to 48k which can result in "aliases," sort of sonic ghosts that compromise the quality of your recording. Also, 48k sound effects command a higher price on downloadable sites because their sound quality is simply better due to more samples per second of audio.
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.
In creating a library it is most valuable to have many of both types as they are both used in sound design. You will find that ambiences are the easiest to obtain, as you merely have to go to a new location such as a supermarket or post office and just stand there and record. Hits need a little more forethought and preparation such as collecting the items you'd like to record or stalking the neighbor's dog for that perfect dog bark.
Recording sounds is simply a matter of pressing record on your digital recorder. Although, it is advised to keep the following points in mind as you record since they will make your work more productive and fruitful.
1. When you record you want to have the loudest signal possible without clipping the microphone, called recording as "hot" as possible. If you notice a small red LED light lighting up during your recording then you need to pull back from the sound because your incoming signal is too loud. The goal is to avoid distortion but capture the strongest sound possible.
2. Purchase a 10dB pad that fits between your microphone and digital recorder will enable you to record sounds with high decibel levels, such as jet engines or weapons. The pad lowers the incoming signal by 10dB and can be found online 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. Wind hitting the head of your microphone will ruin your recordings so keep your recorder out of the wind by using trees, walls, or your body as a physical barrier. If you cut frequencies below 200-500 khz during editing you can get rid of some wind sound but usually your recordings will be ruined by wind.
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.
These tips are simple and meant to point an aspiring sound effect artist in the right direction toward the creation of a sound effect library for use or for sale online. Future articles will discuss the process of editing, categorizing, and marketing these raw recordings.
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Download sound effects at SFXsource's sound effect collection at Download Sound Effects, and Free Sound Effects and Loops
posted by Marcondes Allen at 11:39 PM
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