Tips for Recording 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.
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.
You will need to record two distinct types of sound effects: "ambiences" and "hits." Short single sonic moments such as glass breaking, an explosion, or a light switch click are called hits. Longer recordings of background noises such as those found on a playground, at a train station, or in an airport are called ambiences.
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.
Actually recording each sound effect is a simply process that only requires hitting the record button. Though, in order to make the best possible recordings, keep in mind these several tips.
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. In order to record sounds with high decibel levels, such as fireworks or loud crowds, buy a 10dB pad which will fit between the digital recorder and your microphone. For $20 purchased online, this pad will lower the incoming signal by 10dB
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. Keep your microphone out of the wind while recording by standing strategically behind wall, trees, or parked cars because wind hitting the head of the microphone will compromise your recordings. Through the editing process and by cutting lower frequencies you can often minimize wind noise but for the most part wind will render your recordings useless.
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.
You will need to record two distinct types of sound effects: "ambiences" and "hits." Short single sonic moments such as glass breaking, an explosion, or a light switch click are called hits. Longer recordings of background noises such as those found on a playground, at a train station, or in an airport are called ambiences.
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.
Actually recording each sound effect is a simply process that only requires hitting the record button. Though, in order to make the best possible recordings, keep in mind these several tips.
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. In order to record sounds with high decibel levels, such as fireworks or loud crowds, buy a 10dB pad which will fit between the digital recorder and your microphone. For $20 purchased online, this pad will lower the incoming signal by 10dB
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. Keep your microphone out of the wind while recording by standing strategically behind wall, trees, or parked cars because wind hitting the head of the microphone will compromise your recordings. Through the editing process and by cutting lower frequencies you can often minimize wind noise but for the most part wind will render your recordings useless.
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 sound effects library which has a huge variety of sfx categories can be visited, auditioned, and downloaded at Download Sound Effects, and Free Sound Effects and Loops
posted by Marcondes Allen at 11:11 PM
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