Sound design

Access ‘Sound design’ series with Wayne Pashley and then discuss and respond to the questions below.
Glossary
- Sound design
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the art of making sounds, sound effects, atmosphere and sometimes music for a film or video game
- Food groups
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the major elements of sound design which include dialogue from the script, crowd noise and emotion, hard effects (such as spaceships and car engines that make noise during filming), environments or atmosphere (such as birds and traffic), and foley (created in the studio after filming and editing is complete).
- Hard effects
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sounds that synchronise with an action in a film (such as slamming car door)
- Soft effects
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background noises or ambient sounds in a film that suggest location
- Atmospheres/Backgrounds
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sounds that set the scene and place of a film
- Foley
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sound effects added in the studio to enhance the sounds heard during a film, such as footsteps and wind
- The mix
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The final version of all the film's sounds, music and 'food groups', presented in a balanced and carefully edited format
- Extras
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actors who appear in a film with very small roles (such as crowd member or taxi driver)
- Pan
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moving the audio from left to right speaker as if an object is moving from left to right
- Template
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an empty file that sets the structure
- Animator
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artist who creates cartoons illustrations and images for animation films
- Visceral
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to experience with deep emotions or instincts
- ADR (automated dialogue replacement)
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process of carefully re-recording spoken dialogue in the studio to replace damaged audio recorded during a film shoot
- Rhythms
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patterns of long and short notes
- Cadence
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natural lilt when someone speaks; chords at the end of a musical phrase
- In sync
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at the same time
- Reverb
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echo sound effect
- Antagonist
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a character who opposes or present the opposite viewpoint
- Protagonist
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main character
- Post-produced dialogue
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spoken text recorded in the studio to add to a film
- Dialogue editing
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careful cut, paste, smoothing and balance of dialogue for a film
- Clean it up
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remove digital glitches and uneven sounds (such as dialogue that was masked by a plane noise)
- Smoothing the dialog
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if one person's dialogue is louder than another in the same conversation, it should be made as even and smooth as possible
- Equalisation (EQ)
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adjust the volume of different frequencies to create a more pure sound
- Lip sync
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make your spoken voice match the lip movement of a speaking or singing character on-screen; mime
- High end gear
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expensive audio/visual equipment
- Frequencies
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a variety of high and low audio sounds
- Atmos (backgrounds, environments, sound worlds)
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atmosphere and sound world for a film
- Dolby atmos
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cinema surround sound technology
- Synthesizer
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instrument that records and manipulates sound in a musical way
- Manipulate
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change or alter
- Recordist
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someone who records sound or music
- Voice-over
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recording someone speaking to paste over the top of a video (without being able to see the speaking person)
- Punchline
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the last line of a joke
- Analogue sound
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non-digital sound recording
- Windows wave (WAV) file
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a type of digital sound or music file
- Motion picture expert group (MP3) file
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a type of digital sound or music file
- Pro tools
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audio software sold by Avid
- Prop
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an object or piece of clothing used in a play or film (For example walking stick or mask)
- Rustle track
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a layer of audio recorded to mimic the sound of clothes moving or rubbing while the character moves
- Foley artist
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someone who records sounds and sound effects for films in a studio while watching the film to synchronise the sound with the visuals
Questions
- What film resources does a sound designer need in order to start their work on a short film? How is this different when working on an animation?
- What are the ‘food groups’ to consider when designing sound for a film?
- Which sounds are recorded during the shoot, and which sounds are recorded in the studio later?
- When is ADR (automated dialogue replacement) required?
- Which elements of a film narrative might be expressed through music and sound rather than dialogue or expensive special effects?
- What kind of work does the final mix involve?
- When Wayne Pashley says, ‘open your ears to the world’, what does he mean in the context of sound design?