Chuck Russom has released two new libraries on his collection. The first one is a limited library (Available only through July 31, 2010) called Fireworks:
Fireworks is a special “Limited Edition” sound library. A few years back, I record some small fireworks to have for my personal library. These sounds have proved useful over the years when designing sounds like magical effects, energy weapons, explosions, and others in that vein. Though I have just a handful of these sounds to offer, I thought it would be fun to put them out as a low-cost, limited edition “mini library”. Fireworks will only be available until July 31, 2010, and then it will be gone….
Fireworks is available now from Chuck Russom FX and costs $5 (Includes 40 sounds at 96kHz/24-Bit).
The other library is the third official release of Chuck Russom FX, called “Skateboard”:
There really are not a lot of skateboard sounds available in existing libraries. I found this out the hard way last year when I needed some sounds for a skateboard project. Though my needs were simple, I couldn’t find the sounds I needed in the usual libraries. So, I grabbed a mic, recorder, skateboard, and someone to ride, and spent a day recording skateboard sounds. Seeing these sounds in my library, I thought that other people might find them useful, so I decided to offer them up as a new collection.
Skateboard is available now from Chuck Russom FX and costs $20 (Includes 94 sounds at 96kHz/25-Bit).
If you want to know a little more about the making of those two libraries, here is a little Q&A I had with Chuck:
DS: Could you tell us how was the process of recording of each of the libraries?
CR: These were recorded so long ago, I forget! Thinking back, and trying to remember; I did the firework recordings in 2005. I’d purchased a bunch of fireworks the year before, and for some reason it took me a whole year to finally record it. I think I was searching for a good place to do it, which I never found. I finally just decided to light them off in my mom’s backyard, because I got tired of them sitting in my closet. It was a pretty simple 2 mic setup. At some point during the recording, it seemed like lighting the ground bloom flowers and throwing them into my mom’s swimming pool would be a good idea. And it was! The sounds of the fireworks spinning in the water is some of the coolest stuff. I still don’t think my mom knows about it…
The skateboard recordings were more recent, I did those in early 2009. I needed some sounds, my brother had a skateboard, so I called him up and we drove around on a Sunday and found the quietest parking lot we could find. He rode the skateboard and I chased him around holding a boom pole, trying to keep the mic as close to the skateboard as I could. It was pretty simple actually and the sounds worked out well for the project.
DS: What equipment and specific recording techniques did you use on each?
CR: When I did the firework recording, my recorder at the time was a Fostex FR2, for mics I used a Sennheiser 416 and an MKH40. I recorded in dual mono, and kept the mic that sounded the best. I’m not sure anymore which mic was the keeper.
The Fostex was still my main recorder when I did the skateboard stuff (I’m not sure why though, as I had a Sound Devices 744 for a couple years). These were probably some of the last recordings that I used the Fostex as my main machine, shortly after this, I finally moved to using my Sound Devices most of the time. The microphone was a Neumann RSM191, which has pretty much been my main mic for the last few years.
DS: How dangerous was the fireworks recording?
CR: Not dangerous enough! Seriously, it was pretty mild, these were all “safe and sane” fireworks. I was more careful/timid in my recording adventures back in those days. I wished I tried placing the mics closer. If I was I recording fireworks today, I most likely would leave with something damaged :)
DS: When will be the next library available? Any hints?
CR: I have a couple libraries that I’ve been working on. In May, the day after my Rocks library was released, I started recording a bunch of metal impacts. I was planning metal impacts to be library #3. The thing about banging pieces of metal together is you tire out real quick. And editing those sounds is probably the worst thing ever, the ringing in your ears never stops! So I had to slow down on that library. It will get released, but it’s still a while off.
In June I had the chance to go out and work with a dog trainer and record over a dozen dogs. Dogs will be my next library. I hoped that it would have been ready in June, then it slipped to July, now I’m trying to get it done for August. All the recording is done and the editing is probably 60% done. The summer can get really busy when you are working in game audio, so I’ve found myself with less time for my side projects lately.
Jean-Edouard Miclot (JED) says
Hey Chuck, Will Bahbah be in your next dog library ;-)