Tim Prebble is announcing the release of Fireworks a new HISS and a ROAR library recorded by him and other three recordists. This library is also the first one offered with a multi-channel 192kHz version.
The collection of over 180 fireworks includes large Multi-Shot Fireworks (Solar Flare, Red Mantis, Purple Perry, Holiday Fun, Night Rocket, E.T, Meteor, The Brick, Black Panther, Sandstorm, Mega Eruption, Bling Bling, Swarm, Rapid Fire, Thunder) Rockets (Mighty Cannon, White Spider, Shooting Balls, 10 Shot, small, medium & large Roman Candles, Patriot Missile) Screechy Rockets (Predator, Firestorm, Mean Green, Sonic Boom, Rising Sun, Hummer, Red Dragon) and a huge range of Ground Bloom Flowers.
Gear and Recordists
Tim Prebble – Sound Devices 722 with two Sanken CUB mics
Dave Whitehead – Sound Devices 722 with Sennhesier 8050 and DPA4006
Matt Lambourn – Sound Devices 722 with MKH816 and my MKH70
Ray Beentjes – Sound Devices 744 with quad rig: Sennheiser MKH 50+30 LR and MKH816 x 2 LsRs
Other recorders & mic rigs: Matt Stutters Sound Devices 722 recorder with MKH8050 + MKH30 MS rig and Chris Wards Sound Devices 722 recorder with a pair of MKH8020 mics.
I loaded up my 4WD with a LOT of gear: apart from recorders, mics & mic stands I also took lamps, a table, cameras, warm clothing etc.. and props! Apart from 3 big plastic bins of fireworks one of my goals with capturing the fireworks library was about context: these sounds are very useful when designing weapons and I was very interested in reinforcing this aspect by releasing fireworks in metal pipes of various sizes. Earlier in the week I visited a great junkyard and bought a number of different size pipes, from a 2m long metal drain pipe to short narrow pipes to a larger air conditioning vent; all great sources of resonance!
Fireworks has several purchasing options, based on different qualities and prices:
- Lite – 16-Bit 44.1kHz (39 fireworks, 90MB download, 185MB unrar’d) – $9
- Mid – 24-Bit 48kHz (74 fireworks, 330MB download, 514MB unrar’d) – $29
- Max – 24-Bit 96kHz (210 fireworks, 1.6GB download, 2.8GB unrar’d) – $49
- Ultra – 24-Bit 192kHz multi-channel ( 210 fireworks, 4.5GB download, 8GB unrar’d) – $99
- Free – 16 bit 44.1kHz (14 fireworks, 19MB download) – Download here
And if you’re wondering about the goals and possibilities of the “Ultra” version, Tim published a very interesting post talking about the advantages of processing 192kHz sounds, and also gives some examples with pitch changes on the Fireworks recordings.
The Ultra version includes the following perspectives:
- Close up: Tim Prebble SoundDevices 722, LR Sanken CUB mics x 2
- Close up: Dave Whitehead SoundDevices 722, Cx2 MKH8050 & DPA4006
- Medium: Matt Lambourn SoundDevices 722, LR MKH816 & MKH70
- Medium/wide: Ray Beentjes SoundDevices 744, Quad MKH50/30+816×2
Also, Tim tell us some stories (DS exclsuive) about near misses and the dangerous aspect of the Fireworks recording process. This is what he said:
There were three moments where I got a little worried, but only momentarily!When I was recording doppler shots by firing roman candles at my Sanken CSS5(which was about 4m away) one shot actually directly hit the Rycote & the fluffyignited for a moment!! Listening back at my studio I laughed when I heard myselfgo “SH+T!” – I still have to stitch up the burnt patch on my poor Rycote…
But if I’m telling war stories there are two I must repeat, and in both cases I was lucky that fate was on my side. Both occurred on the first night, so there were plenty of witnesses! The first: after we finished releasing shots from in the pipes I also decided to try releasing some inside a metal box. Now this metal box was not a heavy duty metal box, and I figured that would help with us capturing good useable sounds. And sure enough the first two takes worked well – I lit the firework, dropped it into the box, put the metal lid on & then put my boot on top to hold it in place. GREAT sounds, but take 3 went a bit wiggy! Watch the promo video to see it – you see one of the good takes with the metal box & then the take where I saw my life flash past in front of my eyes as I ran for it!!! Problem was that the firework started to ignite before I got it into the box & in my hurry I put the lid on and then knocked the lid into the box so it didnt seal at all! Yikes! Run for it!!!
The other ‘event’ was when one of the big multishot fireworks sent a few shots sideways instead of up! One whizzed past me & hit one of the plastic bins that had the other fireworks in it!!! But it didnt just hit it, it broke a hole in it about the size of your fist and the firework debris went into the box!! Smoke was coming out & I ran over and pulled the lid off but there was nothing glowing, so we had a very near miss of the entire bin of fireworks going up in one take!!!
If you want to know more details about the recording of Fireworks library, please visit this post on Tim’s Blog, which includes information about gear, techniques, accidents and lots of interesting stuff from the making of Fireworks.
Tim, I remember watching that clip where you where covering the box with your foot- and just thinking…. “this will end badly, and a legend will arise from it…”
I think these are a must have.
heh heh thankfully no humans were harmed in the making…
But what impressed me the most was on both occasions all the recordists remained completely silent until everything quietened down… and THEN burst out laughing!! Not sure if the same would have been true for me had I caught fire!!