Comments on: As Bobby Darin said, “If I Could Talk to the Animals…” https://designingsound.org/2014/02/03/as-bobby-darin-said-if-i-could-talk-to-the-animals/ Art and technique of sound design Sun, 09 Aug 2015 17:12:09 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.9 By: Chris Linder https://designingsound.org/2014/02/03/as-bobby-darin-said-if-i-could-talk-to-the-animals/#comment-151826 Mon, 10 Feb 2014 19:53:31 +0000 https://designingsound.org/?p=26040#comment-151826 In reply to Andrew Lackey.

Thanks for these useful tips!
I will definitely keep them in mind.

I plan to have at least three recording sessions and in the best case on a maintenance day.
I have a Sennheiser MKH416 I would use for all the mono recordings and a NT4 and two Contact Mics for experimenting.

]]> By: Chris Linder https://designingsound.org/2014/02/03/as-bobby-darin-said-if-i-could-talk-to-the-animals/#comment-151822 Mon, 10 Feb 2014 19:44:15 +0000 https://designingsound.org/?p=26040#comment-151822 In reply to MG.

It’s the local zoo in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
I actually planned this session about half a year ago, but I had the feeling that I’m not properly prepared.

]]> By: Andreas https://designingsound.org/2014/02/03/as-bobby-darin-said-if-i-could-talk-to-the-animals/#comment-151758 Mon, 10 Feb 2014 17:50:36 +0000 https://designingsound.org/?p=26040#comment-151758 In reply to MG.

Would be a great idea. Time to get back to sound design competitions :)

]]> By: Andrew Lackey https://designingsound.org/2014/02/03/as-bobby-darin-said-if-i-could-talk-to-the-animals/#comment-149598 Wed, 05 Feb 2014 15:41:48 +0000 https://designingsound.org/?p=26040#comment-149598 In reply to Chris Linder.

RE: Zoos
My helpful hints:

Use a highly directional mics (a mono shotgun is going to yield more useful stuff than cardioid stereo). Save stereo for aviaries and places with multiple animals interacting.

Get there as soon as it opens (or earlier if you can get in). Beat the crowds and most animals are active in the early AM.

Listen and run to where sound is happening…don’t try to “record the lion” if she’s just sitting in her habitat.

Get friendly with the keepers. If you know animal keepers…that is a far far better way to record a particular animal. They’ll know the species and animal specific behaviors to help you capture the sound. They also have relationships with the animals that can facilitate recordings…like feeding, cuddling, doing special calls etc.

Go multiple days. You’ll be surprised how different the material will be from one day to the next. Animals behave differently in day to day. One Macaw I recorded was silent one day and had as heck about a nearby air boat the next day.

]]> By: Andrew Lackey https://designingsound.org/2014/02/03/as-bobby-darin-said-if-i-could-talk-to-the-animals/#comment-149593 Wed, 05 Feb 2014 15:25:35 +0000 https://designingsound.org/?p=26040#comment-149593 I’ve recorded wild hippos in Africa and use them often in my creatures. They’re relatively easy to record b/c they hang out in the rivers during the day and make tons of insane noise. Most fearsome animal sounds…like aligator bellows for instance…are like trying to record lightning/thunder strikes. You have to be at the right place, at the right time, with your gear in record and the mic pointed in right direction when that once per day sound randomly happens.

]]> By: MG https://designingsound.org/2014/02/03/as-bobby-darin-said-if-i-could-talk-to-the-animals/#comment-149572 Wed, 05 Feb 2014 14:11:26 +0000 https://designingsound.org/?p=26040#comment-149572 In reply to Chris Linder.

Fantastic Chris,

Can I ask what zoo?

]]> By: Joe https://designingsound.org/2014/02/03/as-bobby-darin-said-if-i-could-talk-to-the-animals/#comment-149551 Wed, 05 Feb 2014 13:13:52 +0000 https://designingsound.org/?p=26040#comment-149551 Nothing is more horrifying than a Sow giving birth to a litter of pigs!

I’m using it for a mutated wolf pain impact sound right now. :)

]]> By: Chris Linder https://designingsound.org/2014/02/03/as-bobby-darin-said-if-i-could-talk-to-the-animals/#comment-149453 Wed, 05 Feb 2014 07:58:50 +0000 https://designingsound.org/?p=26040#comment-149453 cool thing!
I am planning to make a recording session at our local zoo this summer to expand my library.
If the recordings are good I will make them public, since this is a fun project and I want as much feedback as possible.

]]> By: MG https://designingsound.org/2014/02/03/as-bobby-darin-said-if-i-could-talk-to-the-animals/#comment-149003 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 14:32:26 +0000 https://designingsound.org/?p=26040#comment-149003 Be fun to hold a “Creature Construction” competition this month! :))

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