The month of favorites may be over, but for me, the chirp of a wild bird can comfort at any time. When I think of an early morning robin, a lone wintery chickadee, or a nest of spring-time sparrows hidden under the roof, specific emotions evoke from the sonic data in their calls. They express the time, the season and weather, and the topography they declare home. Their calls, … [Read more...]
Monthly Theme: Restriction
What do you think of when you hear (or read) the word restriction? Unfortunately, the word restriction often carries with it a negative connotation. Though within the creative process, restrictions can be quite beneficial, and sometimes inspiring. As Belle Beth Cooper explains in her Buffer blog post, "What restrictions do is take away some of the choices available to us, … [Read more...]
Don’t knock Frozen
There’s a lot of things to like about Frozen. The animation is beautiful, the script is tight, the performances are great, and it even features a catchy tune or two. It’s also got some great sound. Check out the opening ice cutting sequence. It probably had whole cinemas ducking for cover in 3D but even in plain old 2D it works. The effects are great and when you get out from … [Read more...]
News: Dolby Institute “Conversations with Sound Artists” Podcast Series
We as a community are lucky to have a number of amazingly informative resources available to us, and podcasts count among the most popular. Well, add a new one to your listening list: the Dolby Institute, in conjunction with SoundWorks Collection, is presenting a limited number of podcasts in a series entitled "Conversations with Sound Artists". For the first episode, released … [Read more...]
News: Remastering Gears of War – Audio
What is your favorite sound effect from a video game? Reminiscent sounds from arcade, Atari and Nintendo games often come to mind, but effects from a few modern games have also become classics. Yet it is not from their nostalgic qualities that they join Mario's square waves but rather from their versatility and ability to evoke sensations of skin-raising, visceral empathy. I … [Read more...]
Emotional Beings: A Creature Sound Design Discussion
Guest Post by Beau A. Jimenez Introduction While on a calming walk, a car drives by me. As it zips by, some jerk in the passenger decides to scream at me as loud as they could. Being caught unaware, I jump. A feeling comes over me. The hair on the back of my neck stands up. I feel scared, concerned, and worried within a fraction of a … [Read more...]
Site Archives Updated!
It's been long overdue, but we've finally updated the archive links to include the featured topics we've been running over the last few years. Just hover over the "Archives" tab in the menu bar above, and click on "Featured Topics." Don't forget that there's a bunch of other cool stuff in the site archives, including links to the site's previous feature system, "Featured Sound … [Read more...]