Sitting there as credits rolled after a Dolby Atmos presentation of Brave this past summer, I felt excited for the potential of this budding format. Before the film, a few seated moms and dads were even verbally excited as the usher announce that we would be watching the film in a new sound format. During the film, the theater was saturated with sound, I truly felt immersed at … [Read more...]
Dangerous Ambiences
Guest Contribution by Tim Prebble I suspect growing up in a very quiet location on a farm in the South Island of New Zealand may have something to do with it, but I feel I have always been very aware of ambient sound. I have vivid sound memories from childhood, of ambiences! Waking up before the birds and waiting for them… The sound of the wind in blue gum trees and the … [Read more...]
Backgrounds: Sound Design Under the Radar
Guest article by Douglas Murray Remember, all rules are meant to be broken! With that principle in mind, let's scratch the surface of the grammar and possibilities of an aspect of film sound design: backgrounds (also called BGs, atmospheres or ambiences). Backgrounds offer a powerful opportunity to use sound for maximum impact. Movies essentially need to have background … [Read more...]
Building the World in Your Books
Guest contribution by Chris Didlick We are Box of Toys Audio, a music and sound design company with studios in London and Stockholm. We provide audio services for commercials, branding, trailers and all manner of projects. With the ongoing innovation and expansion of digital media we are sometimes offered new and uncharted avenues for creativity, which is why when we were … [Read more...]
Room Tone = Emotional Tone: The Importance of Hearing Ambience
am·bi·ence noun /ˈambēəns/ ambiances, plural; ambiences, plural The character and atmosphere of a place - the relaxed ambience of the cocktail lounge is popular with guests Background noise added to a musical recording to give the impression that it was recorded live Wherever you may be reading this article, stop whatever you are doing, and … [Read more...]
Using a Zoom H4n in Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
Guest Contribution by Chris Groegler [vimeo]https://vimeo.com/51064318[/vimeo] Hi, my name is Chris Groegler and I am a Senior Sound Designer at Ubisoft-Red Storm Entertainment. Our latest project was Ghost Recon: Future Soldier where I was audio lead for Multiplayer. We have an audio team of five people and basically all of us have a Zoom H4n audio recorder. We have our Zooms … [Read more...]
And November’s Theme Is…
Welcome to Ambiences month here on Designing Sound. Often referred to as Atmospheres or Backgrounds as well, this element of a program mix deserves more attention than it commonly receives. Though not as present as dialog or hard-synced sound effects, their contribution to the tone "in-the-moment" narrative is no less important. Look for the first featured article in a few … [Read more...]