[Written by Rodney Gates for Designing Sound] All SKUs are created equal…right? It is a common question every time a new game is released on the console platforms: “I have both systems. Which version should I buy?” In a perfect world, any game created for the consoles would run just perfectly on them, without any performance edge leaning towards one machine or the other. … [Read more...]
Rodney Gates Special: How I Spend My Vacations: Field Recording
[Written by Rodney Gates for Designing Sound] Serenity Now! Nothing can be more peaceful than sitting quietly for several minutes at a time in a unique location recording the living world in front of you. Your eyes and ears are alert and observant of everything that’s happening as the recorder captures it all. There is a calm that comes over you and for the first time in a … [Read more...]
Exclusive Interview with Tom Bellfort of “Source Code”
The following is an exclusive interview with Supervising Sound editor and Sound Designer Tom Bellfort about his work on “Source Code”. DS: How did you convey the feeling of confusion through the sounds that Jake Gyllenhaal's character Captain Colter Stevens hears as he wakes up the first time in Source Code? TB: The first concept I experimented with was to sonically bridge … [Read more...]
Alan Howarth Interview on Horror, Hip Hop, and the Sonics of Fear
Great interview at Thirteen with Alan Howarth, talking about scoring and creating sound for horror films, his early influences and experiments, anecdotes from works with Hip-Hop artists, and more. RC: What’s the craziest contraption you’ve used to capture a wild effect? AH: When I was developing sound effects for The Hunt For Red October I wanted to record underwater sounds, … [Read more...]
An Interview with Stefan Strandberg, Audio Director on “Battlefield 3”
Sophia Tong of Sound Byte has published an interview with audio director Stefan Strandberg, who talks about his work on "Battlefield 3". "Many people might think that we are trying to create the ultimate weapon sound in every single case, but it is the other way around. We create sounds that match the palette that we have decided upon. So it is not about creating an awesome gun … [Read more...]
Rodney Gates Special: Learning to Listen: Using Sounds out of Context
[Written by Rodney Gates for Designing Sound] The Blank “Page” As we sit at our desks each day, creating new sounds for a game, it’s important to think outside the box when it comes to choosing your source material from which to design from. Most of the sounds you hear in games or film are usually not a single recording edited and dropped into place to represent the things … [Read more...]
Arrowhead Audio, New SFX Library by Fred Pearson, “Squelch, Squish and Splat” Pack Available
Fred Pearson has launched Arrowhead Audio, a new independent SFX company focused on producing royalty-free small sample packs for sound editors/designers with really affordable prices. The company has been launched along with a new library called "Squelch, Squish and Splat", a sfx package loaded with 455 samples at 96kHz/24-Bit. Some of the items used are: Grapefruits, … [Read more...]