In a recent video, SoundWorks Collection speaks to Sound Designer (and Designing Sound Contributing Editor) Peter Albrechtsen and Sound Rerecording Mixer Lars Ginzel about their work on the Danish film "The Idealist". In the video, they discuss their uniquely sonic approach to the film, which concerns a journalist who exposes the biggest political scandal in Danish history. … [Read more...]
Cities and Memory: Oblique Strategies
Cities and Memory: Oblique Strategies, a recent collaboration between sound artists, musicians, and field recordists from across the world, was released earlier today. The project brought these sound artists together to create new musical remixes of field recordings from around the world, using Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt's Oblique Strategies cards as guideposts for their … [Read more...]
Just Listen
Back around the time I was first starting out, I remember opening up a demo of Cubase VST (on my trusty PowerMac 6400) and taking a look through the various menus. Everything seemed pretty standard, but something in particular caught my eye, a menu item labeled “Ears Only”. Curious, I clicked on it, only to have my monitor go completely blank. After a few seconds of panic … [Read more...]
Noise, Storytelling with Sound, and Visuals on the Radio with Radiolab’s Jad Abumrad
I recently had the chance to chat with Jad Abumrad, creator and co-host of WNYC's Radiolab. Each episode of Radiolab explores ideas in science, technology, and the universe at large through a seamless blend of expert interviews, sound design, and music. Together with co-host Robert Krulwich, the show has covered topics such as sleep, colors, cities, and loops, just to name a … [Read more...]
Unlimited Dialog “AIRFILL” to Fill your Every Need
Guest contribution by Douglas Murray I was inspired to finish this write-up after reading the feature list of the new Zynaptiq UNFILTER plugin. Their web site says: You can also apply the measured filter response from one recording to another – placing the two in the same acoustic "world”. Or you can create roomtone to fill editing gaps, by applying a measured filter … [Read more...]
Triumph – Review (and giveaway!)
[The kind folks at Audiofile Engineering have put together a giveaway of apps - including Triumph. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find out how you can be one of the three lucky people to win!] OS X has suffered from the lack of a good and dedicated audio editor. There was a lot of hope pegged on the release of Sound Forge Pro Mac, but we all know how that went. There are … [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...]