7 Sound Design
Lesson overview
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to do the following:
Apply extreme processing to everyday sounds
Create special effects
Change the environments in which sounds occur
Use pitch shifting and filtering to alter sounds
Use the Doppler Shifter effect to add motion
This lesson will take about 45 minutes to complete. Please log in to your account on peachpit.com to download the lesson files for this chapter, or go to the “Getting Started” section at the beginning of this book and follow the instructions under “Accessing the Lesson Files and Web Edition.” Store the files on your computer in a convenient location.
Your Account page is also where you’ll find any updates to the chapters or to the lesson files. Look on the Lesson & Update Files tab to access the most current content.
About sound design
Sound design is the process of capturing, recording, and/or manipulating the audio elements used in movies, television, video games, museum installations, theater, post-production, and other art forms that require sound. Sound design can refer to music, but this chapter emphasizes sound effects and ambience. These types of sounds are common in sonic logos (such as the MGM lion roar) or the atmospheric sounds used in movie scenes to create a mood.
Note
If you have not already downloaded the project files for this lesson to your computer from your Account page, make sure to do so now. See “Getting Started” at the beginning of the book.
No one was swimming alongside or crushing actual submarines in The Hunt for Red October or Das Boot; it was up to the sound designers to create the atmosphere of high pressure in deep water and creaking metal.
Sound effects libraries are available from several companies, but sound designers often modify these or record their own sounds using a field recorder. For example, early in Raiders of the Lost Ark, a giant stone ball chases Indiana Jones. The rumble of the rolling boulder was created by recording a Honda Civic backing over gravel. Subsequent sound design work turned this into a huge, ominous sound. Similarly, sound designers modified an elephant cry to create the sound for TIE fighters diving to attack in Star Wars.
Although the results may not be quite as iconic, in this lesson, you’ll learn how to turn two ordinary sounds into a variety of sound effects and ambience. The two files you’ll be using—a wall fan and water running into a sink from a faucet—were recorded using a portable digital recorder.
Generate noise, speech, and tones
Audition provides excellent audio editing and processing tools, but it can also generate original audio files. The newly created audio can be simple tones, noise, or full speech, which can be useful when creating temporary voice-over or in the early stages of producing an audio mix for film or television.
Generate Noise
Audition can generate full spectrum noise, which covers the full range of frequencies. You can then use the noise as a mask for other low-level sounds or, perhaps, to fill out a soundtrack for a film.
You can create four noise types, each distinguished by having different emphasis on particular frequencies:
White Noise: This has equal proportions of all frequencies. Because human hearing is more sensitive to high frequencies, white noise sounds hissy.
Grey Noise: This is psychoacoustically designed to sound the way humans expect white noise to sound. The emphasis on different frequencies compensates for the varying sensitivity of human hearing. It’s educational to try out this option in Audition just to see the graph indicating human perception.
Brown Noise: This type of noise has more low-frequency content than White or Grey noise. Its sounds are thunder- and waterfall-like. The name comes from the Brownian motion curve used to calculate it.
Pink Noise: The most natural sounding of the noises. By applying an equalizer effect to the sound, you can generate rainfall, waterfalls, wind, rushing river, and other natural sounds. Because pink noise is between brown and white noise, it is sometimes described as tan noise.
To begin, try generating some white noise.
Choose the Default workspace, and then choose Window > Workspace > Reset To Saved Layout.
Choose Effects > Generate > Noise.
NoteIf you have an existing audio file open, newly generated noise will be inserted into the audio. If you make a selection, the noise will replace the selected duration.
New audio needs to be stored in a file, so the New Audio File dialog box opens. Choose a sample rate of 48000 Hz, Stereo channels, and a Bit Depth of 16 (the most common settings for film and television soundtracks). Provide a File Name, and click OK.
Sample the different options on the Color menu by choosing a color and clicking the Preview Play button
.Choose White from the Color menu.
Set the duration to 5 seconds. You can click the duration number and simply enter a 5, then click away to let Audition add the zeros and punctuation.
Note that the Style menu allows you to choose Spatial Stereo, Independent Channels (for which each channel is calculated separately), Mono, and Inverse, for which the two channels created are identical but inverted, resulting in sound that, when listened to with headphones, seems to come from inside your head.
Click OK.
The result is particularly striking if you enable the Spectral Frequency Display. White noise covers the entire frequency spectrum with evenly distributed random noise.
Generate tones
Audition can generate a full range of tones with up to five frequency components that combine to produce potentially complex sounds.
Click the New File menu button in the Files panel, and choose New Audio File.
Choose a sample rate of 48000 Hz, Stereo channels, and 16 for Bit Depth. The name isn’t important for this exercise, so now click OK.
Choose Effects > Generate > Tones.
With Default chosen from the Presets menu, press the spacebar to play the sound.
The various components of the tone are calculated from the Base Frequency setting. By default, this is 440 Hz or standard Concert Pitch (for A above middle C). As you can see in the Frequency Components area, the first enabled frequency is 440 Hz, with an amplitude of −18.1 dB.
Choose the Major Chord preset.
Now most of the frequency components are enabled. Each Multiplier setting multiplies the Base Frequency for the frequency component, creating an overtone.
You can also select the Sweep Frequencies option to produce a sound that ranges between two frequencies.
For now, check that the Duration (at the lower right) is set to 5 seconds, and click OK.
Play the file to check the result.
Close the file, and choose No when asked if you would like to save.
Generate speech
Perhaps one of the most useful functions in Audition for filmmakers is the option to create speech based on text. This is helpful if you’re waiting for a professionally recorded voice over, but need something to use temporarily to estimate timing and levels in a mix. This feature is also useful when creating audio assets to give an editor, because they can use the generated speech to time the edit.
Choose File > Close All, and choose No To All when asked if you would like to save.
Choose Effects > Generate > Speech.
The New Audio File dialog box opens. Choose a Sample Rate of 48000 Hz, Mono from the Channels menu, and 16 for Bit Depth. The name isn’t important for this exercise so click OK.
Audition uses the voice libraries available in your operating system, and they vary depending on whether you are working on a Windows or macOS system. Both operating systems give you the option to add voices. By default, macOS includes more voices than Windows.
The Presets menu allows you to choose among available voices. Choose a voice.
Add any text to the text entry box. If you have text already in a document, you can paste it here.
Click the Preview Play button
at the bottom left of the Generate Speech dialog box.Stop the playback, and try a new voice. Slow the speaking rate down to hear the difference.
NoteThe Settings button takes you to the Speech settings in your operating system.
Once you’re happy with the speech, click OK.
Close the file, and choose No when asked if you would like to save.
Creating rain sounds
With sound design, it helps to start with a sound in the same genre. To create rain, for instance, the running water audio file will most likely produce a better end result than the recording of the fan.
Choose File > Open, navigate to the Lesson07 folder, and open the file RunningWater.wav.
Make sure the Transport Loop Playback button is selected so the water sound plays continuously. Click the Transport Play button to preview the loop.
You’ll first change this sound to a light, spring rain.
Resize the Effects Rack panel to allow you to see more of the effect inserts.
Click Effects Rack insert 1’s right arrow button, and choose Filter And EQ > Graphic Equalizer (10 Bands). Ensure that Range is 48 dB and Master Gain is 0.
Pull the sliders for all bands other than 4k and 8k all the way down to −24 dB.
Bring the 4k and 8k sliders down to −10 dB.
Toggle the effect’s power state on and off a few times to compare how the EQ has changed the overall sound. With the EQ power on, you now have a light spring rain. You might find the effect more realistic if you bring the 8k slider down to −15 dB.
Suppose you were designing sound for a scene in which the character is inside a house while it’s raining. In this case, there would be fewer high frequencies because of the house’s walls and windows blocking the highs. Pull the 8k slider down all the way, and the rain sounds more like it’s outside.
Next, the script calls for the character to leave the house and stand in the middle of the rain. To surround the character with rain, click insert 2’s right arrow button and choose Delay And Echo > Delay.
The Default patch spreads out the sound, but it’s too separated: Rain wouldn’t fall only to the character’s right and left, but all around. Change both Mix controls to 50%, so there’s a convincing panorama of rain.
To sound more natural, it’s important that the delay not create any kind of rhythm. Set the Left Channel Delay Time to around 420 ms and the Right Channel Delay Time to 500 ms. These delays are long enough that you won’t perceive a rhythm.
If the character then goes inside again, return to the Graphic Equalizer window by double-clicking its insert in the Effects Rack and increase the 8k slider to around −14 kHz. Keep this file open as you move on to the next exercise.
Creating a babbling brook
Changing the sound from rain to a babbling brook in the distance simply involves removing the delay and changing the EQ setting.
Click the Delay insert’s arrow, and choose Remove Effect. A babbling brook has a more distinct sound than sheets of rain, so you don’t need the additional “raindrops” created by the Delay.
Click the Graphic Equalizer’s window to select it. Set the Range to 120 dB and make sure the Master Gain is 0 dB.
Set the Graphic Equalizer sliders. Move the <31, 63, 8k, and >16k sliders all to −60dB. Set the 125 and 250 sliders to 0. Move the 500 slider to −10 and the 1k slider to −20. Finally, slide 2k to −30, and lower 4k to −40.
The babbling brook is now in the distance. As the character walks closer to the brook, increase the 2k slider to −20 and the 4k setting to −30. Now the brook sounds closer. Keep this file open as you move on to the next exercise.
Creating insects at night
You can even use running water to create the sound of nighttime insects and crickets. This exercise demonstrates how signal processing can turn one sound into something completely different.
Double-click in the Waveform Editor to select the entire waveform.
Choose Effects > Time and Pitch > Stretch and Pitch (process).
In the Stretch and Pitch window, choose the Default preset if it is not already chosen.
TipExtreme pitch shifting can add such anomalies as volume spikes or clicks at the file’s beginning and end. If this happens, make an audio selection that excludes the first and last two seconds, and then choose Edit > Crop. Extreme shifting may also lower the volume, so you might want to increase the Effects Rack’s Output value.
Move the Pitch Shift slider all the way to the left (−36 semitones), and then click Apply. It will take several seconds to process the effect.
Click the Graphic Equalizer window to select it. With Range still at 120 dB, set the 4k slider to 10 dB and move the rest to −60 dB. Close the Graphic Equalizer window, and click the Transport Play button to hear the processed sound.
You can smooth out the sound and make the insects seem a little more distant by adding reverb. In the Effects Rack’s insert 2, click the right arrow button and choose Reverb > Studio Reverb. Stop playback by clicking the Transport Stop button, so you can choose a reverb preset.
Open the Presets menu, and choose Great Hall.
Click the Transport Play button, and listen to your refined insects-at- night sound.
Close the Studio Reverb dialog box.
Creating an alien choir
For the last effect using the running water file, you’ll create a totally abstract sound that’s ethereal and quite evocative.
If the entire waveform isn’t already selected, double-click in the Waveform Editor.
Choose Effects > Time and Pitch > Stretch and Pitch (process). The settings should be the same as they were previously, but if not, choose the Default preset.
If necessary, move the Pitch Shift slider all the way to the left (−36 semitones). Click Apply. Processing will take several seconds.
To remove distracting noises at the start and end, make an audio selection that excludes the first two seconds, and last two seconds, and then choose Edit > Crop.
The level will be very low, so bring it up. With the waveform still selected, choose Effects > Amplitude And Compression > Normalize (process).
Select Normalize To, and enter 50%. Normalize All Channels Equally should also be selected. Click Apply.
Bypass the Graphic Equalizer. The Reverb should still have the Great Hall preset selected. Move the Decay, Width, Diffusion, and Wet sliders all the way to the right. Move the Dry slider all the way to the left. When you click the Transport Play button, you should now hear an ethereal, animated sound.
Now add some animation for the final touch. In an Effects Rack’s insert after the Studio Reverb, click the insert’s right arrow and choose Delay And Echo > Echo. Choose the preset Spooky.
In an Effects Rack’s insert after the Echo, click the insert’s right arrow and choose Modulation > Chorus. Choose the preset 10 Voices. You may need to turn down the Effects Rack’s Output control to avoid clipping. Now extensive pitch stretching coupled with effects from the Studio Reverb, Echo, and Chorus has turned running water into an alien soundscape.
An example of the finished result of all these steps is included in the Lesson07 folder, with the filename RunningWater-finished_version.wav.
Creating sci-fi machine effects
Just as you used running water to generate water-based effects, the fan sound makes a good basis for machine and mechanical sounds. This exercise describes how to turn an ordinary wall fan sound into a variety of science-fiction, spaceship sound effects.
If you have any files open, choose File > Close All. Choose File > Open, navigate to the Lesson07 folder, and open the file Fan.wav. Click the Transport Play button to hear what the file sounds like.
Double-click inside the Waveform Editor to select the entire waveform.
Choose Effects > Time and Pitch > Stretch and Pitch (process).
Select the preset Default if it is not already selected.
Set the Pitch Shift slider to −24 semitones. Lowering the pitch makes the engine sound bigger, but lowering beyond −24 semitones makes the sound indistinct. Click Apply; processing will take a few seconds.
As in the previous exercises, for the smoothest sound, make an audio selection that excludes the first second and last second, and then choose Edit > Crop or press Ctrl+T (Windows) or Command+T (macOS).
In the Effects Rack, click insert 1’s right arrow button and choose Special > Guitar Suite. From the Presets menu, choose Drum Suite. Click the Transport Play button, and note how the sound becomes more metallic and machine-like.
Click insert 2’s right arrow button, and choose Filter And EQ > Parametric Equalizer. If the preset Default is not already selected, choose it from the Presets menu. Set the Range option to 96 dB.
Deselect bands 1 to 5, leaving only the L (low) and H (high) bands active.
Click the Q/Width buttons
for both the L and H bands to select the steepest slope (the button’s center line is almost vertical).If the file isn’t already playing, click the Transport Play button. Pull the H control point all the way down and left to around 3 kHz.
Pull the L control point up to 20 and right to about 3000 Hz.
Add some character to the engine with a resonant peak that increases the level in a narrow band of frequencies. Click the Band 2 button to enable that parametric stage. Edit the Frequency to 500 Hz, Gain to 10 dB, and Q/Width to around 20. The Guitar Suite and Parametric EQ effects provide the main engine sound.
Suppose another scene is set in a different section of the spaceship, away from the main hum of the machine room but where characters can still hear the engine rumble. In the Effects Rack, click insert 3’s right arrow button, and choose Reverb > Studio Reverb.
Click the Transport Stop button to change the Studio Reverb preset, and then choose Great Hall from the Presets menu.
Next, add lots of reverb but only to the low frequencies to emphasize the rumble: Set the Decay, Width, Diffusion, and Wet sliders all the way to the right. Set the High Frequency Cut slider to 200 Hz, the Low Frequency Cut slider full left, and the Dry slider full left. Click the Transport Play button.
Bypass the Studio Reverb to return to the engine room sound, or enable it to move farther away to a different part of the ship. Leave this file open in preparation for the next lesson.
Creating an alien drone flyby
In addition to creating static sound effects, Audition includes a Doppler Shifter processor that imparts motion: from left to right, around in circles, tracing an arc, and so on. In this exercise, you’ll take advantage of the Doppler Shifter processor to “animate” the sound of an alien drone.
If the waveform isn’t already selected, double-click within the Waveform Editor to select the entire waveform.
Choose Effects > Time and Pitch > Stretch and Pitch (process).
Choose the preset Default from the Presets menu. Set the Stretch slider to 200%. Click Apply; processing will take a few seconds.
Either bypass the Parametric Equalizer effect, or click its insert’s arrow and choose Remove Effect.
Either bypass the Studio Reverb effect, or click its insert’s arrow and choose Remove Effect.
If the Guitar Suite window isn’t open already, double-click its insert in the Effects Rack. Choose Lowest Fidelity from the Presets menu.
With the entire waveform still selected, choose Effects > Special > Doppler Shifter (process).
Choose the preset Whizzing By Left To Right from the Doppler Shifter’s Presets drop-down menu, and then click Apply. Move the playhead to the beginning, and then click the Transport Play button to hear the drone fly by from left to right.
Because the sound is most effective if it fades up from nothing and fades out to nothing, in the Waveform Editor click the Fade In button in the upper-left corner, and drag it to the right about two seconds.
Similarly, click the Fade Out button in the Waveform Editor’s upper right, and drag it left to about the 8-second mark.
To enhance the Doppler Shifter effect, click an Effects Rack insert’s right arrow and choose Modulation > Flanger.
In the Flanger window, choose Heavy Flange from the Presets menu.
Click the Modulation Rate parameter, type 0.1, and then press Enter (Return). Using the slider would make it almost impossible to choose this precise value.
Click the Transport Play button, and the alien drone will sound even more realistic as it flies by from left to right.
Close Audition without saving anything to start fresh.
Extracting frequency bands
The Frequency Band Splitter can divide a file into different frequency bands and then extract each band to its own file. This has multiple uses with sound design, but also makes multiband processing possible. For example, you can split a guitar signal into three separate frequency bands, transfer them over to the Multitrack Editor, and then process each band individually.
Open Audition. Choose File > Open, navigate to the Lesson07 folder, and open the file DeepTechHouse.wav.
Either choose Edit > Frequency Band Splitter, or right-click within the waveform and choose Frequency Band Splitter from the menu.
Choose Default from the Presets menu, and then click buttons 2 to 8 to enable all eight bands.
Each band is represented by a color. Click the red bar, and drag left to 100. This sets the lowest band’s range to cover 0 to 100 Hz (in this and subsequent steps, these frequencies don’t need to be too precise, although you can always click and type the numbers for speed).
Similarly, drag the orange bar to 200 Hz, the yellow bar to 400 Hz, the bright green bar to 800 Hz, the dark green bar to 1600 Hz, the bright blue bar to 3200 Hz, and the dark blue bar to 6400 Hz. The top band automatically covers the range from the highest frequency of the previous band to the highest available frequency (22050 Hz).
Click OK. It will take a few seconds for the splitter to extract each band to its own file. Each new file is added to the Files panel.
Click the Waveform Editor panel menu, and you’ll see each frequency band. The name includes the frequency range. Select various bands to hear what the different frequency bands sound like.
Choose the original DeepTechHouse.wav file from the Editor panel menu to open it, and then choose Edit > Frequency Band Splitter.
Choose 5-Band Broadcast from the Presets menu. You don’t have to extract all bands; click the Band 3 button to disable that band from extraction. The highest band cannot be disabled, and if you disable the second highest band, it merges with the highest band.
To add additional bands, click the highest number band button. Click the Band 5 button and a sixth band becomes available.
Close Audition without saving anything.
Review questions
What is sound design?
What effects can provide spatial placement within Audition?
What artifacts can extreme pitch shifting add?
Is the Guitar Suite useful only for guitar effects?
Do you need to use commercial sound libraries to create sound effects?
How might you use speech generated in Audition?
Review answers
Sound design is the process of capturing, recording, and/or manipulating the audio elements used in movies, television, video games, museum installations, theater, postproduction, and other art forms that require sound.
EQ, Reverb, Delay/Echo, and the Doppler Shifter can all contribute to placing a sound in the stereo or surround field.
Extreme pitch shifting may cause unpredictable amplitude spikes at the beginning and/or end of the file, as well as lower the file’s overall level.
The Guitar Suite offers huge possibilities for sound design; this lesson has tapped only a bit of its potential. You can add richness to and texture to instruments, and even apply interesting vocal effects.
Not always. Because of Audition’s rich selection of signal processors, ordinary sounds can be transformed into entirely different sounds.
You can use generated speech both as an original source for creative sound design and as a temporary media asset when timing an audio mix for film or television.