Sound Design Tips from Jakob Parsons

Jakob Parsons

Escape Studios recently welcomed sound specialist Jakob Parsons to teach sound design to our 2nd year undergraduate animators.

Our animation students are currently working on their first Studio Project - a teaser/trailer for an upcoming game, TV series or feature film.

Sound design is a vital part of the film-making process, and the only way to really learn it is to do it, make your mistakes, and then fix them.

Jakob came to Escape to explain the basics of sound design, and also to share his workflow with the students.

As a general rule of thumb, he said, the best sound effects "are the ones you make yourself".  So, part of the trick of learning sound design is how to make your own sound effects.

Audio Settings - 48Khz - wav not mp3
CD quality has a sample rate of 44.1kHz. Always set a sample rate of your project first. You should "always use the highest quality audio". In general, wav files are "better than mp3 files", because they are higher quality.  For film it's best to process your audio at 48Khz.  Always output your audio as a full wav, not as a mp3. 

Jakob in crutches - recovering from a skateboarding accident...

Record in a Quiet Space
Always record in a quiet space, ideally with "no computers whirring, no a/c humming". This can be hard to achieve, bu you want a "dry" room - rooms with curtains and sofas are very good, as they absorb sound.

Don't Exceed 0dB
When you are recording audio, don't exceed 0dB, as this will give you a distorted sound. And you really can't get rid of distortion such as pops - you can only ever mask these.  Never "go into the red" - this distortion cannot be undone.

YouTube
You can find lots of audio at YouTube, but in general there is much more video out there than audio. So, download the video, and then extract the audio from it.

Editing Audio - Adobe Audition
It is generally best to edit your soundscape in Adobe Audition, not in Premiere, as you will get a "much more accurate soundscape" in Audition. Start by applying filters - the FFT filter is the best one.  Audition allows you to adjust the sound levels, so that you can better combine the audio you hear with the visuals that you see. You can also adjust the sound in the right and left ear (ie, right and left speaker), so that the sound appears to be coming from one side of the screen, or the other, making the effect more realistic. 

Layer or "Stack" Your Sound FX

You can often achieve better sound results by layering or "stacking" your sound effects. Multiple sound fx of - say - a door opening - can give a much richer sound quality than a single sound effect. Stack multiple sound fx on top of each other for a richer, better quality.   

About Jakob Parsons

Jakob Parsons

Jakob has a degree in music production from The Academy of Contemporary Music, and his main specialism is music composition.  He also works in live sound, and co-founded his own production company, Lambda AV. Recent work includes projects across multiple platforms, including running the production teams for Egg London, Fire & Lightbox nightclubs, and working on stages at festivals: Glastonbury, Boomtown and The Palace Arts Festival in Poland.

The Escape Studios Animation Blog offers a personal view on the art of animation and visual effects. To apply for our BA/MArt in 3D Animation, follow this link.  To apply for our storyboarding evening class, visit this page here.  For the next 12 week animation course, click here. And to apply for the next evening class in Producing Animation, see this page.