Nerdy South Records

Using Frequency Manipulation To Create Sound Effects

Before you can begin creating professional, top-of-the-line sound effects, it is imperative to have a basic understanding of sound frequency. Generally referred to as audio frequency or audible frequency, sound frequency is simply the range of vibrations heard and/or discerned by the average human ear.

While the precise frequencies that can be heard varies widely from person to person and also depends on environmental factors, the standard range of human auditory frequencies is between 20 and 20,000 hertz. Numbers on the lower end of the frequency scale reflect lower frequencies (think bass) and higher frequencies (think screeching tires) are on the higher end of the frequency scale.

To create sound effects using electronic sound manipulating equipment, you generally manipulate existing sounds by changing their frequency to attain the sound you desire. Let’s face it, creating just the right combination of sound effects for any project, whether film, radio, video games, television, or multimedia, can be a daunting task. Even if you know exactly what sound effects you are looking to achieve, creating the precise sound you have in mind may, at times, seem impossible. To create professional sounding sound effects you will need some basic equipment that contains standard controls. Understanding these controls and more specifically what they contribute to the creation of your coveted sound effects is a great first step for any aspiring sound engineer.

- Level/Gain: This control is designed to allow you to attenuate or amplify a given set of frequencies.

]]>

- Cutoff Frequency/Cutoff Point: This is the point in which a filter begins to affect the sound in question. It is used for determining the part of the frequency spectrum the filter works on.

- Attenuation: Reduces the targeted frequency(ies).

- Bandwidth/Q/Emphasis/Resonance/Peak: Effects the range of frequencies from each side of the cutoff point (measured in Hertz) related to frequency.

Using the Tools at your Disposal

Creating professional sounding sound effects goes above and beyond simply having the right tools. Sound designers who not only have the right tools, but also know how to properly use them create the best sound effects. It is more important to know how to use the tools of your trade than to have the best equipment on the market. In fact, it is possible to create impressive sound effects using dinosaur-esque recording, mixing and editing equipment. However, having the best of the best is a definite plus.

How to Properly Control Sound Effects

If you expect to properly control sound effects, let alone begin to build or add to your sound effects library, you will need to familiarize yourself with the different types of EQ (which is an abbreviation for audio equalizing equipment). There are five basic types that you will work with in the sound lab.

- Fixed EQ: A single control, i.e. bass or treble. With the Fixed EQ, the cutoff frequency is fixed and all you control are the amounts of boost or cut.

- Graphic EQ: Generally found on HiFi systems, they are divided into a series of bands that allow you to make cut and boost individually. They are used to divide the spectrum up into any predetermined number of bands, and then control each band individually.

- Paragraphic EQ: This is something of a hybrid EQ that allows users to manipulate sound effects on several bands and with user defined frequency bands.

- Parametric EQ: This EQ is designed to allow the user to change the frequency of the bands with ease – typically, it will have 3-4 bands, each with the ability to control cutoff frequency, bandwidth and level. This allows you to manipulate specific frequencies within a fairly tight range for your sound effects.

- Sweeping EQ: This is a middle ground EQ that falls between the simplest Fixed EQ and a Parametric EQ. It gives those building their sound effects libraries the ability to fix the center bandwidth and control the center frequency. This is a very common EQ, and it is found of the majority of mixers.

In Conclusion

Using EQ to manipulate sound is a common means to create fluid sounds for use in music, as well as sound effects for use in movies and other media. While many sound effects can be created using EQ in a studio, in order to create a comprehensive sound effects library, you will have to expand your methods even further. This would involve recording natural and manually created sounds both on and off location.

Source: ArticlesBase.com

Sound Branding: Building a Sound Identity

An effective brand identity is commonly perceived as a good brand name and logo, trendy package design – dimensions which mainly concern visual senses. However, this common perception of branding is incomplete.

Human beings have five senses, so why would brand strategists leave four of them aside? Over the past few years, senses other than sight have been explored by brand experts and marketers. Although the senses of taste and touch are more difficult for brands to reach, some brands like Singapore Airlines and Rolls Royce have already used scent to build brand identity, also known as olfactive branding. (Please see our article on Sensorial Branding ). A new area of focus is now sound branding, which will be explored in this article.

Sound can be seen as a vague notion, so let’s define it first. Daniel Jackson, the author of the book Sonic Branding, distinguishes three types of sounds: voice, ambiance, and music.Voice covers any sound produced by human-beings, from a baby crying to Pavarotti singing. Ambiance refers to every sound produced by our environment, from weather to machines. Finally, to define music, we will quote the New Oxford Dictionary of English: “The art or science of combining vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.”

First of all, while visual, taste or touch features of a product or brand requires people to directly interact with it in order for it to be perceived, a sound characteristic is a good way to reach consumers without them doing anything. We are all exposed to sounds whether we like it or not, and we do not have to do anything to hear them.

Moreover, as Michaël Boumendil, the founder and general manager of Sixième Son* (a leading agency worldwide for sound branding based in Paris) explains, each of us has begun our communication life by decoding sounds as early as when we are in our mother’s belly. At this formative stage of our life, we had already heard and memorized sounds, the most important being the mother’s heart beat. We were able to interpret that a beat of 60 pulsations per minute means a calm and comfortable state. Due to this early biological exposure, human-beings are naturally sensitive to sounds and their meanings.

]]>

In addition to influencing our mood by making us feel energized or sleepy, happy or sad, sound has an amazing ability to inspire us and remind us of the past. Psychological studies have shown that humans strongly associate sounds with a particular memory. Thus, sound has this unique power to recall certain experiences, which is a crucial advantage when it comes to building a strong brand in the minds of consumers.

Many companies are now starting to realize the effectiveness of sound branding, also known as sonic branding, audio branding or auditory branding. Here are some examples of famous and efficient sound trademarks: the Intel jingle, McDonald’s “I’m loving it”, the Yahoo yodel, Apple computer sounds, and Nokia’s ringtone. These major brands evoke a strong and unique identity on their own, but their foothold in customers’ minds is made even stronger when coupled with a distinguished and memorable sound. All of these leading brands have built their own unique sound personality as an integral part of their brand identity, and they are now recognized not only through a logo or a slogan, but also through a few musical notes. The McDonald’s Corporation itself has set out an aggressive sound branding campaign here in China, and even commissioned the famous Chinese pop singer Leehom Wang to sing “I’m loving it” in Chinese.

Royal Air Maroc recently reviewed its entire brand identity and created a sound identity with the help of Sixieme Son. Wafaâ Ghiati, the marketing manager of the company, explains that the idea of a sound trademark came naturally with the whole brand revamp. Royal Air Maroc’s sound identity had to convey the five core values of the airlines, which are Moroccan, majestic, magical, maternal and modern, while respecting the oriental roots of the company and being strongly oriented to the future. The goal of this new identity was triple-fold: to better differentiate the airline, express its values, and reinforce the impact of its communication. Wafaâ Ghiati describes the new sound identity as music which is modern without being too “fashionable”, and which has personality without being aggressive. This sound trademark is used for TV and radio ads, on the company website, as a jingle at air terminals, on CDs for clients, ring tones, and more. Although the sound aspect of Royal Air Maroc’s brand identity is very recent, the success is already measurable: on the internal side, comments about the sound trademark have been very positive, and on the external side, the music of the TV ad has been well received and many people have asked for a way to obtain it.

Sound branding gives a brand a unique audio identity, which can over time become a valuable trademark. Branding in this sense not only helps trigger memory and associations, but it is also perceived as an indication of quality and trustworthiness.

The five most important characteristics of a brand sound identity are:

* length and clarity
* distinctiveness
* relation to the product
* pleasantness
* familiarity and accessibility

The first four characteristics can be managed during the creation process, and the fifth one can be reached through an effective marketing strategy. However, a sound which is familiar to customers does not mean instant success for the brand. Marketers have to make sure that customers associate this familiar sound with the corresponding brand. An easy and efficient way to guarantee this correlation is to include the brand name within the sound itself.

Although sound branding may at first seem complex and abstract, when prepared and communicated effectively in accordance with brand strategy, it has the power to build your brand in an “unheard of” way.

Written in collaboration with Michaël Boumendil from Sixieme Son, a strategic partner of Labbrand.

1. Jackson, D.M. (2003). Sonic Branding. New York: Palgrave Macmillan New York.

Source: ArticlesBase.com