Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes to create the sound of your favourite TV shows and movies? The world of sound design is the perfect harmony of creativity and technical ability in an attempt to bring stories to life.
Whether you’re an aspiring audio enthusiast or just curious about the field, you’ll find out about this exciting world that doesn’t always get its flowers. And if your mind is already made up and this is definitely the industry for you. Here's some Insights from industry Professional Archie Lyon!
A typical day of a sound designer
Funnily enough, most sound designers work a typical 9 to 5 with a trip to the pub with colleagues after work. So, if you’re looking for an exciting career in the music industry but can’t live without a clearly structured day, you’ll love this.
Your day may start with reviewing project briefs and discussing tasks with the production team. Then, you’ll spend time editing dialogue, creating sound effects, and mixing audio tracks to enhance the overall sound quality of a film, game or multimedia project.
Depending on the project stage, you may collaborate with directors, producers, and other team members to make sure that the sound design aligns with the creative vision. This could involve attending meetings, providing feedback on audio elements or making adjustments based on client preferences.
Your day could also include troubleshooting technical issues, experimenting with different sound techniques and, of course, meeting tight deadlines to deliver content to clients.
Sound good? Keep reading.
What type of things will I learn as a sound designer?
If you’ve been on the fence about whether this is the field for you, have a look at our list below of the types of things you’ll learn on the job as a sound designer. If you like what you see, maybe this is the thing for you.
(If not, there’s definitely another part of the music industry or media in general just for you; don’t sweat it!)
- Stereo vs. Mono
If you’ve ever noticed that some films in the cinema sound a bit hollow in the centre, then you might have the ears for sound design! This is because they’ve used stereo instead of mono audio, resulting in that imbalance. Understanding stereo and mono audio is essential in this business.
- Loudness levels
Understanding the technical aspects of sound levels can open a lot of doors. You can get the job by knowing nerdy things like the loudness levels for TV being -23 LUFS, for instance. And if you were curious, it’s -14 LUFS for online media and -18 LUFS or Dolby Level 7 for film but these are all things you can Google anyway. Either way, employers will be impressed.
- How to be speedy
As a sound designer, you’ll learn how to clean up dialogue, edit music, create a full sound design, and mix it all along the way in the space of a single hour. Studio time is expensive, and sometimes mixers can be a little… slow. So, if you’re able to get the job done in an hour, you’ll see a lot of happy faces.
- Viewing copy
Just a fancy name for putting together a version of a project you’ve been working on so far in a way for your client to view and give their opinions on. Being able to present your work in a digestible manner is important in this line of work.
- Foley
Foley work is the more creative side of sound design. This involves creating realistic sound effects using whatever you’ve got in front of you to enhance the auditory experiences of a film or production. Picture a dude twisting a bunch of celery sticks to recreate the sound of bones cracking. That sort of thing. The most difficult sounds are the ones that are really subtle, but that’s all part of the fun!
Tools you might want to get familiar with
There are two paths you can take as an aspiring sound designer: either become a runner and do countless demeaning tasks for someone on top, eventually getting the chance to do sound-related tasks or get familiar with tools like the ones below and someone may give you the opportunity to learn more on the job.
Both are perfectly valid options, but if you’re leaning towards the latter, here’s a good place to start:
- Avid Pro Tools: This is the industry-standard digital audio workstation (DAW) for recording, editing and mixing audio. It offers essential tools for precise editing, effects processing and collaboration.
- iZotope RX Suite: This tool is a comprehensive audio repair and enhancement suite. It has powerful noise reduction and restoration tools so you can clean up recordings, remove unwanted artefacts and ensure the quality of audio elements.
- DX Revive AI Tool: This is an AI-powered tool designed to enhance dialogue clarity in audio recordings. It isolates speech from background noise, so you can actually understand what the actors are saying, which is essential in this age of mumble acting.
- Native Instruments Kontakt: This tool is a versatile software sampler for creating and manipulating sampled instruments and sound effects. It comes with a vast library and editing capabilities that allow you to make some really unique sounds for your projects.
Being a sound designer isn't just about manipulating audio; it's about crafting experiences that captivate audiences across a ton of different mediums. Whether you're editing dialogue, creating Foley effects or mastering soundtracks, the role of a sound designer is the ticket to a stable yet fun career.
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