It’s all about the layers!
Our program has a sound design course that all animation students are required to take, but not all of them have taken it when they get to my Intro to Animation course. So as we move into final projects, I spend part of a class period with a brief lecture on how to approach sound for animation.
Good sound design is all about layering. There are several different types of sounds you might include in your films to create a realistic sound environment.
Ambience – the background noises that define the environment
- jungle atmosphere
- wind blowing
- rain
- city sounds
- crowd noises
- room tone
Hard Effects/Foley – sound effects that are timed specifically to an action on screen.
- footsteps
- clothing rustling
- cartoon sounds
Soft Effects – sound effects that are not synchronized to something on screen but still important for the story line.
- doorbell
- dog barking in the distance
- tea kettle in the next room
Music – music is a powerful for telling the audience what to feel. Be aware that the music you choose will play a huge role in how your audience experiences your film.
Dialog/Voice Over – anything the characters say in the film, including efforts, laughs, cries, screams, snorts, sniggers, etc.
Frequently sound effects are not just one sound, but several sounds blended together and processed through various filters. Pixar’s sound designer Ben Burtt reveals how he made the sounds for Wall-E in a series of lecture videos. Check out all the random things he uses to make unusual sounds. Here is the first part of the lecture. Parts 2-4 are on this website, along with an interview.
All these sounds fall into two categories. Diegetic sounds can include anything on or off screen that belongs to the world of the film. Anything that the characters could potentially hear and respond to would be part of that world: footsteps, telephone rings, howling wind, music on the jukebox. Non-diegetic sound are the surreal or external sounds that add to our experience of the film, but are beyond the world of the characters; a musical score, voice-over, laugh tracks, surreal sound effects.
Two different approaches to sound design
Some approaches to sound design are realistic, i.e. they try to accurately represent what we are seeing on screen. Other approaches may have varying level of surrealistic design i.e. matching unexpected or unusual sounds to a visual. Animation has the additional benefit over live action in that the viewer is already suspending a hefty bit of their disbelieve to accept that those puppets, drawings or bits of paper are full of life and vitality. That means a good sound designer can manipulate that acceptance by making unusual and creative pairings in the sound design. It is amazing what we will accept as belonging together when our ears and eyes are coordinating their processing.
In the two examples below, listen carefully to the sounds you hear and ask how do the sound effects play in our understanding of the image?
Sound and music are incredibly powerful emotional triggers. Through our absorbing of cinematic vocabulary, we instinctively know that we are supposed to tear-up as the orchestral strings swell in a music track, and our heart rate will automatically quicken when we here deep, menacing undertones in the ambience. Watch this short film twice. The first time, just experience the film. The second time, pay attention to the subtle changes in tone and ambience and what that does to your emotional state.
Where to find sound for your film
Creative Commons
Non-commercial
Share-alike
When using CC (creative commons) material, there are certain limitations determined by the author. Read the specific license details on how to properly credit the work and what you can and cannot do with it. Read best practices for attribution before you use!
CC Licensed sound effects on freesound.org
CC Licensed music on freemusicarchive.org and mobygratis.com
And a few more http://socialtimes.com/royalty-free-music_b37470
Purchasing Music
These websites allow you to buy royalty free music for a small fee (usually $10-40 depending on length). Most of these are made specifically for media projects so there are a lot of options for genre, style and tempo.
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