# Can you recommend any resources to learn sound design for sci-fi animation?



## soundgrrl (Aug 31, 2021)

So I've been making electronic music for about seven years and have a solid understanding of synthesis, midi, arrangement, mixing, composition and music theory - for dance music anyway. I'd really like to branch out into designing sfx and background music for sci-fi / action animation or podcasts, as well as incorporate these kinds of sounds / themes into the electronic music i make.

Can you recommend any good resources to learn about sound design for visual media, and/or podcasts? I have already found a lot of information on cinematic / orchestral composition, but would love some suggestions for advanced sfx sound design (software, hardware, field recording, foley, audio processing, etc) and how to keep the energy of the story flowing with music and sounds. sorry I don't know all the correct terms - I just know there is a lot that I don't know that I don't know yet! thanks ^_^


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## chrisr (Aug 31, 2021)

A friend of mine has this. It's a bit gimmicky but fun to flick through.


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## confusedsheep (Aug 31, 2021)

a few fx suggestions maybe...

head over to valhalla dsp and grab supermassive. it is free and a very nice fx reverb/echo thingie... a bit similar to eventides blackhole.

wormhole from zynaptiq is nice too albeit a bit on the expensive side.

portal from output aswell.

when pa has a sale grab maybe byome from unfiltered audio for sound mangling as a semi modular fx thingie.

if you have reason take maybe a closer look at texture labs, fritz (granular mangling) or nostromo from llectric panda.

listen to stuff made with sound fx from the bbc radiophonic workshop then get a theremin 

if it is just weird fx synth sounds modulate osc pitch, experiment with the noise oscs and filtering for typical weather/wind fx 

render synth noodlings to wav and drop them into granular plugins ...

explore extreme time strechting with... paul stretch

or maybe load normal wav samples into your convolution reverb...

what i personally found useful in order to manage/access large wav soundlibraries is to create kontakt instances and drop the whole library folder inside kontakt. it uses minimal memory due to direct from disk streaming and you can have a ton of fx sounds spread onto the whole range of your keyboard. e.g. have a instance for metallic textures or water fx sounds or city noises. i personally found this approach easier and more playful for experimenting with sounds than to scroll without end through directories and create single instances for each sound.

last but not least ... youtube... there should be quite a few synth fx tutorials.

happy exploring 

p.s. articulated sounds, bluezone audio and asoundeffect.com for sample libraries... and freetousesounds for enviromental recordings.


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## jcrosby (Aug 31, 2021)

One other gem I'd recommend is UVI Shade. I've recently done an absolute ton of custom trailer SFX for an undisclosed Sci-Fi show. Shade is all over a lot of the sound design I did...

The main thing to understand about Shade is you're going to get the most mileage out of designing your own presets and MSEGs, but with a synth background it should feel totally familiar.... Add it as an insert after a synth and things become even more interesting...

I'd give the demo a spin and see how you get on with it...


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## soundgrrl (Sep 1, 2021)

confusedsheep said:


> a few fx suggestions maybe...
> 
> head over to valhalla dsp and grab supermassive. it is free and a very nice fx reverb/echo thingie... a bit similar to eventides blackhole.
> 
> ...


thank you so much for the suggestions! I love Portal and Supermassive, and any granular synth I can get my hands on. PaulStretch is legendary and I was stoked to see there is a VST for mac. https://xenakios.wordpress.com/paulxstretch-plugin/. really like the idea of using them on synth recordings.

dropping samples into a sampler to have them all at your fingertips is a fantastic tip. for my workflow I prefer to use Live's drum rack or sampler for stuff like this, and then use the 64-pad mode on Push.

I have some sample libraries from Ghosthack for fx, foley & unusual percussion which I really like, but I'll definitely check out the ones you mentioned. I've found that Sononym is perfect for finding similar sounding samples across different sound packs.

I'm hoping to learn more about how to create and arrange sounds specifically to invoke certain moods or to augment story telling.


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## soundgrrl (Sep 1, 2021)

jcrosby said:


> One other gem I'd recommend is UVI Shade. I've recently done an absolute ton of custom trailer SFX for an undisclosed Sci-Fi show. Shade is all over a lot of the sound design I did...
> 
> The main thing to understand about Shade is you're going to get the most mileage out of designing your own presets and MSEGs, but with a synth background it should feel totally familiar.... Add it as an insert after a synth and things become even more interesting...
> 
> I'd give the demo a spin and see how you get on with it...


wow, it's like Serum and Autofilter had a baby. Very cool indeed. thanks for the suggestion!


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## Captain Oveur (Sep 1, 2021)

Learning SFX theory is a different animal than music theory, and from my limited engagement there are even less rules in SFX. I'd scour Youtube looking for breakdowns and interviews, even if it's hard to separate what's "good" from the pretenders at first.

For example, Mark Mangini is a well-known name and puts up commentary sometimes like this 



Another is Marshall McGee, who "got almost all of it right" with Call of Duty's gun sound



In terms of in-the-box workflow, search for tutorials on UVI Shade as jcrosby mentioned. Krotos Audio is another developer for SFX tooling. There's at least one online course I found from Evenant


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## wst3 (Sep 2, 2021)

to further muddy the waters...

The best way to learn is to listen to effects you like and try to imitate them using simple tools. And 
before you start worrying about tools (and the tools are amazing and fun) may I suggest you grab a delay and a reverb, nearly any will do, and start mangling sounds.

But what sounds? Glad you asked!

I very often start with sounds from one of my SFX libraries. If you do not yet own a general SFX library go get one, even a cheap one, you never outgrow sound effects!

Anyway, just mangle the heck out of it with delays and reverb. Then add filters or equalizers and mangle some more. You can also add dynamics processors, especially gates. And don't overlook granular processors, but you knew that.

The idea is to get an idea of what you can do with the basic tools before jumping feet first into it.

Speaking of basic tools, do not overlook a good audio editor. You can do almost anything you like in any modern DAW, but for me there is just something about the workflow in an audio editor that makes things easier to build. (I use Wavelab, but any competent editor will do).

You will also want some synth plugins. I don't even know where to start<G>. I find I end up using the Korg MS-20 or Wayoutware TimewARP 2600 plugins - mostly because those the two hardware synths I cut my teeth on. Cherry Audio released their PS-20 (MS-20 on steroids) and CA2600, and more and more I turn to them.

Lately I've been experimenting with Softube Modular (expensive, and so far worth it) and Cherry Audio Voltage, for which you can also end up spending a bit, but it is less expensive to get started.

So delays, reverbs, dynamics processors, filters and equalizers, a granular processor, an audio editor, and a couple synthesizer plugins. I like modular or semi-modular, but I'm old.

To learn to use the synthesizers may I recommend Syntorial! I've been playing with synthesizers since I was in junior high school (and that was a long time ago, don't ask!) and I learn something new every time I fire it up, which I do not do nearly often enough. 

When you are ready there is no shortage of specialized tools.

Some of my favorites include -

Krotos Reformer Simple Monsters is fun, and really useful for all sorts of monster sounds. Don't short change it though, it can create lots of other sounds too.
Boom Library Soundweaver and Krotos Weaponizer (ignore the name) are both really useful for combining and layering sounds. I use Soundweaver because I like the workflow, but if I had the money I'd add Weaponizer to my tool chest.
Boom Library Turbine may be the best engine sound generator I've come across. First time I need it for a project I will get it.
Tonsturm is another name you need to know. Their Windmachine has pretty much made my wind sound effects obsolete (almost!).
Tonsturm Traveler is amazing for moving effects.
Whoosh is fun, but I usually end up creating whooshes with a synth. 
Back to Krotos, their Igniter (again ignore the name) creates some of the most flexible and realistic vehicle sounds I've ever heard.
Krotos Reformer is in the same category as Soundweaver and Weaponizer, at least to me.
That's my tool list, for what it is worth. Start simple, there will be plenty of time to explore the more specialized software.


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