To celebrate Halloween in a gruesome style, we decided to do part two of: Death by Sound Effect. We came up with a cause of death and put our editors to the task to create a gross, gruesome sound build. Let’s see what they came up with!
![Death by [Sound Effect]: A Halloween Sound Design Challenge Part 2](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54813413e4b0034aade3a0bc/1696292819748-VS7VWLU2IR3EBJ71HYAB/image-asset.jpeg)
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Focus on the Creative
Foley is a crucial element in the world of filmmaking and audio production. It refers to the art of creating and recording sound effects to synchronize with the visual elements of a film or other visual media. The history of Foley can be traced back to the early days of cinema, and it has since evolved into a specialized and essential field within the film and television industry.
Jayson Niner recently moved from his position as assistant sound editor to editor here at Boom Box Post. We sat down with Jayson to get his thoughts on his new position, and if he has any advice to offer.
Did you enjoy What’s That Sound part 1, 2, and 3? Let’s see if you can guess what sounds we have come up with this time! Listen carefully!
Dialogue editing is an essential part of the post-production process for animated TV shows, and one we take very seriously at Boom Box Post! Clear, crisp, organized, and coherent dialogue is the bedrock of any TV show. Meticulously shaping, enhancing, and cleaning up the voice performances does wonders to breathe life into the characters as well as streamline the mixing process.
Knowing your SFX library is essential to becoming an efficient SFX editor. However, it can be quite daunting at first as there are so many different types of sound for the same object. Knowing how to read and use your SFX library to its fullest potential will greatly increase the creativity and ways to use those sounds. Our SFX Editor, Katie Jackson, sat down to teach the tips and tricks to making the most out of your SFX library.
For the last six months Isabel has worked as the Boom Box Post studio apprentice. She has done an absolutely stellar job, adapting to any task assigned to her. Isabel was kind enough to share some of her experiences and insights on the process for future Boom Box Post apprentices or anyone entering the sound industry for the first time.
If you are just starting your career in post production sound you might have seen the position of Supervising Sound Editor or Sound Supervisor pop up here and there on job sites or in the end credits of TV shows or movies. For many new or aspiring sound editors there is a bit of a misunderstanding over what the roles and responsibilties of the Supervising Sound Editor position consist of. Sound supervisors are more than just people who check the editors work, they wear many hats that they need to switch between at a moments notice. We had a chance this week to chat with Tess and Brad, two of our supervisors, about what their jobs entail and advice they would give editors looking to become sound supervisors.
In many of our shows, we often get the exciting opportunity to work on a pirate adventure! I wanted to outline some of the things that are crucial to building a pirate ship that sounds fun, authentic, and thrilling! The kind of ship you are designing may vary, but this is a good guide to give you a place to start. You can always tailor it to whatever special needs your project calls for.
Working with sound for animation provides us with interesting opportunities to bring to life scenarios totally incomprehensible to our day to day lives. One of our sound effects editors, Peter, was recently tasked with one such opportunity. Peter needed to combine the destructive natural sound of a tornado with the clinical inorganic sound of a machine. Keep reading to hear about his process.
Recently, Vivian created a sound build involving a character magically growing three stories tall! Find out about her process and what techniques she utilized.
Natalia was given the challenge of creating the sound design for a character’s superpower transformation sequence. Natalia describes her process and the inspirations that led to her successful sound build. Read more to find out how she did it!
Katie was given the fun yet challenging task of creating a roller coaster only consisting of materials that could be found thousands of years ago. Find out how she tackled this project and what issues she faced.
Recently, Peter was tasked with creating the sound build for a time machine as it creates and travels through a time portal. Find out how he managed to achieve the desired effect while putting his own personal style into the sound.
Tim was recently challenged with designing ambiences for a series of shorts that had a lot of action. The clients very smartly requested these builds have a rhythmic quality to them, allowing them to play in the background without distracting too much from what was happening on-screen. Check out how this was accomplished!
In animation, large crowds serve to support the fullness and sonic versatility of a scene. However, it is easy to get lost in an audience’s hyperactivity and noise, which can potentially distract the listener instead of guiding them through the narrative of the show. Read below to see how sound effects editor Ben approaches a stadium crowd design.
Not too long ago, I was given the creative opportunity to build a unique version of a camper van out of non-traditional motor sounds. The job was to make something that resembled a motor out of sounds that were not machinery or would sound like a realistic engine. This was a fun challenge and proof of concept that you can make a motor out of anything!
With such a wide variety of TV shows, our sound effects editors can end up designing some pretty out-of-this-world sound effects builds, like balloon nightmares, interdimensional time jumps, and even monster armies! For another imaginative look into some of the exciting sound effects we create at Boom Box Post, sound effects editor Natalia is sharing a deeper dive into how she approaches designing a magical tree transformation. Read more to learn how finding unique library sounds can contribute to a supernatural metamorphosis.
As I’m building upon my sound editing skills, a critique I often receive is that my sound effects build is not utilizing a fuller frequency range, so it’s not as impactful during previews. Developing a dynamic frequency range into my builds isn’t just important for having powerful sound moments, it’s also essential for ensuring that the sound effects translate on all possible listening platforms, like a huge Dolby Atmos theatre and tiny pair of ear buds. In order to tackle this challenge, I asked two of our supervising sound editors, Brad Meyer, MPSE, and Tess Fournier, MPSE, to play a frequency-association game. I named some commonly referenced frequency ranges, and they followed up with sound effects that come to mind, and why these particular ranges are valuable for creating effective sound effects builds.
Constructing a portfolio reel for the first time can be daunting, but it’s an effective method to show recruiters and potential employers your skill set in post-production audio editing. I noticed in my own job search that many employers encourage and even require them. While many audio-post production internships or college programs can offer helpful guidance for building portfolio reels, not everyone has these resources. So, here are four tips for making your portfolio reel.