First there was sound. All about the art of sound design

Live performance, sound art, post-production and computer game development. Sound design most often involves the manipulation of previously composed or recorded audio, similar to music or sound effects. Sometimes it may involve combining or manipulating audio to create a desired effect or mood.

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Definition

In the broadest sense sound design(from the English Sound Design - sound design, sound design) - a type of activity whose object is sound, its media (digital, analog) and, in some cases, the acoustics of spaces and premises. The very wording “sound design” indicates activities related to the production of sounds and acoustic environments, work on sound design for audiovisual projects, design and development of sound and noise accompaniment for screen and multimedia products, primarily for commercial and mass use.

Sound design (in screen arts) - view creative activity on modeling sound spaces and creating special sound effects for screen and multimedia works.

Thanks to the capabilities of the latest equipment, sound recording and sound processing have moved to new level, in which not only accurate sound reproduction became possible, but also high-quality sound modeling, creation unusual sounds s elements through synthesis and processing. Spectacular explosions, all kinds of fantastic cars, sounds and voices of monsters, background atmospheres of planets and battle sounds of battles in distant galaxies - all these and many other original components of film and video soundtracks are extremely in demand in modern commercial films and multimedia products. Without the unusual sounds created by the talent of the designer, the action on the film and television screens will not be so dynamic, spectacular and exciting.

Sound design is in demand in cinema, video, animation, multimedia, television, branding and advertising, radio, etc. theater arts and in modern genres music.

Sound designer (sound designer) is creative profession, which implies a good command of skills in the field of audio engineering and technology, which is why among sound design specialists there are many professional sound engineers, sound engineers and composers. A sound designer must combine both a creative and a technical worker, must be well versed in dramaturgy and directing an audiovisual product, acting and accurately feel the relationship between stage, screen action and sound. The competence of a sound design specialist also includes knowledge and understanding of the peculiarities of the audiovisual industry market, the psychology of perception of screen products, professional flair and communication skills.

Representatives of the profession

Sound Design Education

In the field Russian education The first experiments to introduce the teaching of the subject “Sound Design” in humanitarian institutions were carried out starting in 2003. At the St. Petersburg Humanitarian University of Trade Unions, Professor N. I. Dvorko organized classes on the subject “Sound Design of Multimedia Programs” within the framework of the university specialty 050200, directing, specialization “Directing Multimedia Programs.” In the same year, N.I. Dvorko released several methodological works for teaching Sound Design.

In Moscow educational institutions, teaching the subject “Sound Design” has become regular since 2008-2009. So, since 2009, at the Humanitarian Institute of Television and Radio Broadcasting named after M.A. Lithuanian subject “Sound Design” is studied as part of training in the specialty “Sound Engineering of Audiovisual Arts” and is supervised by Ph.D. cultural studies, associate professor A. A. Denikin. The subject “Sound Design” was also introduced at the All-Russian State University of Cinematography named after S. A. Gerasimov (VGIK). In the fall of 2013, the Faculty of Sound Design and Sound Engineering was opened at the Moscow Film School.

Russian sound designers

As an independent direction in Russia, sound design appeared first in cinema, and then in other areas (computer games, audio-visual installations, advertising. The main leaders of the industry include people such as:

Alexander Kopeikin
Alexander Abramov
Mikhail Radchenko
Sergey Eybog (vibe)
Pavel Doreuli
Kirill Vasilenko
Lev Yezhov
Victor Ermakov (ComplexWaveform)
Vladimir Sukharev
Sergey Zhuravlev

Foreign sound designers

Oscar winners

One of the Film Academy nominations is Best Sound Editing in a Film. The award winners were such sound designers as:

A sound designer is a specialist who is able to define, manage and create audio elements. These skills are actively used in various types arts (theater, cinema, etc.), as well as when creating commercial projects (advertising industry, production of computer games, etc.).

Sound designer is a specialist who is able to define, manage and create audio elements. The profession is suitable for those who are interested in physics, singing, music and world artistic culture (see choosing a profession based on interest in school subjects).

These skills are actively used in various types of art (theater, cinema, etc.), as well as in the creation of commercial projects (advertising industry, computer game production, etc.). This profession is part of the sound engineering work.

The essence of the work of a specialist of this profile is to carry out various kinds of manipulations with pre-recorded audio or a combination of them in order to create a characteristic sound effect, or music. The goal of sound design is to create a specific mood and atmosphere.

Features of the profession

Like any specialty, sound design has a number of characteristic features and key characteristics that must be taken into account when choosing this profession. These include the following.

Sound design is associated with creativity artistic character, as well as the creation of those objects that are classified as intangible.
Fulfilling immediate responsibilities requires taking into account the general concept of the site or project, as well as the wishes for the sounds and music created.
The technologies and approaches used in the industry are constantly being modernized and developed, which requires regular training.
The job requires a special set of skills, as well as good knowledge of modern technologies.
IN Lately The sound designer is separated into an independent professional unit. It is at the intersection of such professions as sound editor and sound editor.
The main task of a specialist of this level is to find adequate solutions for visual design through appropriate sound.
The sound designer must comply not only with the general concept of the project, but also with special technological requirements for further use of the product (format, duration, parameters of audio files, etc.).

Based on the specifics of this profession, certain advantages and disadvantages arise.

Pros and cons of the profession

Pros:

Rapid market development and significant demand in the future.
A creative profession that allows you to unleash your inner potential.
Belongs to the category of highly paid specialties.
As a rule, it is not related to compliance with the work schedule. The main task is to meet the agreed deadline for delivery of the product.

Minuses:

A narrow specialty that is difficult to find application in a wide circle.
Lack of clear objective criteria in assessing the quality of a sound design product.
Requires a specialist large quantity natural data and skills.
An almost free schedule makes such qualities as self-discipline and strength of character mandatory.

Important qualities

A future specialist who plans to develop in this field is required to have the following mandatory qualities:

Developed hearing;
Musical taste;
Ability to understand musical genres and trends;
Knowledge in the field of sound physics, features of its propagation;
The ability to understand psychoacoustic features, as well as how various audio vibrations are perceived by the human ear;
Skills in working with a large number of modern audio editors and recording equipment;
Thinking outside the box;
Perseverance.

Where to study to become a Sound designer

On this moment, many experts in this field admit that the education system in this area is significantly outdated. However, there are a number of universities and commercial schools that train specialized sound design specialists.

In St. Petersburg, this discipline appeared for the first time in 2003 at the Humanitarian University of Trade Unions. She was taught as part of the specialty “Directing”. Professor N.I. Dvorko introduced such a discipline. Also in 2003, he released several methodological manuals for teaching the discipline “Sound Design”.

The teaching of this specialty began in Moscow universities in 2008. This discipline is taught in the following metropolitan universities.

Humanitarian Institute of Television and Radio Broadcasting named after. Litovchina M.A. The subject “Sound Design” is part of the discipline “Sound Engineering of Audiovisual Arts”.
All-Russian State University of Cinematography named after S.A. Gerasimov Often called VGIK.
Moscow film school. This educational institution has a separate department of “Sound Design and Sound Engineering”.

Modern realities are such that education at a university in matters of this kind is not enough. Due to outdated approach and technology, higher educational establishments graduate specialists with significant gaps in important areas. Therefore, in addition to specialized education at an institute or university, professionals in this field recommend completing specialized specialized courses and engaging in self-training.

It will also be useful to complete an internship in a post-production studio as an intern. Here you can gain experience, as well as professional assessment from specialists and advice on areas that need to be improved.

In addition, learn a profession other than those listed educational institutions It is also possible in such as:

New York Film Academy;
Berklee College of Music;
YALE School of Drama;
MITRO (Moscow Institute of Television and Radio Broadcasting “Ostankino”)

Place of work

Theaters;
film studios;
computer game manufacturers;
post-production and media companies.

Salary

The profession of a sound designer is classified as highly paid. So for a specialist entry level salaries, as a rule, range from 30 thousand rubles. For a designer of a higher class and with relevant experience, the salary can be 150-200 thousand rubles.

Career

This profession has significant prospects. This is due to the fact that the market for audiovisual projects, as well as multimedia and music products, is expanding significantly every year. Today, even corporate websites have sound. IN currently the profession is still too young. In Russia, you can find about 20-30 such specialists. However, the need for experts of this class is growing, as the media market is growing at a significant pace.

Professional knowledge

The work of a sound designer requires knowledge in the following areas:

physics of sound;
psychoacoustic features.

In addition, specialists of this profile require skills in working with:

sound recording equipment;
audio editors (Adobe Audition, Sound Forge, Traction, Reaktor).

Famous people in this profession

Among the domestic industry leaders, we can highlight such eminent people as Roland Kazaryan, Mikhail Radchenko, Dmitry Vasiliev, Ilya Stepanishchev (Decado), Alexander Prokopchik (Murart Labs) and many others. The following popular sound designers are recognized abroad: Ben Burtt, John Gromada, Walter Murch, Richard Devine, Richard King and others.

Since 2005, Compass Production has been creating commercials, corporate and presentation films, creating high-quality sound design and audio advertising. You can order high-quality sound design from Compass Production in Moscow. To do this, contact us in a way convenient for you.

Sound design(from English sound design- sound design, sound design) is a type of creative activity whose object is sound.

Sound design in advertising- This creative process creating sound in video and audio clips. Any advertising video consists of a large number of sound elements, from voice-over and intra-screen speech to various noises and music. In addition, in advertising production there is also such a thing as audio advertising, which is literally saturated with sound design.

Audio advertising is an audio clip recorded in a recording studio, the purpose of which is to effectively promote goods and services. Audio advertising is primarily intended for broadcast on radio stations, as well as in crowded places, for example, in shopping and entertainment centers, public transport, etc. Compass Production has extensive experience in creating high-quality audio clips, some of which can be listened to in ours.

As for sound design in video production, the sound on the screen, be it a film, commercial or some other interactive video, should always be synchronous with the picture. While creating promotional video High-quality sound plays an important role in the video. Therefore, when working on the soundtrack, the main thing that a sound designer of an advertising project should focus on is the video sequence of the advertising video. Any action in the frame has its own sound. If, according to the script of the commercial, the actions in the advertisement take place on a busy city street, then the commercial must include the sound background of the city with the corresponding big city noise, namely the sound of passing cars, sirens, inaudible hum and fragments of people’s phrases, the noise of wind, rain, etc.

Example of sound design in video:

This video is entirely created from sports sounds, which intertwine and repeat to form a melody. It is a great example of sound design.

Cost of sound design at Compass Production

The cost of creating an advertising video is directly influenced by the soundtrack of the video. This is due to the fact that sound is integral part any promotional video. And if we talk about radio advertising, then it is generally an audio product.

The cost of audio advertising or sound design services for a ready-made video sequence in Compass Production is influenced by such factors as the timing of the advertising video, the number of sound elements and their complexity, the work of the announcer and actors whose voices are present in the advertising, as well as the presence of music in the advertising. In some cases, the music used in a commercial, be it a video ad or an audio ad, is specially composed professional composers. This naturally affects the price of sound design services and the cost of creating audio advertising. Often in advertising audio clips broadcast on radio stations, listeners hear the familiar voices of famous people whom they love and trust. Therefore, recording the voice of a star for audio advertising or, for example, recording the voice of a popular announcer or radio DJ will also affect the cost of audio advertising or the price of sound design in video production.

To find out how much it will cost for an advertising audio clip, dubbing a finished video, writing music or creating individual sound elements, as well as to find out the cost of writing a script for an audio advertisement, the advertiser needs to prepare a detailed technical specification and send it to us by e-mail. And based on the technical specifications, Compass Production specialists will calculate the cost of sound design services for your video or audio advertisement.

To order sound design or order an audio clip, contact our specialists at the phone number or e-mail listed on the website. You will not only be able to order sound design services, but also receive free consultation from professionals on high-quality sound for your advertising. Call right now and we will be happy to answer all your questions.

How is the soundtrack created for an advertising video?

When creating any advertising video at the stage, specialists responsible for the sound of the advertising video begin work on creating the appropriate sounds, music, as well as recording the voices of the characters and announcer, if provided. At the video editing stage, audio content recorded and mixed in a recording studio is superimposed in layers on the captured video sequence or graphics, if we're talking about about the animated commercial.

When creating audio content for a commercial, various audio elements are used, such as speech, sound effects, atmosphere and music. They are created artificially by sound designers and recorded in a recording studio. Any action, object and state, even air, in a commercial has its own sound. Therefore, the work of sound designers on the musical accompaniment of an advertising video is no less important than the creation of the advertising video itself.

Interview with the head of the Tolyatti sound design studio Daruma Audio

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The site observer spoke with the head of the Daruma Audio sound design studio, Dmitry Novozhilov, and learned what sound design is and how to work with foreign clients, create sound for Pornhub, Apple and Nike, while remaining in Tolyatti.

What is sound design?

Sound design is the design of sound images. It is used quite widely: in cinema, theater, games and even in mechanical engineering. There are examples when, when creating an electric car, a sound designer was invited to create the original sound of the engine. The creation of such sound images is what a sound designer does.

How does sound for video differ from, say, sound for games or movies?

Drama is important for movies and games. It is important to help the director emphasize the story with sound. It happens that video alone simply does not provide a feeling of immersion. In our field - motion design and explainer video - detail and pleasant sound are important.

Am I understanding correctly that music and sound design are two different things?

They are interconnected, but in general yes. In general, sound design plays a special role in music. A sound designer creates interesting timbres by tweaking the sound of synthesizers. The original timbre gives the track its uniqueness. Also, twisted tones are used in presets of popular synthesizers.

Often sound designers create music from sounds recorded on a microphone. For such an activity, at a minimum, you need an ear for music.

How did you come to sound design? As far as I know, you used to do music, rap.

I spent 8 years doing studio sound engineering with rap artists and mixing music for them. A few years ago, a friend of mine moved to St. Petersburg and started doing motion design. Motion design is a visual design for video that uses moving drawn elements and 3D objects.

He started sending me sound projects. It was quite easy, and he paid more money for it than what I received for mixing the track. In addition, it took less time - I did the sound design for his video in an hour, and mixed one track in a couple of days. I found this interesting and beneficial.

It turned out that there is such a profession as a sound designer, it is quite popular abroad. In parallel with studying this whole topic, I began working with clients. I already had experience working with audio processing; all I had to do was gain experience in working with audio for video.

It turns out that a person who has already worked with sound only needs to study some of the nuances?

Yes. But in sound design, a sense of taste and the ability to choose the right associations are important. Sound design involves creating a cohesive project from many sounds. From the sound of a car, from the sound of a refrigerator opening, you can create something new and apply it to a completely different image. This is interesting. Therefore, it is worth learning the correct associations.

So sound design is not about sound as such, but about the ability to find non-obvious connections between things?

Yes. In fact, sound itself is just a technique. It can be developed with experience - you just do, do, do, study basic things. But the sense of taste and the ability to select a sound solution for a specific image, it is either there or not.

But can taste be instilled?

Yes. When you enter a new field, you begin to focus on the best. You find a reference point and see what he likes, how he does it. As you study such examples, you develop your own taste.

What inspired you? Who were you targeting?

I scoured the Internet, looked at Vimeo, there are a lot of animation studios and motion designers posting their work there. There I studied who did the sound for these works and selected several studios and sound designers to follow. And I just tried to do the same as them.

Can a person who has never worked in sound come into sound design?

I have a good example. Now I took a person into the studio who didn’t work with sound at all. He doesn't know basic things, doesn't know how to process sound. I asked if he wanted to become a sound designer. He didn’t even know what it was, but he replied: “Okay, I want it.”

I told him how sound design is done, showed him several examples, and gave him test work. He did them, though not very well, but he did them. And along the way he found and studied something, and so he began to succeed. As a result, we came to the conclusion that he received a real order and successfully completed it.

All this happened in one month. The man just came out of nowhere. There are only a few of these, in fact. He just has an innate sense of taste.

As far as I know, your education is not related to sound. It turns out that you are self-taught. Are there many people like you in your field? How important is education in your field?

As for music, it’s definitely necessary musical education. In schools, conservatories. The only way.

I think many will ask - why is Daruma in the name?

At one time I studied Zen Buddhism and in one of the books I read about the Japanese doll daruma, which personifies Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen Buddhism.

Fine. Let's talk about the workflow. Relatively speaking, you receive an order, you and the client have discussed all the details. What's next? Where do you start?

Our specialty is sound design for explainer videos about startups and their products. I like this field because it develops quickly, and the sound can be made in a couple of days.

When an order comes to us, we immediately begin developing the sound. All references that are applicable to the project are already in our heads. We know exactly what sound will fit where, and we either record it ourselves or take it from our library. This is done quite quickly, we can complete the project in a day or two.

It turns out that every sound designer is a librarian who has blank sounds?

Yes, sure. It is important for a sound designer to have his own library because projects require quick work. Recording sound is a labor-intensive task. Usually some exclusive, individual sound is recorded. But more often we turn to our own libraries or third-party libraries.

There is a separate industry - recording sound libraries, there are studios that do only this. They record cars, atmosphere, various noises, household sounds, form a library and sell them.

Example musical accompaniment for explainer video

Still, it’s interesting to know how sound designers record sound?

There is a lot of different equipment on the market - microphones, recorders. There are cheap solutions that work well even in high-budget projects. Sometimes, to voice the sounds of an interface, a sound designer simply records his voice, and then harmoniously integrates it into the project. You'll never guess that it was recorded by voice.

If a sound designer needs to record the atmosphere, how cars drive, how the forest rustles, he simply goes out with a microphone and recorders and records the desired texture.

And when you record the initial sound, how close is it to the final version? Do you edit it a lot?

Differently. For example, the sound of a car door closing is used almost in its original form. If we are talking about interesting solutions and special effects, then in one sound, in one texture, there can be up to five combined sounds. In our projects, it happens that a project uses up to 130 audio tracks for a 30-second video.

This is what a sound project looks like during the creation process

What equipment do sound designers use?

It is very important for a sound designer to be mobile. My work kit includes a laptop, recorder, sound card, headphones - all this is very compact. This is enough to get the job done. And when you work in the studio, you use more powerful computers, improved sound cards and microphones. This way you can record higher quality material.

Is this set enough for beginners?

A nuance that has always interested me is how much “software” pulls out “hardware”. Is it possible to take a bad sound and make it high quality?

Let me give you an example. There is a Zoom h4n recorder whose preamps make a lot of noise. When you record a detailed texture, for example, the sound of scissors, the sound itself turns out to be quiet, but the preamps produce a lot of noise. The result is a sound with impurities, a “dirty” sound. There is a program iZotope RX for restoration of recordings. It can cut out the noise of the preamps and get a clear sound. I often use this to remove noise, clicks, and other artifacts.

But if you record atmosphere or spot sound, say, on an iPhone, then you can’t make it strong. He is no longer complete. It cannot be used as a full-fledged sound, and the software will not handle it.

What programs do you use at work?

The main tool is Cubase. We also work with Reaper and iZotope RX.

What does it look like workplace sound designer? Where do you work?

I can work anywhere - in coworking spaces, offices, cafes, at home. My employees work from home with equipped work stations. If we need to do a serious project, we simply rent a studio.

Sound designer workplace

It's clear. Let's move on to business issues.The key question is how did you organize the business? What did you choose - individual entrepreneur or LLC?

I have an individual entrepreneur, I officially work with Russian and foreign clients. It is important for me to be honest and accurate in my work. For me, IP was the best solution. I was surprised how easy it is to work with foreign clients. I receive payments from Russia, America, and Europe without any problems.

Tell us which clients your studio has more - Russian or foreign? How do they find you? How do you build communication with them?

We have more foreign clients. There are also Russian ones who work on behalf of Western companies. It turns out that one way or another, we work more for foreign clients.

When I first started, I simply sent out letters with an offer to collaborate and make sound. In general, I was engaged in banal mailing. Now clients come on their own - they find us on Vimeo, they come based on recommendations from friends. In most cases, we simply accept orders and are not looking for new clients.

We are not interested in clients who come at once; I am interested in working for a long time.

How did you manage to establish a dialogue with foreign clients? Are they somehow different from Russian ones?

In fact, there is little difference between Russian and foreign clients. Everything is built on simple human relations. We don’t work like large companies, where corporate ethics must be observed.

They might write “Hey, dude!”, but I try to maintain decency and don’t write “dude.” But everything is quite simple and clear.

With foreign clients, it is important to be able to convince them that they need to continue working with you. And here it all depends on the service you offer: how you behave in a conversation, when working with a project, how quickly you respond to feedback, and send the finished work.

The main thing is not to be callous and too official, because this is difficult to perceive. It's like you're communicating with a bot, not a person.

For foreign clients, meeting deadlines is important. They clearly state when what task should be solved. They do not deviate from the plan and this really appeals to me, because I am very attentive to deadlines. I also build processes within the team so that everything is done on time.

Can we say that the Russian sound design market is not yet mature enough compared to the West?

No, why. We have many studios and agencies that make graphics and video, and, accordingly, they need sound. It just turns out that our main partners work with Western clients.

We, of course, work for Russian clients, but their share is small. 80-90% is the foreign market.

Perhaps sound design is not in high demand in the Russian market?

Hard to tell. Perhaps for some this service is too expensive to order it, for example, from us.

Is it still possible to enter the Russian market?

Yes, sure. It is just starting to gain momentum and there are very few players. At least in our field - for motion design and explainer videos. There are already established players in the film and gaming segment, and there is demand there, we just don’t go there.

How much does good sound cost?

It's difficult to talk about price. First of all, time and vision, approach to work are assessed. Clients come to us precisely for this.

A separate topic is the team. As I understand it, you started out alone, and now you’re more involved in management and communicating with clients. How did you start your team? At what point did you realize that you need people?

One day I had a need for someone who would write music, because I’m not much of a musician. And I realized that I needed a composer. One composer appeared, we collaborated with him. Then, when the work became more, another one was needed. How more work appeared, the more people appeared on the team. When I couldn’t cope, I hired new workers. Now I have come to the point where I have completely delegated sound design to the team.

In choosing people, they are not so important to me professional quality, how much psychological. How much a person is ready to devote himself to work and do it on time is important.

Are there times when it comes to you new person who wants to create, but is not very suited to routine work? How do you motivate employees?

I find people who, on the contrary, have to be fired up for work. There are almost no people with sparkling eyes. If such people come, they quickly fade away.

Let's move on from organizational issues business to the projects you were involved in. Tell us about the brightest, most interesting project you have done.

With foreign clients, everything is quite simple - we have precise tasks and simple flow of work, we clearly know what we are doing and how. The projects are interesting and cool, but of the same type.

Therefore, I’ll tell you about the Russian project. This is the project “Russian Fairy Tales” for a projection mapping show, which was broadcast on Manezhnaya Square in Moscow. An agency came to us and asked us to create a musical story based on Russian fairy tales by Pushkin. I should have written orchestral music for 7 minutes. I just found a composer, an ordinary student who writes great music. Then he studied at music school and studied Russian classics.

Music for the projection mapping show “Russian Fairy Tales” in the Moscow Manege

The client suggested making orchestral music, but with popular, modern overtones. And we sang about the theme of classical Russian music from old cartoons. It was a very difficult project - we wrote a track, the agency didn’t like it and the approval process was very long. But we managed to do what we originally wanted. The project was adapted for cartoons, we made small popular, “Disney” inserts, but overall it was a Russian classic.

Interestingly, at the beginning of the same year we wrote ringtone sounds with a Slavic motif for applications similar to Skype and Viber. Then they made a project “Russian Fairy Tales” with Russian classical music, then there was a project for St. Basil’s Cathedral with the same theme song. That year became for us the year of Russian classics.

This project also became key in terms of delegation of authority. Previously, I did sound design myself, but on this project I decided to involve a person. He did his job so well that I considered him a sound designer. Now he does almost all Daruma Audio sound design projects. This is a key project, when we opened a new direction, I delegated the task of sound design to an employee and from that moment I began to manage more.

Very cool story. Have you done anything for large foreign brands?

When I started working, I was interested in audio branding. I always enjoy doing sound design for brands and large companies. I had this goal. We are currently working with a large American customer, which I cannot tell you about, but as part of their project we are creating sound for large brands. We do sound design for advertising campaigns of Apple, Nike, Coca-Cola, premieres of new films and TV series.

Soundtrack for the Ooohlympics Pornhub project

We made an explanatory video for targeted advertising on Instagram for Canadian McDonald's. We created sound design for Pornhub with a production studio from Russia.

I wonder how you managed to build a business and grow professionally while in Tolyatti? Still not the biggest city.

We work with the whole world and we find all the resources we need for sound in Tolyatti. In fact, what is important is thinking and psychological readiness to work with large foreign projects. And where you are does not affect your work at all.

Are there any principles that guide your work?

I always say within the team that everything needs to be done efficiently. It sounds corny, but we try to do cool things and grow from project to project. Secondly, we always meet deadlines. Third, we position ourselves as a team within our client’s team. When a client comes, it’s as if he takes us and integrates us into his team. We get used to it, adapt to the time frame and feel comfortable.

How will sound design develop in the near future? How intertwined is sound design with trends like VR?

We are already working closely on sound for virtual reality. We see promise in this. Also, sound design will develop in games, cinema, and in general in all industries that require sound. There are examples when shopping centers are voiced. The profession is so broad that everyone can find a use for themselves.

Test work Daruma Audio - sound design for 360-degree gaming video

We perceive VR not just as virtual reality for games and entertainment, we rely on video and advertising in the format of virtual reality, 360-degree videos. This is very interesting, we will develop in this.

And our traditional question is: what kind of car do you drive?

Anton Denikin, sound engineer, associate professor of GITR named after. Litovchina, candidate of cultural studies

As a practicing television and radio sound engineer, I often have to select and record a variety of noises, effects, music and edit them. This creative work, it is full of interesting and unexpected discoveries, since it allows you to experiment with sounds in the most unusual ways, achieving this or that effect, and synthesize new sounds for a film, video or performance.

If you have tried to match sounds to a edited image, you have probably noticed an amazing transformation, that “magic” that occurs when silent, flat frames suddenly transform and “come to life” after adding the appropriate sound. This special skill of transforming “moving pictures” is creativity sound designer

Lately, the names of sound designers have been increasingly indicated in the credits of films. Sound Designer). And if the actual profession designer, which has become so popular in our time, no longer surprises anyone, then the profession sound designer still unusual.

Ben Burtt is one of the most respected American sound designers, sound engineer, producer, screenwriter, and four-time Oscar winner. Among the films for which Burtt worked on sound: “E.T.,” “Indiana Jones. Raiders of the Lost Ark", " star Wars", "WALLY", "Star Trek", etc. As one of the most experienced experts in the field of film scoring for the past thirty years, Burtt has had a significant influence on the development and popularization of sound design in the United States and around the world.

The very combination of the words “sound design” may seem strange. Really, design(from the English design - plan, project, design, drawing, drawing) is more often associated with creating the external appearance of objects, objects, devices. But sound - vibrations of air waves caught by human hearing - cannot be recorded visually without the use of special instruments. Is it possible to construct or model the “appearance” of sound?

Dan Davis- a famous American sound engineer and sound designer who took part in the creation of such films as: The Matrix trilogy (1999-2003), Treasure Planet (2002), Gotti (1996), 8 Mile (2002) , (2000), Red Planet (2000), House of the Haunted Nights (1999), etc. Davis is the director of Danetracks, a West Hollywood-based studio specializing in sound design for film and video productions. Davis has received numerous awards for his work in sound design, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and several Sound Designers Association of America Awards.

Thanks to the capabilities of the latest equipment, sound recording and sound processing have moved to a level at which not only accurate sound reproduction, but also high-quality sound modeling and the creation of new unusual sound elements using synthesis and processing have become possible.

The sounds of lightsabers from the epic “Star Wars” (dir. George Lucas), the screams of dinosaurs from the movie “Jurassic Park” (dir. Steven Spielberg), the sounds of future cars from the movie “The Fifth Element” (dir. Luc Besson), the sounds of movements and the actions of characters in computer games, sound effects in television programs and video presentations - all these original components of film and video soundtracks require from their creator, sound designer, great ingenuity, knowledge and experience, and are capable of truly improving and sharpening the viewer’s perception of the events of the screen world.

In our domestic film industry, a sound engineer is traditionally responsible for creating the sphere of sound images of a film. His task includes the entire range of work on scoring screen action, starting with organizing sound recording on the set, ending with work on editing and mixing sound during the post-production period. The work of a sound engineer includes, among other things, the selection and recording of sound effects and noise for the film.

Sound design can be considered an integral part of the sound engineering profession, but with some caveats. The fact is that in American and European film production, the profession of a sound engineer in the form in which it is understood in domestic cinema has not been found for a long time. The sound in modern blockbusters, video games, and multimedia projects is so diverse that one specialist, even a very good one, is physically unable to complete the entire array of work on scoring screen action on time. Therefore, these responsibilities are divided within a large team of sound specialists - sound engineers of the primary sound recording on the set, studio sound engineers, music recording engineers, re-recording operators, sound editors, sound designers, engineers and equipment maintenance technicians, etc. They are led by supervisor performing administrative functions. This division in practice makes it possible to achieve greater production mobility, speed and quality of work.

A large number of technologically complex films, including science fiction films, the sound tracks of which are especially rich in sound effects, led to the selection sound designer into an independent specialty.

Randy Tom - one of the most famous American sound engineers, designer and sound editor. Since 1983, he has been working in the largest sound design studio in the United States, Skywalker Sound, holding the position of creative director. He has been awarded two Oscars and received four awards from the American Association of Sound Engineers. He worked on creating sound for many films, including: “Forrest Gump” (1994), “Mars Attacks!” (1996), “Jumanji”, (1995), “Contact” (1997), “ glacial period. Age of the Dinosaurs, How to Train Your Dragon (2010), Ratatouille (2007), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), War of the Worlds (2005), Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek 4 -D" (2003), "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" and many others. etc.

It is at the intersection of the specialties of sound editor, sound engineer and sound engineer. The designer is involved in both sound recording and editing (editor and music editor), and sound mixing (dubbing sound engineer). But while the sound engineer is responsible for the quality of the sound recording (for example, during filming on set), the dubbing sound engineer is responsible for the quality of the final sound mix, then The work of a sound designer is to develop, select and organize sound and noise material, placing sound in the structure of an audiovisual project.

The specificity of sound design as a profession lies in the designer’s desire, by means of design, synthesis and sound recording, to find adequate solutions to problems associated with the sound design of a visual series, and to provide a practical result within a period strictly defined by production requirements.

The specificity of sound design is not only to create an attractive product, but also to comply with the special technological requirements necessary for its further use. It is important to take into account the style and genre features of a particular project, its technical parameters (format, size, parameters of sound files, etc.), sound materials (source phonograms) and their properties, various technologies recording and sound processing. An important factor for sound design is the final preparation of the product, the so-called “premastering” of sound. It should be borne in mind that this, as a rule, is not the last link in the production chain, since the sound then goes to the re-recording sound engineer for mixing (or the programmer in video games), and only at this last stage does the sound design take on its final form in the form of the final audio track.

Thus, the foreign understanding of the specifics of sound design is closest to what we could call a “sound director.” Finding a sound solution for a screen project, recording and selecting the necessary noises, sound effects and musical fragments, sound designer creates sound image audiovisual work. In joint work with the director and composer, he forms dramatic sound accents, sound and noise leitmotifs, constructs sound mise-en-scenes, records sound backgrounds, noises and special sound effects, and then places them in the film’s soundtrack in accordance with the image, multimedia project, video games, etc.

It should be noted that in our time the profession of sound designer has received due appreciation and support. A number of authoritative international organizations, institutes and foundations annually award prizes for the best sound design of audiovisual projects, video games, multimedia programs, theatrical productions, and of course, for sound design in cinema.

Design tools create the sound information itself of varying complexity and destinations - from a short radio advertisement to a full-fledged movie soundtrack, from several sound and noise effects for a video game to sound for a huge network portal. For this purpose, means of sound-timbral synthesis, editing, and sound processing are used.

Installation of several layers of shot recordings and processing of each layer in Pro program Tools
to create a single spectacular shot from a cannon

A sound designer works with sound effects and noise, creating multi-layered compositions from them in accordance with screen or stage action. Moreover, each sound effect is a complex multi-layered sound “mix”, consisting of elements selected by the designer and correctly placed in the sound space - sound layers (English) Layer- layer, layer).

The designer combines and mixes several sound layers in order to create completely new sounds from the original sound elements, in which the previous sound components are already poorly heard. The result, in the words of renowned sound designer Wade Wilson, is a kind of “sound effects chords” that completely change the sonorous characteristics of the primary sounds. For example, the voices of giant reptiles from famous film“Jurassic Park” (dir. S. Spielberg) consisted of a whole set of voices of modern birds and animals, the sounds of which the famous sound designer Gary Rydström put together.

Multi-layered sound layers are one of the hallmarks of sound design. The implementation of multi-layering in a movie soundtrack has become possible thanks to technological improvements in sound recording and sound reproduction systems. Sound reinforcement complexes of modern cinema halls, standardized according to acoustic parameters, allow high quality reproduce a wide range of sound frequencies, creating the effect of authentic, realistic sound. One of the main difficulties for a designer is the selection of sound layers that harmoniously combine with each other, frequency ranges which overlap little.

Gary Rydström(Gary Rydstrom) is a leading American sound designer, editor and sound engineer. Seven-time winner of the Oscar and many other awards in the field of film sound. Worked on sound for such films as: “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (1984), “Cocoon” (1985), “Terminator 2”, “Jurassic Park” (1993), “Titanic” (1997), “ Saving Private Ryan" (1998); "X-Men" (2000), "Minority Report" (2002); “Artificial Intelligence” (2001) and many others. etc.

The designer, using sound libraries, records, processes and edits sound and noise effects, experimenting and achieving the best combination of visual and sound expressiveness in the project. Sound designers can create compositions by editing and processing previously recorded sound fragments and music, or by synthesizing completely new sounds. Selecting and combining individual audio components, the designer gets the most effective sound.

Sound effects and noises in modern films have a multilayer structure. One sound and noise effect can consist of three or four or more layers, each of which has its own timbre, frequency and dynamic characteristics. For example, even the simple sound of a fluorescent lamp rattling can consist of three independent components: luminescent crackling, a mid-frequency musical tone and a specific hum (this effect is presented in the soundtrack to the film “Alien”, directed by Ridley Scott).

Viewers usually pay attention to how effectively explosions, hand-to-hand combat, acoustic backgrounds, etc. sound in modern films and video games. All this is due to their multi-layered texture, consisting of sound elements precisely selected by the designer.

The more sound layers a designer uses, the more saturated the project’s sound track becomes, and the overall volume increases. Modern soundtracks for films and videos are replete with a variety of sound and noise effects, combined with dialogue and music, which often add up to 4-8 simultaneously reproduced layers. In climactic and dynamic scenes in movies, as well as in interactive computer video games, multi-layer audio tracks are becoming the standard these days, resulting in increased demands on the precision of sound specialists, and more complex mixing, dubbing and sound processing techniques. For example, in the initial dynamic scene in the film “War of the Worlds” (dir. Steven Spielberg, 2005), the phonogram consists exclusively of sound and noise elements, which at the climactic moments are combined into 5-6 simultaneous sound layers.

In conditions where the project's soundtrack consists of a variety of different, separately selected components, an important task of the sound designer is to make the viewer believe that the sounds and on-screen action are one inseparable whole. The designer recreates a sound space that will help transport the viewer into the reality created by the on-screen action.

Installation of multi-layer sound effect for stage scoring
icing from the film “The Day After Tomorrow” (dir. R. Emmerich)

Another task is the stylistically accurate and genre-specific design of the sound space of an audiovisual project. When creating certain sound elements for a project, the designer must take into account its format and technical settings, as well as artistic concept project - its genre, style and subject environment the period to which the screen action relates, etc.

Still from the film “Inception” (dir. Christopher Nolan).
Right: Noise montage for the featured sequence.

The designer’s work includes finding ways to enhance the expressiveness of on-screen action using sound, including by replacing sounds recorded during filming with artificially created ones that are more effective and expressive.

Some sounds, developed by famous designers for use in any one project, turn out to be so effective and memorable that they begin to be used in other projects and become a kind of “cliché”, recognizable sound symbols. For example, the distinctive breathing sound of Lord Vader from the Star Wars film epic, created by sound designer Ben Burtt, has been used repeatedly in various films and television films, becoming a symbol of fear and evil, insidious power. Another example is the famous “The Wilhelm Scream,” which is a scream with a specific intonation. This sound was first used in the Hollywood film "Distant Drums" (dir. Raoul Walsh) in 1951.

Subsequently, this sound became so popular that it turned into a sound cliché, wandering from film to film - from 1951 to 2010, this sound was used in more than two hundred films, animated films, and video games. (The Wilhelm Scream)

The demand for the profession in the modern media industry contributes to the development of sound design as innovative specialties along with traditional areas of professional activity in the field of sound, such as sound engineering, sound engineering, audio production, etc.

Sound design on Discovery Channel

Sound design is an extremely interesting and creative process of working on the sound of on-screen action. It requires special skills and comprehensive knowledge from a specialist. High-quality and thoughtful sound has a significant impact on the attractiveness of a screen product for the viewer. The market success of each new screen project largely depends on successful sound design!