Dan Hayden @danvanhayden-blog - Tumblr Blog

Final video

Recorded sound "hit a bowl" mapped

http://soundcloud.com/danhayden/melody

Recorded sound "hit a bowl"

http://soundcloud.com/danhayden/hit-a-bowl

Final Project

For my final project we as a group decided to create a stop motion video that used simple card cutouts so we could create ay scene we wanted. we decided to use a mix of generated sounds and field recorded sounds so demonstrating techniques learnt during this module.

I used Logic pro to arrange the audio as i found it easier to arrange the audio in to a beat.

I used Automation to control the volume and pan envelopes. Also i used a bus send to control a Filter which i automated in the under water scene. the bus had a low pass filter on which made it sound like it was under water.

For this video we as a group used a mix of generated sounds and recorded sounds. the lightning sounds were generated in Adobe audition using tone generators and Equalisers then layering them up in the multitrack view to achieve the desired sound. these were then bounced down to a new track and exported as a .Wav file which i could import into logic easily.

for the main melody of the track i recorded a tapping of a cup and the mapped the sound across a keyboard so i could create a melody using a recorded sound. (see audio above)

When creating the video i made certain visuals match up with the music. the video was filmed at 24 fps and the track at 120 bpm so i calculated in seconds where the beats would lie. this then allowed for easy synchronisation when editing and helped make a better connection between audio and visuals.

to plan this i did a sync sheet:

Tutorial 8 intro to Logic Pro

Aims:

Importing audio

using snap

slicing and looping

trigering samples using a midi keyboad

exporting (bouncing tracks)

After learning basic techniques in cubase i learnt the same skills in logic. There are many similarities between both packages they both do the same jobs but i prefer the layout and UI of Logic pro 9 as everything is done in one window and it also comes with a large library of sounds and loops so is much better at composition but still having very powerful audio and midi editing capabilities.

In order to import audio you can find any files in the audio bin located on the media tab.

you can then search through the computers hard drive or external drive and import any audio files.

When editing audio it is useful to use the Snap feature in logic this allows easy editing, i can drag audio files and if they are trimmed correctly they will snap to the beats and bars.

slicing and looping.

the advantage of using logic is that it has dual tools, when you press the "cmd" button it brings up a secondary tool of which you can choose. so for slicing you can simply select the secondary tool as the scissors and then go through audio files and Slice audio.

In order to loop files simply scroll to the end of an audio file then left click and drag the file and a loop will form.

Triggering audio using a midi keyboard.

in order to trigger samples you must first create a midi sampler track. this is achieved by shortcut '^E' .

This will then bring another window asking witch note on the keyboard are going to be used to trigger that audio file. i.e C2

After clicking ok a midi track will form underneath the audio and when the correct key on the keyboard is pressed this will trigger the audio to play.

Bouncing in Logic

in order to export audio as .aif/.wav/.mp3 files ect you must bounce the track. This is done by moving the loop markers of the area you want to export:

Then you click The 'bounce" icon

this will bring up a window with options on where to bounce the file to and the desired format.

Click Bounce and Logic will export the file as one file in the selected format.

Tips:

CD will only allow 16 bit, so bounce to that if you want to burn on to a cd.

CD will not burn correctly if the 'surround bounce' option is clicked.

Master the Track to -2db to allow headroom for normalising.

tutorial 10 Sampling Loops

Aims:

create a short rythmical loop created by sampling

In this tutorial i learnt how to accuratley sample a 2 bar phrase from an existing track. The key to this is accuracy because when the loop is repeated several times over if it isnt perfect in time it will drift further away from the beat and will be un useable

Accuracy.

the beats in a mix are usually the loudest parts so i can use shortcuts 'shift +' to move through the loudest parts.

I can also use the 'shift HJKL' keys to step through the audio finding the nearest zero crossing points to stop clicks when i loop the audio.

the method i prefer is using 'edit/ auto cue/ find beats and mark' this will go through the audio and put a cue marker in the audio of where the beats are i find with dance music and music with a strong pulse this works very effectivley however for other music where the beats are not as prominent it struggles to find the beats.

Looping in adobe audition.

After having got a sample, drag it into the multitrack view and then right click and select 'loop properties' then tick the box saying enable looping. then an icon will appear at the bottom left of the track. you can now click and drag.

#tutorial 10

Tutorial 9 continued drum machine sounds

in this tutorial i learnt how to recreate old 808 drum sounds using tone generation.

In order to create a Kick drum sound i created 0.5 secs of white noise with a high intesisty i then used the volume envelopes to characterise the sound. kick drums have a very fast attack so i was able to replicate this using the ADSR setting.

I then used the 30 band equaliser to boost the low mids and bass frequencies in order to replicate a real kick drum.

http://soundcloud.com/danhayden/kickdrum

To create a high hat sound i generated a short 0.1 sec burst of white noise with a low intesity and then used a similar volume envelope to that of the kick drum, fast attack i then used the 30 band EQ to boost high mid frequencies to replicate the sound of real hats.

http://soundcloud.com/danhayden/highhats

#tutorial 9

Tutorial 9 Sound generation

For this tutorial i used the tone generation capabilities of adobe audition.

Aims:

use sound synthesis to create wind noise

generate 80s video game sounds

in order to create wind noise i generated 10 sec of pink noise. then to add realism to the sound i used an amplitude envelope (ADSR) where i added the rise and fall to recreate the wind passing. there is an option to 'spline curves' which will make the changes in amplitude smoother and give a more natural sound. I then used A graphic Equalizer where i boost certain mid frequencies to shape the sound.

http://soundcloud.com/danhayden/wind-noise

80's sci fi noises.

The next task was to create some old style video game/ sci fi noises. for this i generated a sine wave that starts at 300hz and ends at 20hz. inbetween it modulates by 50hz every 10th of a second, making it sound like a space ship landing.

http://soundcloud.com/danhayden/space-ship

#tutorial 9

Tutorial 7 continued

Creating hit points

in order to create hit points, firstly double click on the audio file to bring up the sample editor. then on the left is an option "edit hitpoints" this then will measure the transients of the wave and add a marker.

Another useful feature is the option "Make Groove" this will create an option in the quantize drop down box enabling the midi notes to quantize with the transients of the audio. this helps to keep the music tight but still keep a human feel.

#tutorial 7

Tutorial 7 Advanced Quantization in cubase

AIMS:

Routing midi tracks to VST instruments

Time streching Audio

Detecting audio Hit points

creating a quantize map from audio

creating a human feel with midi quantization

in order to route existing midi tracks to VST instruments firstly add and instrument on the VST list:

then Choose the relavent instrument on the tracks input.

Time stretching Audio

If an audio file doesnt loop correctly we need to time stretch. this is achieved easily in cubase by clicking on the pointer tool icon and from the drop down change it to "sizing applies time stretch'.

#tutorial 7

Tutorial 5 Cubase tutorial

AIMS: Cubase 4

create a midi track

Select VST instruments

Edit and quantize midi using a drum map

slicing and looping audio and midi

in this tutorial i was exploring for the first time the basic audio and Midi capabiltys of Cubase 4.

Creating a midi track and VST instrument:

After creating a new project i created a Midi track and then Used the "Halion" VST instrument of which i chose a drumkit.

Editing and Quantizing MIDI

This picture is of the drum map in cubase it allows you to see the midi instructions inputed, either by a midi keyboard or by hand. in this view it is easy where the midi infomation fall on a beat. with shortcut (Q) on the keyboard i can snap the midi infomation to the nearest note value (quantization).

Although perfect Quantization can make the track sound robotic. it is important to give a human feel. we do this by off setting some of the midi instructions.

In order to change which note value it will quantise to there is a drop down box with the different note values. Also there is an option to add different rhythmical techniques such as "swing"

Slicing and looping audio and midi.

In order to Loop audio or midi tracks simpily hold 'ctrl + D' this will duplicate the track and you can then loop the track.

to slice midi or audio tracks select the scissor tool at the top of the window.

#tutorial 5

Visit Original Link

End product Tutorial 4

#tutorial 4

Tutorial 4 Sound effect Beat

AIMS: using the sounds captured from tutorial 4 create a rythmical pattern.

In this tutorial i developed my skills in Adobe audition be learning how to Copy, Loop and bounce audio to new tracks i imported some audio files into audition and then arranged them in a rythmical pattern. i then experimented with certain effects such as, reverse, reverb and pitch shifting. i used the multitrack view to arrange seprate audio files and set the timeline to "bars and beats" to ensure the quantization of the rhythm.

In the edit view i experimented with different effects and how they would alter the timbre of the sound.

#tutorial 4

Tutorial 3 Batch processed drum stick hit

http://soundcloud.com/danhayden/drum-stick-hit-1

#tutorial 3

end product tutorial 2

#tutorial 2

Tutorial 1 end product

Tutorial 3 Field Recordings/ Batch Process

AIMS :

Hire out a portable recorder

Record different audio sources on campus

Batch process the audio to create a sound libary

For this tutorial i went out on location to record certain sounds, including gravel dropping, and car noises ect. i was then to record the audio files into Adobe audition using the line input on the MAC and then Batch process the audio to create a folder of sounds that i could use for my final project.

PROBELMS:

it is very important to record sound effects with silences inbetween. as batch processing will look at the transients of the wave file and people speaking or background will be batch processed and this create more files than wanted and make file managment difficult to achieve

#tutorial 3

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