Republic of animation

Untime's official blog

[untimestudio-blog]

How To Make Sound Effects Sitting In The Mix

When i watch different motion graphics video with sound design i often dissapointed because of one thing. Effects which was selected by designer can be perfect but it the mix it can sounds bad. It can sound bigger then it is on picture or can distract from voiceover. Overall it sounds like two different tracks in one mix unlike one holistic mix.

So what is wrong and how to solve this issue?

To get smoother sound effects i prefer to mix sound effects with music and voiceover during designing process. Often effects is recorded straight in microphone and it sounds like “in your face” and very distracting. In this case i use EQ to make sound sitting in the mix.

At first i make HighPass filtering (LowCut, Cutoff). It removes low frequency mud. Then i remove frequencies in range of 200-500 Hz to get more clear sound. And then i attenuate frequencies between 1-2 kHz. But it depends on voiceover. For male voice its around 1,3-2 kHz, for female voice it is 1,8-2,5 kHz. Listen how your sound interact with voiceover.

Sometimes i remove frequency around 5 kHz. I do this when sound stays very sharp even if i do all equalization before.

After this your sound effect will sit in the mix much better. But always hear what you get.

Another distracting thing is very big dynamic range. Especially in clicks, impacts etc. Peaks of this sounds is often much louder than music and voiceover.

 Solution in this case is to use limiter. Use it not to get sound loud but to cut peaks and make sound smoother. An example is on the picture below. Here i am cutting peaks louder than -9.3 dB and also matching loudness before and after with help of ‘Out Celling’ knob. So sound don’t become louder, it become smoother.

If you get ready sound effect track form sound designer with the same problems - you can do also the same processing. But do it very carefully and not so much as for individual tracks.

This is not the cure for all problems. But i do this thing very often and i hope it will help you.

[untimestudio-blog]

Audio Processing For Designers: EQ

Very often designers have to pass through all stages of video content creation and have a deal with sound. This can be mixing music and voiceover or adding sound effects etc. Anyway your work must be the best it can be.

For this purpose, it is desirable to be familiar with several methods of processing, analyzing and adjusting sound.

In a series of articles “Audio Processing For Designers”, I will describe the main points that you have pay attention working with sound.

One of the most important effects for audio processing is the equalizer. So let’s start from it.

There are different  kinds and types of Equalizers, but for our purposes we will focus on the parametric equalizer.

We will use parametric equalizer from Adobe Аudition CS6 for example.

We will begin from lower frequency and will move to higher frequency. This direction of equalisation is classical, from the bottom to top.

High Pass Filter

Very first i do during equalization - High Pass filter. It cuts everything below it and pass everything above. It is used to filter low frequencies which we don’t hear by ears and cant be played by common multimedia speakers or especially by laptops and tablets. This subbass frequencies brings dust and mudness.

I always cut 30-50 Hz by High Pass filter from VoiceOver+Music+SoundFX final mix. It gives a space in dynamic range, clear the mix from low frequency mud and i can do mix louder later.

When begin to process voice over or sound effect - i move HighPass filter higher till the moment i begin hearing difference in sound. After this i move filter little below. For example If i hear a changes on 190 Hz - i move back to 170-150 Hz.

This action helps to free up a few dB of dynamic range in digital audio and it don’t change sound sonicly. HP filter is not suitable for making appreciable changes. It is used for removal of unnecessary and poorly audible.

Then we work with Bell filters, which are numbered in Audition 1-5.

Each have 3 parameters:

Frequency -  the region in the range in which the gain or loss is made

Gain - the amount of sound that we want to add or remove at this frequency

Q - band width, which will be amplified. The lower the number - the more sound will be strengthened or weakened around frequency.

By moving a point on the graph, we change the first and the second parameter. To the left - the frequency is lower, to the right - the frequency higher. Point above zero - increasing, a point below zero - attenuation.

50 - 250 Hz

So, we proceed to an adjustment. Next is the range of 50 to 250 Hz. This range is a "Weight" of sound. This is applicable to all the processed sounds.

For example there is a cases when voiceover artist was recorded very close to microphone and recording sounds too heavy, too bassy, too close to listener, which combined with light and dynamic motion picture. Or sound effect sounds "bigger" than the object appears in the video. In this case, we find the frequency in this range, which gives us the effect and make it quieter.

To ensure that frequency make a gain (+5 - +10 dB) and scan this range. You probably hear a frequency which amplifies this feeling, then revome it. But no more than -4, -5 dB.

After treatment compare it with the previous version, completely cutting off the equalizer, or only a band you are working with. This can be done by clicking on the Power button or digit (1-5).

If you can not understand the effect of changes you made - than dont do any changes. Or  try to search for the necessary frequency again. This applies to any type of work with the equalizer.

250-550 Hz

This frequency range is responsible for the sense of the room in which the sound is. For example the feeling of boxiness. This is very often 450-500 Hz. If you can not measure it initially, then try to decrease the 450 Hz around -5 dB.

Most likely he will leave boxy feeling, and become closer and more pleasant. But when the sound began to weaken and move away from you, it means that the decreasing of this area is not necessary.

You can compare the sound before and after treatment. As a result, the sound should become closer, clearer.

When you do music equalisation - 450-600 Hz range is removing to leave space for voiceover.

1 kHz

This frequency and the nearest frequency of 900 Hz-1,2 kHz heard as the sound of the radio. If the voice sounds like a radio, then weaken slightly this band. If you do not understand the need to reduce or not, experiment. Add this frequency, remove this frequency. Think about what you want to hear. If you are decreasing this frequency - use narrow band. I use Q around 5-8.

1,5 kHz - 2,5 kHz

These frequencies contain the most important information about the voice. A male's voice is a little closer to 1,5 kHz, the female closer to 2,5 kHz. Removing this area very rarely is the voices, but very often it is removing from music and sound effects, so they do not distract from the announcer's voice.

The image below shows an example of music equalization for mixing with voiceover. 519 and 1649 Hz is decreased in music to make room for voice.

In SFX often remove these ranges. It makes effects sound harmoniously in the mix and don’t cause more attention than the voice. But it depends on the purpose.

For maximum effect, you can first find frequency, which gives most acuity sound, make a very small increase in this frequency and then loosen this frequency of the music or sound effect.

2,5-4 kHz

This is range is responsible for color, character and soul of sound. Often i increase this range when i want to bring sound to life. It add feellness, warm. Act here depending on your feelings. Experiment, try to boost this range and listen what you get.

Sometimes the voice can be highly poisonous in this area and it is necessary to remove some frequencies.

5-16 kHz

This range is responsible for the sound brilliance for its air. Boost this range with very wide bell (Q around 0.5 - 1) to add some air and clarity.

Resume:

Equalization must be done from the bottom up. From a lowest frequencies to the highest.

First, make all the necessary attenuation, then only proceed to boost, if necessary.

Do not use extreme settings, if you do not believe that they are necessary. Do not change more than 3-5 dB.

The lower frequency - the higher Q parameter should be chosen. Approximately Q=4.6 at a frequency of 100 Hz and Q=1.2 at a frequency of  2.8 KHz. (It is example. Parameters can be different)

The best way to listen a result on professional studio monitors. But if you don’t have ones - listen it on all types of speakers you have at home or studio. Including portable audio, phones, laptops.

I hope this article is usefull for you.

[untimestudio-blog]

Very good recorded voiceover can sounds even better with right processing. In this short video i show how do i process voiceover and what is the difference between processed and not processed voiceover. You’ll see how few sattle and maybe unrecognizeble changes make a big difference.

Here i will explain you shortly why do i use each of plugins: 1. EQ: Oxford EQ. Corrective equalization. 2. Compressor: Waves CLA-76. Slight compression to clean up voiceover. 3. Analog EQ: PuigTec EQP1A. Addin sweetness and brinning a sound to life. 4. Airband EQ: Maag EQ4. This EQ gives air and shiny to sound. 5. Compression: Waves H-Comp. Controling dynamic range. Making sound steadier. 6. Saturation: NLS Channel. Emulation of analog mixing console. It brings sattle analog distortion which help to do sound more colorfull and more recognizeble in mix.

[untimestudio-blog]

Hi! This video is about a case, when voiceover artist sent me processed audio and processing was bad. There was very strong “s” sounds. Looks like he don’t know about de-essing plugins or dont want to do that. Anyway this problem must be solved. De-esser in this case is not effective, because voiceover have a lot of compression.

Here is a short video where i show you very simple way to correct it.

[untimestudio-blog]

The Fine Clan case

At the current moment at Untime we are working on a lot of projects. In the recent time we’ve finished a huge project: illustration for the site.

Meet The Fine Clan! This family consists from specialists. Everyone is a genius in his activity. Besides baby Kobe, of course, he’s just a kid.

On the other members you can click to find out more information, and also they can be added to the chat to talk about you are interested in at the moment.

We were asked to develop, illustrate and animate 8 characters. Each has its own personality. Therefore, the development we have approached thoroughly. A study was conducted personalities. We’ve explored references and started to draw.

When the sketches are completed, we will have thought through the animation of each character. We had to make 3 animation of each character: animation in a simple pose, transition between poses and animation in the active position. When a user clicks on a particular character he should see the transition from simple to active pose.

Here you can find timelapse of animation process of the Jerry (he is stand up comic): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBcuxVWjMaI

It was a very exciting project for us. If you want to share the joy of completion with us, please see the presentation on the following link: https://www.behance.net/gallery/34031886/The-Fine-Clan

Thanks for reading!

Tony Pinkevich.

---

В данный момент в Антайм мы работаем над множеством интересных проектов. Недавно мы закончили работу над большим проектом: иллюстрация для сайта.

Знакомтесь – The Fine Clan! Эта семья состоит из специалистов. Каждый гениален в своем виде деятельности. Кроме ребенка Kobe, конечно же. Он ведь всего лишь ребенок.

На остальных членов можно нажать, чтобы узнать больше информации, а также их можно добавить в чат, чтобы пообщаться о том, что вас интересует в данный момент.

Нас попросили разработать, нарисовать и анимировать 8 персонажей. Каждый обладает своим характером. Поэтому к разработке мы подошли основательно. Провели исследование личностей, подобрали референсы и начали рисовать. 

Когда скетчи были завершены, мы продумали анимацию каждого персонажа. Нам нужно было сделать 3 анимации: анимация в спокойной позе, переход и анимация в активной позе. При клике пользователя по определенному персонажу должен происходить переход от спокойной к активной позе.

Это был очень интересный проект для нас. Если вы хотите разделить радость его завершения с нами, пожалуйста, посмотрите презентацию по ссылке: https://www.behance.net/gallery/34031886/The-Fine-Clan

Спасибо!

Тони Пинкевич

[tniich-deactivated20181005]

I didn’t post anything for a long time because I’ve worked hard on business development of Untime and hadn’t time to animate anything.

But for now we have a very interesting project which calls The Fine Clan. This is Jerry. And he is stand up comic. Follow us to see more in the near future.

This illustration made by @DAN Gartman

[untimestudio-blog]

Currently we are working on very interesting project. For now we should animate 8 different characters. And all of them have nice individually. That’s so cool.

Also we will show some process of animation and lots more!

Follow us to be in touch.

[theartofanimation]

Kurt Chang  -  http://www.kurtchang.com  -  http://kurtchangart.tumblr.com  -  http://www.kurtchangart.blogspot.com.es  -  https://www.artstation.com/artist/kurtchang  -  https://www.facebook.com/kurtchangart  -  https://www.inprnt.com/gallery/scri3e  -  https://www.instagram.com/kurtchangart  -  https://www.etsy.com/people/scri3e  -  http://gallery.wacom.com/kurtchangart  -  http://cargocollective.com/kurtchang  -  http://iconosquare.com/kurtchangart  -  https://society6.com/kurtchang  -  https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurtchang  -  http://scri3e.deviantart.com  -  https://es.pinterest.com/scri3e  -  https://vimeo.com/kurtchang

[untimestudio-blog]

Great illustrations!

[cyberclays]

Hidden City - by Piotr Krezelewski

[untimestudio-blog]

So good concept!

[untimestudio-blog]

Best videos I’ve seen this week #2

The Casebook of Nips & Porkington by Melody Wang

Happy holidays by Thinkmojo

Oscar shorts by Antfood

Prepared by Tony Pinkevich

[roman-scherbyna]

Logo Animation Experience

My task was to design animation header of the Stotion website. Stotion team primary do UX/UI and some branding. Animation should slightly allude to this core competency. 1. Brainstorm

First of all, I do brainstorming on paper. I try to sketch and write down everything that comes to my mind on the subject. I like see whole situation in one picture. 2. Sketch Animation 

During of some time with the help of brainstorming I give ideas. I try make sketch main animation at once in the storyboard form.

3. Draft Animation Then I make draft animaitons in After Effects. And shows them to the client. The best ideas are selected at this stage.

4. Final I finalize the approved ideas. Add aquash & stetch. Here’s what I’ve got

Hope you enjoy =)

[untimestudio-blog]

Tutorial series by Toniko Pantoja

[untimestudio-blog]

Hey! Here is our favorite moments from our work since 2015.

Visit us – untime.cc

Music: Hauschka - Radar

[tniich-deactivated20181005]

Preparation of work

A year ago, I worked like an animator in VGNC (www.vgnc.co) and I didn’t understand some of the subtleties in the workflow. I remember there was a moment when the creative director asked me to create animation of the storyboard (it’s simple animatic). And we began to dispute, I don’t understand why I should do it, thought it was a waste of time, but eventually gave in and made an animatic. Spent 2 days on it. Then get to make the final animation per week.

Now, of course, I understand the importance of preparation for work. And it saves a lot of my time. For example, if you beat the whole scene with a stopwatch, issue of the timing resolved before work starts.

Remembering that moment, I am very thankful to Misha Koroteyev because he explained it for me.

In general, I advise you to spend most of the time allocated to work on the preparation of the work itself. It can be boring and uninteresting, but it is properly. It saves time and the final result is much better. After all, you can work out a lot of sketches and reject uninteresting ideas before embarking on the final work. And, if you just start working on the final result first of all, it is possible to check only 1-2 options. And not the fact that they will be best.

I wish all the perseverance and love for his work.

More credits here: www.untime.cc/work/postly

-

Год назад я работал аниматором в VGNC (www.vgnc.co) и не понимал некоторых тонкостей в работе. Помню был момент, когда креативный попросил заанимировать сторик (обычный аниматик). И у нас начался спор, я не понимал зачем это делать, думал, что это пустая трата времени, но, в итоге, сдался и сделал аниматик. Потратил на это 2 дня. После этого получилось сделать финальную анимацию за неделю. 

Теперь, конечно же, я понимаю важность подготовки к работе. И это экономит уйму моего времени. К примеру, если проработать анимацию, обыграть всю сцену с секундомером, то вопрос тайминга решается перед работой.

Вспоминая этот момент я очень сильно благодарен Мише Коротееву за то, что разьяснил это.

Вообще советую тратить большую часть времени, отведенную на рабоут, на саму подготовку к работе. Это может быть скучно и неинтересно, но это правильно. Экономит время и финальный результат получается намного лучше. Ведь можно проработать множество скетчей и отбросить неинтересные идеи прежде чем приступать к чистовой работе. А, если сразу начинать работать начисто, то можно проработать всего 1-2 варианта. И далеко не факт, что они получатся хорошими.

[untimestudio-blog]

Best videos I’ve seen this week #1

PlusOne Showreel 2015 by PlusOne

Slack // Amazing: Spaceship by Giant Ant

Fluimucil_ Inverno fuori primavera dentro by Cento Lodigiani

Oreo “Aladdin” by Hue&Cry

Holidays Gifs for Disney XD by 2veinte

Prepared by Tony Pinkevich

[theartofanimation]

Yohann Schepacz  -  http://oxanstudio.tumblr.com  -  http://yohannschepacz.tumblr.com  -  https://www.artstation.com/artist/oxanstudio  -  http://www.inprnt.com/profile/oyo  -  http://www.oxanstudio.com  -  https://www.linkedin.com/in/yohannschepacz  -  https://www.facebook.com/oxanstudio?_rdr=p  -  https://www.pinterest.com/oyopinterest  -  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtluVepTTPriNZMbiYwWalQ

[untimestudio-blog]

WIP

A video posted by Animation studio (@untime_media) on Dec 24, 2015 at 6:25am PST

[studiokillers]

Day 23, part 2:

So you went and shook your present and it sounded like steel drums eh?

[untimestudio-blog]

These guys are very talanted. Very professional look of the illustrations. Love the style.

Keep it going guys!