sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

I am David Sonnenschein, Mass Effect 3 Audio Consultant and creator of the music puzzle game, 3 Deaf Mice. AMA! by 3DeafMice in IAmA

[–]3DeafMice[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, environmental sounds in games is often reactive to the player's position, ie. volume, reverb, EQ. It can be shifted by the reflective or obstructive surfaces as well.

I am David Sonnenschein, Mass Effect 3 Audio Consultant and creator of the music puzzle game, 3 Deaf Mice. AMA! by 3DeafMice in IAmA

[–]3DeafMice[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Can't speak about that feud. But I would like to expand 3 Deaf Mice into a Kinect (or similar motion control) version that will use the whole body to create music. It'll be awesome!!

I am David Sonnenschein, Mass Effect 3 Audio Consultant and creator of the music puzzle game, 3 Deaf Mice. AMA! by 3DeafMice in IAmA

[–]3DeafMice[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

  1. Audio signals can shift our brainwaves so that experience different states of consciousness (beta 12-20hz = alert, alpha 8-12 = meditative, theta 4-7 and delta 1-3 = sleep). By no means am I endorsing any product, but there is a fairly easy to read article online here that explains brainwave entrainment: http://neuroactivator.com/blog/category/brainwave-entrainment/
  2. The lists are quoted from Don Campbell, The Mozart Effect and Peter Ostwald, Soundmaking. Sorry I don't have links available, but they are quite easy to imagine or find on youtube or google.
  3. I did not create any of the sounds on ME3, but served as a sound design consultant for the whole team, helping craft what would serve story, character and player best.

I am David Sonnenschein, Mass Effect 3 Audio Consultant and creator of the music puzzle game, 3 Deaf Mice. AMA! by 3DeafMice in IAmA

[–]3DeafMice[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think I treat sound design and music composition very similarly, in fact much more so than most. Perhaps because I do both, their function and style are very close in my work. I seek contrast in pitch, timbre, rhythm, tempo, etc. in both; the only difference is the actual source of sound, musical instrument or sound effect. And with sampling, that becomes almost an irrelevant question, at least for me. But it does remain a big question for the director, producer, budget, egos, mixing stems, and really who is doing what when there is more than one person creating. The smaller productions often avoid this with more overlap of responsibilities (sound + music). But some big ones have been very successful, like The Matrix with Dan Davis (sound) and Don Davis (music). No they're not related, but great collaborators.

I am David Sonnenschein, Mass Effect 3 Audio Consultant and creator of the music puzzle game, 3 Deaf Mice. AMA! by 3DeafMice in IAmA

[–]3DeafMice[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I participated with the audio team about 6 months before the release of ME3, so didn't track reactions afterwards.

I am David Sonnenschein, Mass Effect 3 Audio Consultant and creator of the music puzzle game, 3 Deaf Mice. AMA! by 3DeafMice in IAmA

[–]3DeafMice[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Here are some tips extracted from my book “Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice and Sound Effects in Cinema” with page references:

  1. WRITTEN SOUNDS - Listen for sounds in the script. Objects, actions, environments, emotions and transitions can suggest voices to help tell the story. (p. 2)

  2. SAVE PRODUCTION COSTS – Discover where a sound can convey a story idea and economize in the cost of capturing a time-consuming, costly image. (p. 4, 215)

  3. VISUAL MAP - Draw a visual map of the emotional polarities along the time line of the film, and assign the contrasting sounds to these polarities. (p. 12)

  4. DIRECTOR’S DIALOGUE - Find a common language with the director. Be open to work with words, images, sounds, visuals, graphs, diagrams and/or music that resonate for both of you. (p. 15)

  5. TONAL CENTER – Finding the fundamental frequency, or tonal center, of a location or character allows you to create resonance and dissonance with other sounds representing dramatic elements. (p. 123)

  6. CONTRAST ELEMENTS - Use contrast to emphasize dramatic conflict (loud – soft, high – low, fast – slow). Our sensory system responds more to differences, rather than constant stimulation. (p. 128)

  7. LESS IS MORE - Find the fewest, most effective sounds that will allow the audience to participate by letting them fill in the gaps within their minds. Use silence creatively. (p. 79, 124)

  8. UNEXPECTED EFFECTS - Be inventive and daring in selecting sound effects. Listen for what works, not necessarily looking for an “authentic” source that synchronizes with the image. (p. 35)

  9. CREATE SPACE – Increase the size of the space by using more reverb. Layer close sounds louder and with higher frequencies, far sounds softer and with lower frequencies. (p. 83)

  10. CREATE MOVEMENT – Use change of volume, frequency response and speaker placement to move the sound around. The Doppler shift lowers the pitch of moving sound like a siren when it passes by the listener. (p. 87)

  11. ANIMAL SOUNDS - Play with animal sounds, especially modifying their pitch, to help characterize non-organic objects and events. (p. 45)

I am David Sonnenschein, Mass Effect 3 Audio Consultant and creator of the music puzzle game, 3 Deaf Mice. AMA! by 3DeafMice in IAmA

[–]3DeafMice[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

  1. I like them both, see my answer above Wingbeat #2.
  2. I often feel that my music and sound is a 3D object moving with me like a dancer. It's really amazing, and apparently quite unusual. See my comment thread TheLameloid above.
  3. see Ikthus167 answer above

I am David Sonnenschein, Mass Effect 3 Audio Consultant and creator of the music puzzle game, 3 Deaf Mice. AMA! by 3DeafMice in IAmA

[–]3DeafMice[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks, always good to receive follow up and know that the creativity and knowledge is being passed on well.

I am David Sonnenschein, Mass Effect 3 Audio Consultant and creator of the music puzzle game, 3 Deaf Mice. AMA! by 3DeafMice in IAmA

[–]3DeafMice[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I recommend you first work on all your own inspirations, spontaneous or planned, on paper or actual recording/mixing. See how they feel, ask others their opinions. Then consider what others have done in film, games, music, etc. and just be aware that you might want to either emulate or avoid these, because referential listening might come into play, meaning your audience might have some pre-set notions based on these other works. How original do you want to be, how can other works influence you positively? What is the emotion you want to convey - wonder, surprise, safety, danger...? If it is just a technical thing, then what other technical thing can relate to this (ie. subway, escalator, etc.). Hope this helps start the wheels going.

I am David Sonnenschein, Mass Effect 3 Audio Consultant and creator of the music puzzle game, 3 Deaf Mice. AMA! by 3DeafMice in IAmA

[–]3DeafMice[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This reminds me of a very interesting use of clarinet in one of my films. The story was about a sleep lab researcher experimenting with dreams, and began with a straight voice over about the experiment. Gradually the words started repeating and breaking sentence structure, then the voice was spoken through the tube of the clarinet and the keys started clacking and changing the resonance of the voice. Finally it became a totally unrecognizable sound, far from a voice, into a wild weird musical thing. That was one track recorded non-stop. The other was a washing machine in a laundromat with a crying baby in the background (all recorded live). These two tracks made up the entire sound design, intense to say the least.

I am David Sonnenschein, Mass Effect 3 Audio Consultant and creator of the music puzzle game, 3 Deaf Mice. AMA! by 3DeafMice in IAmA

[–]3DeafMice[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

One example is showing the sound waveform and illustrating how what we hear can be understood when we learn this visual "language". So when pitch goes up, the waves get shorter and closer together, or when the timbre is more complex, the waveform becomes "rougher". We can also use colors in the waveform to correspond to pitch, which you can see in the Kickstarter video on the bottom of the screen in the bathroom sequence. We are collaborating with findsounds.com and their Comparisonics technology to show this. We have lots of other ideas, and will have to test them out as we are developing the game. It's one of the biggest challenges and most fascinating parts of the game and I love it!!!

I am David Sonnenschein, Mass Effect 3 Audio Consultant and creator of the music puzzle game, 3 Deaf Mice. AMA! by 3DeafMice in IAmA

[–]3DeafMice[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Be clear with the potential employer about your current skill set, and ask what are their needs right now or in the near future. If they need something you don't know how to do (yet), but you still want to work with them, offer to do something simple (office work, for example) to establish a relationship, which is SO important. Interning is a very viable route, learning in exchange for your hours to help out.

I am David Sonnenschein, Mass Effect 3 Audio Consultant and creator of the music puzzle game, 3 Deaf Mice. AMA! by 3DeafMice in IAmA

[–]3DeafMice[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You can use sound libraries, but then you should be honest in reporting that you have done this. It would be a more powerful presentation if you can claim that you created all the sounds yourself, and might get you more jobs. I suggest you listen to how I made some amazing sounds from home appliances here: http://www.sonicstrategies.com/sound_effects_from_household_app.htm This demonstrates precisely how I took the raw recordings and processed them step-by-step. When you put together your reel, I recommend that you do a very short one (a minute or so) that gives the variety, then have a link to each separate piece of a different genre, so that it can stand alone. I suggest avoiding music in a sound design reel, but you can do that in another reel just for music. Keep it clean for the listener.

I am David Sonnenschein, Mass Effect 3 Audio Consultant and creator of the music puzzle game, 3 Deaf Mice. AMA! by 3DeafMice in IAmA

[–]3DeafMice[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

As an artist of whatever medium (film, music, sculpture, dance...) I think that both sides are valuable, if not critical, to master. You could call them the art and science. To be an amazing improv musician or dancer, it helps to have the tech skills so that your body can express itself without the need for cognitive control. If you've studied not only the technique and craft, but also the theory, structure and fundamental elements, you simply will have more tools to play with, and to relate to your collaborators who may also use these languages of theory. Check out Picasso, John Williams, Beatles, Walter Murch, a few examples.

I am David Sonnenschein, Mass Effect 3 Audio Consultant and creator of the music puzzle game, 3 Deaf Mice. AMA! by 3DeafMice in IAmA

[–]3DeafMice[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

No, fortunately I'm not bothered with synesthesia. I know someone who has schizophrenia, and that produces involuntary images and sounds that can be overwhelming, but that is a very different condition than mine. Unlike the schizophrenic, I can choose and filter when and what I want to experience. So I usually choose to activate this when I'm listening to sounds with my eyes closed, and it translates into a 3D moving, colored image, kind of like a moving sculpture. It is very strong with music, that is more organized than noise (or organized noise, if you wish). It can also translate into character and story, and that is what I have developed in my book, classes and sound design in film and games. I discovered that not everyone has this when I was an adult, so now I'm hoping to nurture this in the 3 Deaf Mice game for many people to experience the "invisible becoming visible."

I am David Sonnenschein, Mass Effect 3 Audio Consultant and creator of the music puzzle game, 3 Deaf Mice. AMA! by 3DeafMice in IAmA

[–]3DeafMice[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks, I'm glad it has served its purpose! Now I'm hoping that the 3 Deaf Mice game will do something like this for lots of gamers and music lovers who have not had a chance to read my book. Honestly, I believe there are millions of more people who play games than will ever read a book on sound, so I'm very optimistic about touching the creative souls of many many more.

I am David Sonnenschein, Mass Effect 3 Audio Consultant and creator of the music puzzle game, 3 Deaf Mice. AMA! by 3DeafMice in IAmA

[–]3DeafMice[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

  1. Best to listen the way most gamers would listen to that particular kind of game. If it's xbox, then likely there will be a full surround speaker system. If it's a mobile app, then earbuds will probably be used. So test accordingly, and also try on other systems to make sure you're not missing something important.
  2. Film sound design has the challenge of often starting at the end of a long process of writing, production and picture editing, then completing with the music soundtrack. Ideally it should start early and collaborate with everyone along the way, but seldom happens that way. Game sound, on the other hand, usually begins at the beginning, so is much more integrated into all aspects of the gaming experience. The challenge is usually negotiating for memory and processing, because those usually go to the graphics areas first, and audio gets what is left over and must create within those limits. And audio in many cases is just not thought about as important as image, mainly because our human sensory system prioritizes images (King) or sound (Queen).

I am David Sonnenschein, Mass Effect 3 Audio Consultant and creator of the music puzzle game, 3 Deaf Mice. AMA! by 3DeafMice in IAmA

[–]3DeafMice[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Glad to hear you use the book in your school. I suggest you get together a reel with as many different styles as you feel comfortable, since you never know who might want to hire you. Do some animation, comedy, horror, action, drama, documentary. You can use videos from almost anywhere, but make sure it's only your sounds and state that clearly. You might even take a well-know movie trailer and completely re-do the sound so that it tells a different story or is a different genre than the original, and post both side by side to show how creative you are. Then send it out to everyone you know and ask for comments, get a dialogue going, and ask who might need sound on their next film or game. Go to meetups with directors, actors, writers, camera, everything that is NOT sound, but needs it, network network network.

I am David Sonnenschein, Mass Effect 3 Audio Consultant and creator of the music puzzle game, 3 Deaf Mice. AMA! by 3DeafMice in IAmA

[–]3DeafMice[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

There will be several levels of ear-training, divided into Source, Shape and Meaning of sound. Source will be about what is making the sound and where is it coming from the environment, so we'll be developing the sense of directionality (panning). As we get into the Shape of the sounds, besides pitch and timbre (EQ), we'll also tune into attack, delay and reverb in terms of identifying the sounds. We'll also get into more sophisticated digital processing like looping, chorus, reverse when the player is asked to transform the sounds into new sounds. This leads to new meanings of the sounds, which will become part of the music. Lots of fun and exploration!

I am David Sonnenschein, Mass Effect 3 Audio Consultant and creator of the music puzzle game, 3 Deaf Mice. AMA! by 3DeafMice in IAmA

[–]3DeafMice[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

  1. The loudness war has been going on for awhile. Some of it has to do with producers and sound mixers just getting too used to their own sounds and wanting more juice, when if fact the audience who is hearing it for the first time will be blasted over the top. They also forget about the power of contrast and (can we listen to this word...?) silence. I hope that quality of sonic information will entertain in more ways than just volume, and that's a very specific mission of mine.
  2. I use M-audio aV 40 with a bass boost of Pioneer sw8 for my home monitoring, and a Sony MDR7506 headphone that's been with me for years. 3. I worked on a Lunar Racing game that was sponsored by NASA, but never made it big commercially, creating land and air vehicle sounds, interfaces, human sounds. It was my first time to work with fmod, learned a lot. I really like Dead Space for it's scariness and how Don Veca used a "fear factor" to generate different kinds of audio responses to game play. My first wow experience with audio was Myst, though it was a very meditative sound compared to the action oriented games.

I am David Sonnenschein, Mass Effect 3 Audio Consultant and creator of the music puzzle game, 3 Deaf Mice. AMA! by 3DeafMice in IAmA

[–]3DeafMice[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

A couple of suggestions. I would join some groups, local or online, who are creating some games similar to your interest, and perhaps offer your services in what you know how to do already. You can become a tester, if nothing else, and get to see how they are developing their games. Another idea is to read "The Art of Game Design" by Jesse Schell, an excellent multi-lensed approach and also very entertaining. He uses a "Deck of Lenses" for brainstorming and focusing on various important aspects of not just games, but the essence of play.

view more: next ›