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03.04 Record a Sound Effects Library

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Record a single object or sound concept from five sonic perspectives rather than simple recording a single sound. Learn how to capture and organize sound effects into a usable library collection.

  1. close up detail sound
  2. medium distance
  3. Far away or room perspective
  4. slow action
  5. aggressive or fast action

Process and name the sounds to begin creating a library of sound effects with searchable names and descriptions ready to drop into projects.

  • Tomato-Smash-Close-Slow-01.wav
  • Tomato-Smash-Close-Fast-01.wav
  • Tomato-Smash-Medium-01.wav
  • Tomato-Smash-Room-01.wav
  • Tomato-Smash-Stop-01.wav

Cell Phone Audio Recording Tips

Although the quality of recording equipment matters, for recording sound effects in the field, the position of the microphone and the environment usually matter much more than the quality of the recorder.

  1. Get as close as possible to the sound. This is the number one way to improve audio recordings. Get closer. Get very close. Sound follows the inverse square law that means every time you move twice as far away or twice as close the sound raises or lowers by 6dB. By adjusting the distance to the sound you are physically adjusting the recording level of the device without modifying any recording settings.
  2. Avoid holding the phone while recording if not necessary. Every single finger movement, tap, repositioning of your hand, power cable bumping into phone and other movements will physically transfer to the microphone and end up in the recording. Leave the phone still when recoding if possible.
  3. Know where the microphone is on your phone. Make sure the case is not obstructing the microphone. IF you move the phone close to a sound but the microphone is covered or pointed in the opposite direction then you are limiting your ability to control the recording.
  4. Disable any automatic voice enhancement settings when recording sound effects. Phones are designed to record human speech, not for field recording.Automatic audio processing designed to make voice recordings better are great for recording an interview or a lecture but it can remove the sounds that you want to capture.
  5. Record 5 seconds of silence on each end of the recording. Start the recording, wait 5 seconds, then start the sound effect, then record for 5 seconds on the end. This captures environment tone or room tone and can be useful for later noise reduction. It also ensures there is enough space at the beginning and the end of the recording to not cut off the sound you wanted to capture.
  6. Record multiple versions and record from different distances. If yo only record a sound one way then you have nothing to compare it to. There isn’t a correct way to record a particular sound so try recording the sound multiple times and from multiple distances to evaluate which method reveals the best representation of the sound.
  7. Find the quietest position for the microphone before recording. Avoid wind if possible but if unavoidable, but a barrier in front of the microphone to block the wind. Don’t cover the microphone. Simple standing between the wind and the microphone can be enough to block wind sounds. Think of how you would protect a lit match from the wind. You can’t cover the flame with your hand but you can block the wind with your body or cup your hand or an object around the burning match. Do the same thing with the wind and your microphone, pretend it is a burning match.