I made every sound effect myself, from Zoom H6 recordings I took on walks through the city and from synthesisers, without any sound libraries.
2024, a school assignment: the exam project for my DAW 2 course, a 44-second film. REAPER, Zoom H6, Vital, ReaSynth, TAL-NoiseMaker.
Cue by cue
- 0:03The rumble
A low rumble swells under the plain, seven seconds before the ground splits.
- 0:07The craft
The craft races across the flats, and the main theme comes in under its engines.
- 0:10The ground splits
The earth cracks over the rumble as the fault runs across the plain.
- 0:18The collapse
The ridge bursts apart behind the craft, and the low end is at its heaviest in the film.
- 0:28Closing gate
A gate shuts on the valley, then the sound drops to almost nothing for three seconds.
- 0:37Title hit
The title lands on a single hit, over the last bars of the theme.
How I made the sounds
Stretched door creaks, pallet impacts and concrete scrapes from my recordings became the materials breaking above the rumble. Vital, ReaSynth and TAL-NoiseMaker gave me the drones, risers and alarms, layered with field recordings.
I automated volume, panning and reverb sends to move the engines and whooshes with the picture, and recreated the Doppler effect where a sound needed it.
The session ran at 48 kHz / 24-bit, and I checked the final mix with a loudness meter against the level the course required.
Main theme
The same music as in the film, without the sound effects.
