Of course here at Melodie we’re biased, but the truth is, the sound of your content is crucial to its effectiveness at getting the message across.  For starters, music is the biggest and most effective weapon in your bag of emotive tools, to drive how people feel about what they’re seeing.  But music’s close cousin – sound design – is also critical. 

Sound FX, atmospheres and even foley (footsteps, cloth tracks etc) create the aural landscape that your subjects live in. Luckily the range of options to manipulate your audio is growing daily.  Some are one-button wonders, some require a deeper dive.  Here’s a look at some of the current stars on the block.

Phoenix Whoosh Builder

When it comes to sound design, nothing grabs the viewer’s attention like a well-placed whoosh, riser or hit.  Stand out from the pack by building your own unique impact sounds with the Phoenix Whoosh Builder.  Using its library of over 700 base elements  – like air movements, orchestral rises and huge sfx drops – you can layer and create your own individual sounds to accentuate the action on screen.

Speakerphone

Do you need that pristine dialogue recording to actually sound like it’s coming from a cell phone on a city street?  Pump it into the Speakerphone App and choose from a myriad of speaker and location options. From the trunk of a car to the TV in the room next door, this incredible app will place the audio in exactly the right space for your narrative.

Eigen Space Simulator

Are most people going to hear your latest creation on headphones or earbuds?  Then take your audience right inside your content space with the binaural Eigen Space Simulator. With this app, you can position both the source and the listener inside a space, and then move them both.  Want a voice to come from behind?  Want an arrow to shoot right over your viewer’s head?  Is that mosquito buzzing from side to side? Using this binaural magic, you can create a cinematic soundscape with just a left and right earphone!  Perfect for AMSR too.

Krotos Studio

Don’t have a foley pit in your edit suite?  No problem!  This innovative plugin allows filmmakers to create unique sound effects and soundscapes via a unique quadrant mixer using actual sound recordings. With its extensive library, you can use Krotos Studio to create everything from custom cloth tracks to perfect nature ambiences and tailor-made whooshes. We had the pleasure of watching this one demo live at NAB in Las Vegas this month and trust us – this is one not to be missed!

Good sound design can completely immerse the viewer in your content and can help to better convey your message, so it’s important to have the right tools at your disposal. From innovative plugins to all-in-one apps, with these sound design tools you can create unique soundscapes that will take your soundscape to the next level. 

Want to learn more about amazing scores written by screen composers?  Check out our blog post, “Top 5 Most Iconic Film Soundtracks.”