I have been recently thinking about how best to create sound effects for card games, specifically games like black jack, poker and so on. There are two areas of sound effects I’ve been interested in; the sounds of the cards themselves, and sounds of the chips on the table.
Suspense music, intrigue, thriller score or mysterious underscore, are all words to describe pretty much the same thing; music that creates tension. Audiences of suspense productions need to feel uncomfortable, disturbed and at times terrified. How does a composer establish a sound of tension in their compositions?
When composing music for a project that requires a large number of music tracks within a short period of time, utilizing thematic variation can save you enormous amounts of time. This variation also helps with impacting a more memorable soundtrack on the listener. The key to effective thematic music is short, catchy motifs, that are repeated by varied instrumentation, over several different tracks in a game’s score.
Continuing on from the first article about fireworks sound effects, this music industry article focuses on microphone choice for fireworks sound effects. Its not all about quality; don’t forget you’re carrying everything, and don’t forget about your security.
If you have access to a royalty free music library, or you are searching through an online music library, you may find the task difficult when it comes to choosing the right royalty free music track for your project. It is important to have an insight into how different music tracks affect different kinds of visual projects.
As a composer, you are continually approached by people to write music. It can be in a field you are experienced in, or it can be in new fields that you have yet to experiment with. When delving into these new fields, all a composer has is the knowledge of prior compositional technique and the ability to research new techniques for music composition.
How can a composer safely branch out from the norm, to satisfy ones creativity, yet ensure that the music will be received well by the audience? This article explores the process of writing video game music, based on the compositional process for one of the ten levels of music from the iPhone game Plushed.
The three key benefits of using royalty free music are availability, choice, and price. Having music that is fast to find, fast to choose, and fast to satisfy the budget, resonates with the high demands on production companies.
Fireworks are, without a doubt, an amazing and incredible sight, but how about the sound of fireworks. How can we recreate the sound of fireworks and what are some of the obstacles we might face when given the task of recreating firework sound effects.
In my research, I found that quite commonly, smashing watermelons with sticks is the way hit sound effects are created for martial art sequences. It is the combination of a sharp initial crack and the wet, slushy sound of the watermelon splintering. Not the imagery you would like to be thinking of. It raises a good point however, and perhaps the most important point in this article; sound is not what it looks like.
