A COLLABORATIVE POST
WRITTEN BY BOOM BOX POST
As I’m building upon my sound editing skills, a critique I often receive is that my sound effects build is not utilizing a fuller frequency range, so it’s not as impactful during previews. Developing a dynamic frequency range into my builds isn’t just important for having powerful sound moments, it’s also essential for ensuring that the sound effects translate on all possible listening platforms, like a huge Dolby Atmos theatre and tiny pair of ear buds. In order to tackle this challenge, I asked two of our supervising sound editors, Brad Meyer, MPSE, and Tess Fournier, MPSE, to play a frequency-association game. I named some commonly referenced frequency ranges, and they followed up with sound effects that come to mind, and why these particular ranges are valuable for creating effective sound effects builds.
60 Hz - 250 Hz
Brad: Low-end rumble. This range is great for beefing up the LFE channels and adding weight to things.
Tess: Rumble or earthquake. These are great for making elements sound big and heavy. They help you to feel the sound as well as hear it. I like to think of this range as a "small tv rumble" - a weightiness that can be heard through a standard stereo setup.
250 Hz - 500 Hz
Brad: Low-mid sweeteners: When LFE isn't an option, this is a great way to add low-end that will cut through in a typical television setup.
Tess: Thunder. It's a nice low-end that will still play through speakers without needing to implement a subwoofer.
500 Hz - 1500 Hz
Brad: Dialogue! A good chunk of the human voice sits in this range. Great for grabbing an audience's attention with a vocal performance.
Tess: An old-school busy signal from a phone. I think of is this as kind of mid-range, where most sounds live in a mix.
1500 Hz - 3000 Hz
Brad: Babies crying or alarms. This is the "gosh that's so annoying!" range. Great for crying babies or panic alarms.
Tess: The backup beep from a truck. I also feel like this range holds a lot of information in the mix. However, I find that it doesn’t get as muddy as 500-1000 Hz and tends to pierce through more.
3000 Hz - 5000 Hz
Brad: High-tech user-interface effects. A lot of convincing "high tech" or "sci-fi" sounds can be great in this range.
Tess: Firework Whistle. I love firework whistles. I probably use them way too often in my editorial, but they make me happy. I love adding this frequency to explosions. I don't like to fill the whole frequency spectrum with a single sound effect, since there might be dialogue overlapping and I want to carve out some space for that; however, adding one higher-end element to a low-end sound like an explosion helps it to sound fuller and bigger in my opinion. It adds something dramatic that will cut through a mid-range-heavy mix.
5000 Hz - 8000 Hz
Brad: High-pitched scraping metal. Or perhaps even tires screeching to a stop usually sit in this range.
Tess: Kettle Whistle. Want your audience to feel anxious or angry? I often use this frequency range to evoke just that. It's high enough to make someone feel uneasy, but not so high to annoy the heck out of them. A rising tone within this range is really great for selling building anxiety or pressure.
8000 Hz - 16000 Hz
Brad: Tinnitus. Super high-pitched disorienting effects work great at this range.
Tess: That annoying whine from a tube TV that I always try to EQ out. We're getting into dog whistle territory here. 8000 works but 16000 is somewhat of an annoying sound, so I definitely use this sparingly. Perfect for something that is supposed to make you feel upset or nervous (for instance that classic moment after a bomb goes off and all of the sounds are muffled minus a grating tinnitus tone).
Something interesting I learned from playing this game with Tess and Brad is that some frequency ranges can evoke certain emotions that can make the difference between a good sound effects build and an impactful sound effects build. Also, even though mid-range frequencies hold a lot of valuable sound information that translates really well through a home sound system or a laptop, these frequencies tend to pile on top of each other and need support from other frequency ranges. Now that I’ve got all these new ideas, I'm ready for my next edit!
If you liked this blog, check out these:
THE MAKING OF A SOUND LIBRARY: MAGIC CHIMES
LUNCH AND LEARN: CREATURE VOCALS CONCEPT AND DESIGN
DESIGNING A TELEMETRIC TONE ROW