A COLLABORATIVE POST WITH Boom Box Post
Last week I was cutting backgrounds and ambiences on an episode that had a handful of scenes at the same location, but took place over different times of the day. As it’s my job to serve the story the best I can, obviously I must not only design the location but make sure that it accurately reflects the time of day as well. Now most of the locations for this series have already been established, meaning we have a library of pro tools sessions containing the built-out tracks for each background location. This is a HUGE time saver when editing and furthermore, it ensures consistency across the series. The background library is extensively built out, going so far as to contain files for both DAYTIME and NIGHT TIME of many locations.
This got me thinking about time-specific sounds that convey different times of day. Which then got me thinking: what sounds remind me of the morning?
Sounds like morning: outdoors
birdsongs
sprinklers
Lawn mowers & leaf blowers
morning cyclists & bike bells
school bus or garbage trucks
Soft Grasshoppers and Katydids
Gentle Waves lapping
roosters crowing
What does “morning” make you think of? I think of my childhood, standing on the street corner in my suburban neighborhood waiting for the school bus. So with a rush of inspiration I decided to pull these elements together and design a soundscape to accurately depict from memory what I my mornings sounded like:
Sounds like morning: indoors
Alarm Clock
coffee brewing
toaster popping
shower RUNNING
Newspaper page flaps
Yawning
TV & Radio Morning shows
Tips and Tricks:
Morning Birdsong: Search for morning bird sounds that are appropriate for the location! For suburban areas think robins, sparrows, finches, mockingbirds and jays. For rural areas think roosters crowing, chickens clucking, meadowlarks singing, doves cooing and waterfowl if water is present.
Soft Grasshoppers and Katydids: Not crickets! Traditionally, crickets have been a staple of night scenes so we must avoid them for our morning sounds. However this got me thinking about insect sounds that convey morning and I found this extremely useful resource: Songs of Insects. Within seconds of previewing a couple of the Katydid and Grasshopper sounds, I could envision a foggy suburban morning.
Alarm Clocks: who uses these anymore?? It’s all on our smartphones these days… but a smartphone alarm isn’t always appropriate for the screen. If you don’t have a digital alarm clock, try recording another electronic device that makes a beep sound (microwave, dishwasher, washing machine) and editing your own pattern of these beeps to mimic an alarm clock! For analog alarm clocks, try repurposing other bells like a vintage kitchen timer, a bike bell or a handbell and play with pitch and cutting them into repeating patterns to mimic an analog alarm bell.
Gentle Waves lapping: This is an effective example of how the time of day greatly affects the sound of a location. Whether it’s an oceanside or lakeside location, crashing waves and white caps won’t convey morning nearly as effectively as some gentle lapping waves. Search for these water laps or better yet, find a swimming pool or nearby pond/body of water to record your own.
I hope this inspired you to think about how the sound of different locations are affected by the time of day and how we can convey that in our work. Thanks so much for reading!
Tell us which sounds remind you of morning in the commentS!
If you enjoyed this blog, check out these:
Sound Effects Gathering: A Field Recording Guide
Found Audio: Build Up Your Sound Effect Library with On The Fly iPhone Recordings
Sounds Like Summer