Sonic Design - Project 1
22.9.2025 - 19.10.2025 (Week 1 - Week 4)
Vanessa Kei Kurniadi / 0360525
Bachelor
of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Sonic Design - Project 1
TASK 1 - PARAMETRIC EQUALIZER EXERCISE
The Parametric Equaliser can be found in the Effect Rack by choosing the Effect Rack and then hovering to "Filter and EQ" > Parametric Equaliser.
The Parametric Equaliser effect will display a flat line graph that can be modified. The lower Hz area (left side area) will affect deeper sounds (ex, bass sound) and the higher Hz area (right side area) will affect the more high-pitched sounds (ex., guitar or cymbal sound). Pulling the graph on the specific area up or down will affect the clarity or the muffled-ness of the targeted sound.
fig 1.0 Parametric Equaliser Effect
We were given a sample sound that will serve as a reference, and 5 other versions of the same sound that have been modified. We need to play around with the parametric equaliser to make it as close to the sample sound as possible.
EQ1
This version has a very quiet bass sound, so I just need to adjust the left graph upwards to boost the bass sound.
fig 1.1 EQ1
EQ2
In this version, the guitar sound is less clear and especially the drum cymbal sound is very muffled. So I need to adjust the area on the far right upwards.
EQ3
In this version, I found that almost everything becomes very quiet. I had to play around with the graph for a while to reach the closest sound to the sample as possible. I also had to drag some dots to the right or left because some sounds just don't sound quite right by just dragging them upward.
EQ4
This version simply has the bass played louder than it is intended to be. I have adjusted the graph down until I feel that it's as close as I can get it to the sample.
EQ5
The last version is the trickiest to solve. The most distinct difference is the cymbal being louder than it's supposed to be, but after fixing it, there are other, more minor things to be changed. My biggest problem was the drum. I spent a long time tweaking and playing around with it because it doesn't sound like how I want it to sound. But after dragging it in all directions, I finally managed to find where it sounds the closest to the sample.
MP3 Files:
TASK 2 - PARAMETRIC EQUALIZER + REVERB
The reverb effect can be found in the Effect Rack > Reverb > Reverb.
Reverb is added for an echo-y effect, to give a sense of spatial surroundings to the main sound.
In the effect tab, decay time and perception are mainly used to create the effect. Dry and Wet levels can be adjusted for how "dominating" we want the effect to be. I also found out that wet level also has a volume-boosting effect.
fig 2.1 Reverb Effect
Phone Sound Effect
To make the voice sound like it comes from a phone call, a parametric equaliser is used to muffle the sound, remove the bass or deep sound, and increase the middle point to increase the volume of the speaking overall. Dot 5 was also shifted a bit to the right to change the voice effect a little. The effect should be a bit muffled and have no bass
fig. 2.1 Phone Sound Effect
Closet Sound Effect
To make it seem like the person is talking from inside a closet, the overall speech was made much more muffled and and the bass is increased, but shifted a little bit to the right to blend more with the talking voice.
fig 2.2 Closet Sound Effect
Walkie-Talkie Sound Effect
For the walkie-talkie, the overall speaking voice is boosted up, but the right area is dragged down to make the voice sound unclear and muffled. The bass is dragged up to give a more walkie-talkie sound.
fig 2.3 Walkie-Talkie Sound Effect
Bathroom Sound Effect
For the bathroom effect, we just try to emphasise the echo by making the speaking sound less clear and giving it more bass. Then, a slight reverb is given to give a sense of being in a small bathroom.
Fig. 2.4 Bathroom Sound Effect
Airport Sound Effect
For the airport, I imagine the sound coming from the central speaker in the middle of a room that is very big and tall, so it has so many rooms for echo. Thus, I try to make the speaking voice more muffled but still loud, and then create the big room echo.
fig 2.5 Airport Sound Effect
Indoor Stadium Sound Effect
I imagine the indoor stadium to be not too big, maybe enough for 2-3 badminton courts, and the speaker is right next to us by the entrance. So the sound is much clearer, but since it's a big empty stadium, it still has a clearer echo. It sounds more like a recorded voice being played in the speaker rather than someone speaking from a mic in the airport. So only slight changes are made to the equaliser, making it just slightly not as clear as direct speaking, and for the echo, I focus on more decay time and slightly less reflection compared to the airport.
fig 2.6 Indoor Stadium Effect
MP3 Files:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17Tiz4_vGMzULgTMijUSTAnaenLlfVDhM?usp=drive_link
Here are the graphs that I think need to be noted because of the setup or the unique function:
Jet Plane Fly By Sound
Woman Talking in Cave and ExitsThe scenario is in the first-person perspective. While the person is talking, she's entering the cave, and after a while, she exits from the cave. So that means I won't be using the pan graph this time, and focus on the equaliser and especially the reverb.
fig 4.10 Crowd murmur 2 + Reverb + Equalizer
FEEDBACK:
TASK 3 - SOUND IN SPACE
In each track, automation can either be done in the audio clip itself or on the track. Applying automation to the clip will be beneficial if we want to use the same kind of automation on every clip by copying and pasting, or if each clip needs a different automation. The Track automation helps a lot when a track with multiple clips needs to have the same (and probably consistent) effect. It saves the trouble of making sure one clip connects to another perfectly in terms of the applied effect.
By clicking on the graph, we can add keyframes that serve as an anchor. We can adjust the graph going up or down as many times as we want, according to our needs.
fig 3.0 track and clip automation
Here are the graphs that I think need to be noted because of the setup or the unique function:
- EQ: Use the parametric equaliser tab to determine how high or low I need to adjust the graph. Each dot will represent a different frequency. On the automation, click the bands that need to be adjusted, and tick the option. Then, in the "select" option, you will see the effect there.
fig 3.0.1 Equaliser Automation
- Pan: Blue line. Dragging it up means we will hear the audio on our left headphone, and dragging it down means we will hear it in our right headphone.
fig 3.0.2 Pan Effect
- Reverb: After applying the reverb tab, there will be 2 options to apply the effect: "mix" or "gain". From my understanding, "gain" is how loud I want the reverbed sound to be (so I think it's always mixed), and mix is how much of the reverb effect I want to put into the audio. So the audio will stay the same volume, but if I drag the graph up. The sound will be more echo-y
fig 3.0.3 Reverb Effect
The volume at the start was also increasing, so I just kept it flat, and then spiked it up to emphasise the approaching sound. For the panning, I also started the direction shift when the sound spike started, so it sounds like the jet goes from out left to our right in a mere second or two.
I did it all during the lecture so I just simply did it in the clip automation.
fig 3.1 Jet Plane Fly By Sound
Woman Talking in Room
The scenario is that the woman walks while talking from one end of the room to the other, while talking. So the sound not only gets bigger, it gets clearer, and it changes from the left side to the right side, before it slowly gets muffled again and then becomes quieter. Reverb is added to give the spatial sense of the room, and I used the reverb mix to increase and decrease the reverb effect on the audio.
This time, I tried to combine the clip automation and track automation. I adjusted the volume on the clip automation and the panning on the track automation.
fig 3.2 Woman Talking in Room Sound
Woman Talking in Cave and Exits
This time, I am fully focusing on the track automation, but I increased the flat volume in the clip automation. I am using Equaliser band 2, 5, and H, as well as Convolution Reverb.
fig 3.3 Woman Talking in Cave and Exits Sound
MP3 File:
ENVIRONMENT SOUND COMPOSITION
Environment Sound Composition 1
fig 4.1 Reference for Environment Sound Composition 1
I imagined this one to have a rather silent settings. There are some lab computers on the sides, a huge water tank in the middle, and just 2 army soldiers guarding the place. the facility seems to be slightly abandoned and it's conveniently located in what seems to be a forest (judging from the leaves I can see on the roof, plus the overall settings is also greenish with lots of plants)
So I picture the audios to be more nature sounds for ambient sound, just the footsteps of the soldier, and then the bubble for the tank and then computer noises.
For this task, I have got a pretty quiet outdoor sound with some birds and just some light murmur that is enough to either sound the soldiers talking or the view scientists talking outside the view. I also got a bubbly sound that sounds deep enough to represent big bubbles in that huge tank, some walking steps sounds with equipment (it's called knight walking according to the post), and a couple computer sounds that I took from a radar noise and a microwave sound.
fig 4.1 Background sound + Reverb + Equalizer
fig 4.2 Bubbles sound + Equalizer
fig 4.3 Army Steps + Reverb + Equalizer
fig 4.4 Bleep (radar) sound + Pitch Shifter
fig 4.5 Bleep (microwave) sound + Reverb
fig 4.6 Overall Multitrack View
I personally try to make the beep on the right louder since it's the closest to us, and I'm really glad the radar sound already has some sort of an echo effect, so I don't have to add any more reverb. And I also try to make the bubble noise not too loud because it's kinda far and since it's inside the tank I don't think it's gonna be too loud either.
I personally enjoy making this setting too because it's quiet and has a lot of nature sounds, and the tiny added sounds are also in a consistent tempo so it's not chaotic at all.
Environment Sound Composition 2
fig 4.7 Reference for Environment Sound Composition 2
For this, I have downloaded 1 machinery noise, one laser sound, 2 crowd noises, and 1 puddle splashing sound. I'm planning to have the whole place filled with machine sounds with some murmur sounds in the background. A little pause before the laser starts shooting, so it is clear that it's a separate sound from the background, as well as some puddle splashing every few seconds to make it sound like the scientists are walking around.
I will add panning to the steps and the machine sounds to give more spatial effects.
Here is the breakdown of the track:
fig 4.8 Machine sound + Reverb
fig 4.9 Crowd murmur 1 + Reverb + Equalizer
fig 4.10 Crowd murmur 2 + Reverb + Equalizer
fig 4.11 Puddle Sound + Equalizer
fig 4.12 Laser Sound + Pitch Shifter + Reverb
fig 4.13 Overall Multitrack View
Here I try to give a variation of direction on where the footstep sounds are coming from. The footsteps coming from both directions gives a picture of a lot of people (in this case it's the scientists) walking around the lab. I also like the "chatic sound" I could create just from the murmur and the machine noise. There are a lot of loud noises in this environment (as I planned it to be) but it still has this depth that I'm really satisfied with.
MP3 Files:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13xSoF7jju5kB_rN1P3MFQSLmdyffDDLV?usp=drive_linkFEEDBACK:
Week 1:
- Briefing on what we'll do in the semester
- Bring Headphones next week
- Recommended some headphones for those who have no headphones
- Download Adobe Audition
Week 2:
- Finish all the EQ exercises before next week
- Upload the equaliser graph to the blog
Week 3:
- Finish all the EQ + Reverb exercises before next week
- Put the graph and the MP3 version on the blog
Week 4:
- Putting mp3 in the drive and putting the link in the blog is fine, but if you still wanna try to embed the audio, you can try to put .wav file instead of .an MP3
- Give the laser the pew at the start for the buildup, so people know it's a laser
- For the exercise, need to create the woman talking while walking into a cave and then going back out.
Experience
As someone who usually just has her headphone's volume just a bit louder for proper music, I have had to purposefully turn the volume up to hear some details and also got blasted right into my ears when hearing the other sounds. I do feel like I need to rest my ear and just remove my heaphones to just ease my hearings a little bit before continuing, but I am enjoying what I managed to do in this exercises.
I have never opened Adobe Audition since my task with Video and Sound Production Module but now that I know more and more about what I can do in this platform I'm actually starting to enjoy playing with the features to create my own unique audios.
Mr Razif has been really helpful in my enquiries so I don't think I had any major problem in doing my tasks. So far the tasks are not too much to handle either, and I hope it stays that way.
Observation
We were doing our workls individually so I wasn't really able to see other people's work, but I think Mr Razif doesn't really had much of a bad comment to any of the works (except for some students that might have some confusion due to language barrier or miscommunication) so I think they are all also doing well on the tasks
Findings
The first thing I find in this class is actually the fact that Mr Razif is not a scary person like I heard or remembered hearing about from my friends who took the module on the earlier semester. I also found Adobe Audition to be not as hard as I thought it was. But I do need some time and experimenting to get used to the features.
Device-wise, I just found out that daily headsets has a built-in volume booster that might hinder our work in audio editing, but I think my setup for now is sufficient to get me through the semester.
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