On the Reel, Part 2
Apr 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Ben McFarlane
Last month, part one of this two-part series explored amateur sound-effects design for films through obscure and bizarre effects plug-ins. An amazing array of (often free) software can provide anyone who has a computer with the sound-effects power and potential that the early design pioneers could only dream of having. Beyond single sound effects, ambitious artists can look toward expanding and then patching together their audio experiments into larger works.
Early sound-design experimenters Bebe and Louis Barron carved out their avant-garde niche in 1950s New York alongside such literati as Andy Warhol and Anaïs Nin. The Barrons are best known for their groundbreaking, all-electronic soundtrack on the 1956 movie Forbidden Planet. They used some novel techniques to create a very alien-sounding underscore. Louis designed electronic circuits that could be adjusted to yield bizarre sounds. The two pioneers recorded those sounds onto tape and then sorted out which ones ought to be used for what kind of scene. As a result, Forbidden Planet was one of the most startlingly unusual aural experiences that anyone had heard at the time. The tools of production were not expensive hi-fi devices but homemade gizmos. Although inexpensive, the circuit-building necessary was laborious and time-consuming; it quickly became outdated as faster methods of producing similar sounds became available.
That cycle of producing experimental sounds quicker and easier has scarcely let up, and now, 50 years later, the tools and techniques are available to create endless varieties of sounds in a short amount of time. Building circuits from scratch was a part of their process, but today, that same amount of time could be spent exploring existing synths to discover what sonic wonders they are capable of producing.
Not long after Forbidden Planet, Warner Bros. and United Productions of America (UPA) were producing cartoons with a host of quirky, mechanically generated noises. At UPA, sound design was essential to the character of Dr. Seuss' Gerald McBoing Boing — a chipper little bloke who spoke using only sound effects. He became tremendously popular and was one of the company's last breaths of innovative success as UPA. McBoing Boing was a landmark for the sound design of the times; even after the sounds alone lost their novelty, their synergy with the character was still unique and entertaining.
Today, soft-synth designers are constantly increasing the collective pool of plug-ins for sound designers to work audio magic. Because of modular synths such as Native Instruments Reaktor and Jef McClintock's SynthEdit — which allow users to design their own instruments — musicians and sound designers alike are living in a time of exponentially broadening horizons. There are at least as many VST-compatible instruments as there are insert effects.
With all the variety that is possible, the next McBoing Boing-like character voice or Forbidden Planet — style score could easily be created in a cramped bedroom on a laptop, rather than in a huge studio filled with heavy machinery. Of course this time, the experimental sounds would probably accompany a character animated in Flash or a low-budget film produced in Apple Final Cut Pro.
Three teams of soft-synth developers are profiled here: Krakli (www.krakli.co.uk), Elogoxa (www.uv.es/~ruizcan/principal.htm) and White Noise Audio Software (www.whitenoiseaudio.com). Each group has several useful instruments and effects plug-ins for sound creation, mangling and mastering. I have chosen the one instrument from each group with the most esoteric and unique sounds. Also highly recommended are the plug-ins from Tweakbench (www.tweakbench.com). All plug-ins from these developers require a VST host on a Windows computer, and most of them are available free of charge.
KRAKA-LACKIN'
Krakli software has a huge lineup of bizarre and wonderful plug-ins. Vurtbox is one of its most eye-catching and is also one of its most unusual sounding. Vurtbox is a flexible, polyphonic synth with two oscillators and two LFO sections. It is packed with ring modulators and other synth accessories that provide a comprehensive package. One can design crazy modulated synth patches or more cool, conventional analog-type sounds reminiscent of those that Boards of Canada is so fond of using.
Krakli's most unusual feature is its user interface, which looks like it could be the control panel from an alien spacecraft. In the first LFO section (the one with the most amount of controls), the parameter levels can be set from 1 to 9. Instead of using decimals to represent numbers between integers, it uses weird graphics, making the numbers morph together seamlessly (see the screenshot). The interface itself leaves out a lot of information. Fortunately, when you place your mouse over the control a label appears to tell you what it does. Vurtbox, like Tobybear's Robobear effect described last month, is temperamental and vindictive, and it would be unwise to experiment blindly without limiting the output volume externally. Be careful with it. If you're looking for something a little less vicious but equally strange, check out the Krakli EffEm FM synth plug-in.
HERE COMES THE SUNRA
In any film, there is always the occasion for atmosphere — sounds that depict the mood that a whole environment seems to possess. SunRa comes from the Spanish group of synth designers at Elogoxa. That group's site hosts a robust set of mangling and mastering tools designed with SynthEdit. A scroll through SunRa's highly recommended presets will show you just what kind of shimmer this plug-in possesses when it comes to establishing ambience. SunRa sounds very warm, bright and spacious.
Although SunRa yields effects that could easily be replicated using an array of arpeggiators, samplers and delays, the device is a well-packaged, stand-alone unit for the production of ambient textures. It takes two short, 16-bit loops and surreptitiously sends them through delays and filters. It then has a section with an LFO that adds some synthesized noise to the mix.
SunRa does have some quirks. It generates sounds continuously whether or not there is a MIDI signal present. Also, some of the knobs don't seem to do quite what you expect them to. The Quanta knob, for example, doesn't just control the size of the sound “particles,” but it seems to shift the pitch as well. The overall sound of SunRa, however, is lovely.
DEAD RINGER
A small plug-in company called White Noise Audio Software — manned by David Wallin — developed Doppelmangler. The audio alchemy possible in Doppelmangler was the original inspiration for this article. It employs a vast array of mangling and stretching functions that can take a single sample and produce from it hundreds of permutations that bear no resemblance to one another. Sure, there are other plug-ins that can claim to do that, but it is particularly the case for Doppelmangler, at a price of only $99. As such, it merits special attention as a unique and original means of sonic experimentation. Check out the online sound samples of Doppelmangler to realize quickly that it would be perfect for sci-fi and horror-movie scores and ambiences.
Doppelmangler employs a spectral analysis of a file rather than just a depiction of the waveform. That enables users to export the sound files as a bitmap image, so they can edit the spectrum visually in programs such as Adobe Photoshop or Corel Painter. The Source switch in the bottom left-hand corner of the Spectrum section sets the starting point between two specified audio sources, and the dial above morphs between them. Each source can be detuned to match the other. In addition, the spectral analyzer graphs the root pitch of the sample. For some of the vocoder functions discussed here, you can alter the root pitch to achieve different effects.
The sample Length and Time sections of the synth provide the most astounding variations on the original content. The graph plots the sample length versus sample position. The length of the sample is set with the slider at the top left. Underneath are the playback options and the amplifier envelope. With a straight slope you will have a sample that runs from beginning to end with no interruptions. Slowing the sample down or speeding it up using the length slider are ways to achieve variations in sound.
You can also draw what parts of the sample timeline get played within the amount of time specified for sample length. If you click in the upper right-hand corner and drag the mouse to the lower right-hand corner, you get a straight line from beginning to end. Assuming you've held down the left mouse button, pull the mouse back over where you have drawn to draw a curve. To draw a curve, you must draw slowly. If you draw quickly, you'll get spiky slopes instead. Those drawing features are fantastic for creating innumerable odd timeline shapes in just seconds.
In the Mangle FX section, there are 20 algorithms that draw on different components of the program, and they all sound unique. There are some vocoders, a pitch leveler, Robotize and more. Each algorithm offers different controls using the three Mangle FX sliders. Essentially, each one of those algorithms transforms that section of Doppelmangler into a different processing unit, adding a great deal of variety to the output. Unfortunately, only one is active at a time.
An editable formant section at the bottom of the plug-in's interface processes Doppelmangler's output. The formant presets are all human vowel sounds (both male and female), adding an organic edge to the sound passing through them.
Clicking on a tab moves over to Doppelmangler's Mod FX section, which contains some conventional chorus, flange and delay effects, as well as a few envelopes and an x-y pad. Those are more conventional-sounding effects. What really sets Doppelmangler apart from the rest are its timeline editor and Mangle FX section; it's one of the most unusual and diverse synthesis and processing tools you could ever hope to work with.
DIGITAL MONSTERS
Combing the Internet, these and many other obscure plug-ins yield a wealth of amazing tools for little or no cost. After hearing these plug-ins, a person's approach to sound design can take off in seemingly infinite directions. I regret not knowing about these tools earlier when working on several film-sound projects. One independently produced zombie movie in particular really would have benefited from some ambience generated by these software gems.
Such film projects may not be everyone's aspiration, but these plug-ins are just as attractive for any kind of music. If you like the idea of having your own Kraftwerk-worthy Kling Klang studio to work with, this is a great way to start. Likewise, if you're looking to follow the path of the Dandy Warhols or Primal Scream, these tools will help you add a stinging industrial bite to your rock and roll.
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