Sonic Design project3

 Name: TANG YUYING

Student ID: 0370676

Programmed: Interactive special design

Module name: Sonic Design (202504-LLecture)

Introduction

In this project, we are required to record our own voices to narrate scenes from a fairy tale.

Story:

For the environmental sounds, I will incorporate a variety of ocean elements and magical sound effects to complement the storyline. This will help create a sense of transition and progression between different parts of the narrative.

Feedback:

The feedback I received from my teacher mainly focused on the quality of my recorded voice. There was a lot of background noise in my recordings, which affected the overall sound quality.

Therefore, the teacher suggested recording in a car (with the engine and air conditioning turned off) if the surrounding streets and environment are relatively quiet. Alternatively, if recording indoors, it was recommended to cover myself with a blanket or duvet and surround myself with pillows to create a simple recording booth. Soft materials like blankets, duvets, and pillows can absorb sound waves, prevent reflections, and reduce reverberation, resulting in cleaner recordings.

Taking this advice, I recorded my voice again in my room by covering myself with a blanket and arranging pillows around me in a square formation. When comparing the new recording to my previous one, I noticed a significant improvement in sound quality and a noticeable reduction in background noise.

Process：

During the sound editing process, I mainly used Noise Gate, Parametric Equalizer, and other tools.

First, I used the Noise Gate to remove the "hiss" or "whoosh" sounds that occur during inhaling and exhaling. I enabled the "Auto Gate" option and set the Release to 80. This way, only vocal sounds that exceed the threshold would pass through, effectively suppressing the breath noise.

Then, I used the Parametric Equalizer to adjust certain plosive sounds, especially in areas where the waveform showed significant spikes. This helped to reduce the harshness of the plosives and smooth out the audio.

Finally, I also applied a DeEsser. Although it helped to reduce some of the breathing sounds, there were still some remaining “hissing” noises. I used this tool to make the overall voice sound softer and to further minimize the “s” and “sh” sounds.

YouTube Link: Little Mermaid