Hahaha for breaking bones and general "crunchiness", I usually resort to good old celery and bok choy (chinese cabbage). It's funny how many incredible sounds can be made with just vegetables.
Creating SFX
Wow, thanks! I'm as green as green gets when it comes to SFX, so this will work as an encyclopaedia for me at the moment.
I also have a question and please excuse my poor level of knowledge in this area: Are there microphones specially designed for SFX? I'm thinking of doing some voice recording as well, does that mean I have to buy 2 mics? One for SFX and one for voice? Or does one good quality mic suffice for both SFX and voice?
Think of microphones like camera lenses.
Answer is yes and depends on the level and quality of your production and your audio skills.
Good general microphone that isn't too expensive second hand could be something like a Sennheiser MkH-416 which can be found for $450 - $600 - they are fairly directional so good for focusing on directly what is in front of the mic cutting out side noise like a telephoto lens. We've used this particular mic for doing a lot of voice over where the room changes where you're recording. They usually require recording equipment or a external sound card that can provide power.
Microphones can be grouped into large and small diaphragm (size of pickup on the microphone) - larger usually are used for Voice as they capture all the tones and harmonics of a voice up close.
You can research what other people have bought when starting out recording their own sounds. Building a microphone kit takes time and practice. It's sometimes cheaper to rent one for a specific task rather than own a whole lot of them.
Most people start off with a portable recorder like a Zoom H4n or a Sony PCM-D50 with a wind shield and hand held pistol grip / windjammer kit (like the ones sold by Rycote). Usually require a quiet room, or some sort of noise blocking setup as they are general use. I've recorded sfx in a closet padded with a feather duvet and pillows to create a quiet space. I've recorded voice over for games this way too.
Answer is yes and depends on the level and quality of your production and your audio skills.
Good general microphone that isn't too expensive second hand could be something like a Sennheiser MkH-416 which can be found for $450 - $600 - they are fairly directional so good for focusing on directly what is in front of the mic cutting out side noise like a telephoto lens. We've used this particular mic for doing a lot of voice over where the room changes where you're recording. They usually require recording equipment or a external sound card that can provide power.
Microphones can be grouped into large and small diaphragm (size of pickup on the microphone) - larger usually are used for Voice as they capture all the tones and harmonics of a voice up close.
You can research what other people have bought when starting out recording their own sounds. Building a microphone kit takes time and practice. It's sometimes cheaper to rent one for a specific task rather than own a whole lot of them.
Most people start off with a portable recorder like a Zoom H4n or a Sony PCM-D50 with a wind shield and hand held pistol grip / windjammer kit (like the ones sold by Rycote). Usually require a quiet room, or some sort of noise blocking setup as they are general use. I've recorded sfx in a closet padded with a feather duvet and pillows to create a quiet space. I've recorded voice over for games this way too.
Thanks! Thats a really great guide. Will do as my companion for some time to come! :)
There is this software too: www.dspanime.com . Cheap and fun to use. It can create several random variations of the sounds it creates and export them towards a game audio middleware like Wwise or FMOD, creating all the events, work units and whatnot automatically.
I've recently been trying to record my sound effects lately, mainly just learning the ropes and trying some new things out. I gotta say, it's a lot of fun! haha. I worked with another guy from my uni on a post production video last year, we redid a section from some Battlefield 3 gameplay footage, that was so much fun. Voice acting was terrible haha. Can check it out here http://www.samplefolk.com/2014/10/sae-post-production-assignment/. But anyway, I bought the new Zoom H6 recorder and a NTG1 shotgun mic. Some handy hardware there I tells ya, just make sure you can record when outside is quiet also and the house is quiet. You may think it's quiet, but once that gain has been applied, you hear EVERYTHING haha. Damn crickets I tells ya.
You may think it's quiet, but once that gain has been applied, you hear EVERYTHING haha.
Yeah every once and a while when I'm doing footsteps or anything where I have my mic aimed at the floor I can pickup the subway trains as they go by. Which is pretty far underground... and I'm on the 2nd floor. Also I never do motion foley right after lunch because you can pick up some crazy stomach noises.
Haha serious? That would be rather frustrating at times I can imagine, never would of even entered my head that it would pick that up. Ah yes, I've experienced the stomach noises, didn't know what it was at first haha. Also controlling your breathing, hate when those come out, usually at the worst time.
SFX can be fun, although if using a mic I always seem to pick up a random or disturbing background noise, my advice is never record in a hotel...
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