I am very happy to finally introduce this sound collection, MPSFX_ENGINE01, made of a very particular vehicle: a three-wheeled motorcycle, the Campagna T-Rex 2006. These recordings are valuable as a construction kit for all sorts of vehicle related sound design, not just specifically for motorcycle sounds. They can easily be pitched or processed to fit all sorts of engine related sound design.
The star of this collection is a Kawasaki 1200 CC motor. The vehicle is a three weeler motorcycle built in Quebec from Campagna Motors named the T-Rex.
It has an incredible performance of 0-60 mph in 4.1 seconds! All the regular moves, such as pull away, pull up, and pass by at various speeds have been performed. We specifically focused on the sound of acceleration and deceleration with other kinds of movement that emphasize on the grinding and aggressive noises that this engine can produce. The driver surely knew how to pilot his vehicle!
There are two different package of the collection, one Lite version that contains the basic moves and one Max version that is more complete, and includes moves at faster speeds. The price is 35 $ for the Lite version and 50 $ for the Max version.
As an introductory price, they will be sold at 25% discount for the next month). Use the coupon code SPRING when checking out.
Please visit the collection page of MPSFX_ENGINE01 for more details about the recordings and access the SFX Store.
I often carry with me an ultra portable recording kit for weekends, in the countryside, city walks and other public places. In addition to being compact and discrete, it reproduces the environment, it’s acoustics and specificity.
This is a binaural recording system that I have personally fitted into a bag that I wear around the waist. It produces a smooth and natural stereo sound. It is particularly immersive. It is very realistic to headphones listeners.
It consist’s of a pair of DPA 4060 omnidirectional microphones mounted and self powered by Core Sound battery box(here) and a M-Audio’s MicroTrack I. The mic preamps of the recorder are not the ideal, I have to say, but I usually don’t need to push them too much. It’s a gain in portability and discretion. All this comes in the bag. I can go almost anywhere. It is worn around my waist because I’d rather have the mobility of my head at all times. The Rycote’s and the mics are on both sides of the bag.
Seventeen years of projects, recordings and sound design are behind the creation of this website and my online Sound effects Collections store, available to sound designers from all over!
Development of a sound designers community on the Internet
In recent years, a larger growing community of sound designers took up residence on the Internet. Sites like Designing Sound or SoundWorks Collection succeeded in firmly establishing themselves and offering a variety of very accurate content. Their use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter has contributed to spread and extend the phenomenon. The number gives even more meaning to sharing! Other user forums sites such as Social Sound DesignandSounddesigners.org have become very popular platforms and facilitate discussions on any topic of interest regarding various postproduction sound professions. Sound designers, mixers and other recognized professionals participate more and more actively. Information is available to anyone who seeks it. I subscribe to this trend that seems beneficial and here to stay. I would like to contribute progressively over time.
Bilingual website
The site is available in French and English. One way to promote exchanges between film cultures!
Exploring the site
The links on the right column lead to other sound design sites of high quality. They have inspired me and I warmly thank the authors. The Films section covers my work as a film sound designer. I wrote a text for the latest most significant work.
Sound Collections
The sound collections will be made available online gradually. The first two have the following labels:
This collection of water sounds focuses on different water surface sounds and water actions, such as lapping, waves, streams, brooks and rivers in different states and conditions. These are the most interesting sounds from my personal sound library in the category WATER. This category would be good for adding more precision and textures in doing sound design for films, video games, television, theater, webtv or other sound requirements.
At first, I approach the sounds of watercourses. Ditch, brook, stream, lake, river, cavern, sea, lapping, reef, wave are on the menu. Sometimes, there are different perspectives of the same subject.
The sound of water varies greatly depending on the morphology of the site, the type of watercourse, its flow, the weather conditions, the seasons and the sound recording itself. The key for me as a sound editor and sound designer is to maximize the possibilities.
The sounds were mostly recorded during various trips, first to the United States, in August 1994 when I traveled alone, microphone in hand, from East to West and North to South through a large part of U.S. territory, then in the Quebec rural and natural areas (boreal forest) of North America with its streams, lakes and rivers and also the St-Lawrence River and Gaspé Peninsula.
Consulting my sound effects library to determine the choice of the starting collections helped me notice the large range of train sounds that I collected through the years. The sounds of trains have always been very inspiring for me.
They are part of the large family of industrial sounds. Steam trains, electric trains and diesels are on the menu. Trains become a topic interesting to develop in sound design. They are excellent for locating a place, a neighbourhood, to drive a scene, to mark the passing of time, to distract, to make a transition effect or other particular sound effect. They can also be a lot more than just trains.
The collection of train sounds is made of atmospheres or ambiences, usually quite long, including grinding, rumbling, vibrating, steam hissing, Dopplers, horns, pass-bys, whistling, swishing, singing, rhythmic beats, clanking and squealing.
Key Elements:
A steam train with most movements necessary:
A 24-hours Electric train ride, in Eastern Europe that I did in 1996.
Train movements, pass-bys, squeaks, Doppler, creaks, crackles, rattles and others are included:
Sounds in rail yards with locomotives and rail impacts and Diesel Engines complete the collection of sounds
Here is a preview via my SoundCloud account: DEMO MPSFX_TRAINS01 by martin pinsonnault
A wide range of possibilities for sound design
The large palette of sonorities and the large spectral response of train sounds added to the processing possibilities of pitch, EQ, compressors and other sound programs and tools, then added to the sound of movement makes it a very powerful tool for sound editor and sound designers or any audio artist in films, video games and other sound editing profession. By using various plugins, sounds of trains can be transformed into multiple objects and sounds. The possibilities are limited only by the extent of our imagination!
Metadata and technical specifications
The Metadata, embedded in the wav file, includes a clear definition of each sound, using an exhaustive vocabulary of audio description, available in English and French for the moment. It is compatible with most DAW’s and Audio Software available. The Metadata has a huge potential for the treatment of any digital file such as photos, videos and sounds. This cataloguing tool becomes very enriching for any type of sound editor, sound designer, audio artist or web designer. Descriptions are more precise and exhaustive and searches can be more specific by combining words when searching. I also hope this site deepens the theme of Metadata in future years. I followed what many of you have written on the subject. I already have few ideas!
On this website, you will find various subjects that I care about as a Sound Designer and Sound Collector. Sound Effects Collections are available on line to the benefit of Sound Designers, where ever they are!
