Sonic Stories: SoundBits

This time on Sonic Stories we chat with SoundBits about some of his favourite recording sessions, how he prepares for a recording session and what separates average vs excellent sound libraries.

What’s been your favourite recording session so far, and what made it stand out? 

I don’t have one definitive favourite but scrapyard recordings are always exciting and definitively full of action. A few years ago, recording in the storage area and attic of a large auction house was fascinating, almost mystic and incredibly rewarding. Those recordings are about 90% of my ”Antiques” library.

Other memorable sessions include on-site recordings at a local amusement park, also behind the scenes, the Stuttgart Volksfest, and recording inside an Airbus A320 under very strict security measures in a hangar at Munich Airport. Each offered a very different environment to explore. That’s what stays with me: being able to follow my curiosity into places I wouldn’t normally experience that way or at all, and give the details that catch my attention the time they deserve.

How do you prepare for a field recording session when you know you may only get one chance to capture the sound?

I try to settle the avoidable decisions beforehand: what needs to be captured, microphone positions, and the sequence and cues if other people are involved. Then I check the full recording chain, power, storage, wind protection and levels, leaving enough headroom for surprises. I also listen back to a test recording. For an unrepeatable event, one or two additional independent recording kits as a safety net is worth considering.

Preparation helps me personally, too. I can often get absorbed in details and unforeseen sound events and -sources can easily grab my attention, so clear priorities - ideally as a bucket list - help me to stay present. I want enough structure to capture the essential sound reliably, while keeping some attention free for whatever I couldn’t have planned.

Have you ever gone out to record one thing and come back with a completely different sound that ended up being more valuable?

Yes. During the Antiques recordings, some impressive objects sounded disappointing, while others unexpectedly turned out to be a cornucopia of otherworldly sonic events beyond my expectations. Screeching, moaning and groaning, creaking and stuttering. As if these objects were telling stories from their long lives.

I want to leave room for discoveries like that, well, to be honest, this is what I’m actually after. Once I listen beyond what an object is supposed to do, an irregular movement can suggest a completely unexpected use.

What do you think separates an average sound effects recording from a really great one?

A great recording makes me want to keep listening. The movement, texture or resonance tells me something about the particular object, its personality. I’m sensitive to those details, even when I can’t immediately explain how and why they work.

Technical quality matters of course but so do microphone placement and even more performance. A clean recording of a door closing can still feel unconvincing if the movement lacks weight or intention.

My audio post background also makes me consider the next person using it: an intact decay, useful variations, clear organisation and descriptions as well as painstakingly clean, ready to use editing. The detail that excited me while recording should still be there when someone puts the sound into a scene.

How do you approach recording multiple perspectives of the same sound, such as close, medium and distant positions?

I think about what each perspective contributes. Close up, I want texture and small mechanical details; further back, the whole action becomes clearer. At a distance, the surrounding space changes our sense of size and presence. I listen and adjust positions accordingly. Sometimes a slight change in angle reveals more than moving several metres.

For unpredictable or unrepeatable events, I’d capture the perspectives simultaneously where possible. With repeatable actions, I can explore gradually, keeping the performance reasonably consistent and noting changes so the recordings remain easy to relate during editing.

Are there certain sounds you think are surprisingly difficult to record well even though they seem simple at first?

Quiet, familiar sounds can be surprisingly unforgiving. A small switch, fabric movement or gentle creak soon reveals everything competing with it: ventilation, distant traffic, handling noise or noise in the recording chain. Moving closer helps, but can exaggerate the detail until the original impression is lost. Finding the right balance takes patience. Also the performance on demand can easily make it sound unauthentically.

Wind is another example. Much of what we recognise as wind comes from its interaction with leaves, gaps or other surfaces. Wind hitting the microphone produces something quite different. You have to understand what creates the impression you want to capture; the name of the sound rarely tells the whole story.