Sonic Design | Exercises

Sonic Design | Exercises

 

May 3 ,2025

ZHANG XINYUE | 0369868

Sonic Design | Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Interactive Spatial Design

Exercises 2/ Sounds Design Tools

Week 3

This week’s course focused on five fundamental tools in sound design. I gained a deeper understanding of the sound through hands-on practice and case analysis. These techniques are a key to creative expression. 

The five most common tools and techniques used in sound design are 

1. Layering
2. Time stretching
3. Pitch shifting
4. Reversing
5. Mouth it

1.   Layering

Combining multiple audio tracks enhances the depth and spatial quality of the sound. However, to avoid a cluttered mix, it’s important to ensure frequency compatibility.

2.  Time Stretching / Compression

This tool allows adjustment of the audio duration without changing its pitch, which is useful for controlling rhythm or syncing with visuals.    Proper balance is needed to maintain sound quality.

3. Pitch Shifting

Changing the pitch of a sound helps shape character or mood, without altering its length.    It works well when combined with other tools for added expressiveness.

4.  Reversing

Reversing audio creates strange, surreal effects, often used to enhance atmosphere.    It’s especially effective when paired with spatial effects like reverb or delay.

5.  Mouth It!

Using the human voice to imitate or invent sounds reflects the idea that creativity comes first in sound design.    It encourages experimentation and expressive freedom.

EXERCISES : Audio Fundamentals

In this exercise, we were given three original audio samples.  Our task was to edit these sounds and use a parametric equalizer to create six different sound effects: Telephone, In the Closet, Walkie Talkie, Bathroom, Stadium and Airport/Train Station.

Telephone

To create the telephone effect, I used a parametric EQ to narrow the frequency range. I cut the low and high ends to remove any deep or overly bright tones, and slightly boosted the mids to bring the voice forward. This gave the sound that familiar, compressed quality you’d hear through a phone—focused, a bit nasal, and slightly static.

modified audio

Walkie Talkie

To make the voice sound like it was coming through a walkie talkie, I started by using a parametric EQ to cut out most of the low and high frequencies, keeping just the midrange.  This gave the sound that narrow, boxy quality you typically hear in communication devices.  Then I added a bit of short reverb to recreate the subtle echo often present in radio transmissions.  In the end, the voice came out sounding compressed, gritty.

modified audio

Stadium

To create a stadium-like sound, I used eq to clean up low frequencies and enhance clarity in the upper range.  Reverb was set with long decay, high diffusion, and a balanced wet/dry mix to simulate a spacious, echo-filled environment, making the voice sound distant and immersive.

modified audio

Airport

To create an airport-like sound, I used EQ to reduce the low frequencies and emphasize the midrange, giving it a clearer, more open feel. For reverb, I applied a long decay with high diffusion to mimic the vast, echoey environment of an airport, while adjusting the wet/dry mix to make the sound feel distant and spacious.

modified audio

In the Closet

To create a closet-like sound, I used eq to cut some highs and lows, focusing on the mids to make it sound more boxed-in. Reverb was set with short decay, low diffusion, and a dry-heavy mix to mimic the tight, muffled acoustics of a small, enclosed space.

modified audio

Bathroom

To create a bathroom-like sound, I used eq to cut some low mids for clarity and boosted the high frequencies slightly to capture that bright, reflective feel.  Reverb was set with short decay, high diffusion, and a wetter mix to mimic the tight, echoey space of tiled walls.

modified audio