Building Custom Sound Effects

Once you have identified what software package you want to us. Next comes sound hunting. Finding the right blend of sound files is crucial and time consuming when constructing a custom sound effect. Have you already selected a good sound editing software package? if not please check my other post: Blog: Selecting good sound effect software

Once you have done this, head over to:

http://www.pond5.com

Pond5 is an excellent place to start if you are looking to generate royalty free sound files.
For example the missile pod sound effect consists of a pipe bursting sound effect:

http://www.pond5.com/sound-effect/8873096/pipe-burst-air.html#1

Mixed with a flame thrower ignition startup:

http://www.pond5.com/sound-effect/42006866/flamethrower-fast-burst-2.html


Mixed with live action missile fire sound effect:

http://www.pond5.com/sound-effect/53507540/missile-fired.html

Combined they make a sound effect that sounds like a missile being ejected into the air, then ignite and fire. There are other additional sound files for the long echo vector and the final impact. For the sakes of this demonstration, we can see a single sound item is based on several sound parts, which are then tuned and balanced together to create a higher level sound effect.

The real trick is to hunt for the sound files across the landscape of such sound effect libraries as Pond5.com. Which I highly recommend for ease of use and sound file acquisition. In fact, let me plug this website here - seriously - the AMOUNT of time wasted finding a particular sound file is enormously REDUCED at POND5. Where as even in my own library it can be hard to find a sound file, or even attempt to find one, and then after a few hours.... realize I DON'T have it!!

So I use Pond5 for the reason that when I find a sound file I sorta like, EVERY other sound file closely resembling that sound file. Its very effective and I can't say enough good things about that experience.

So now that I have a fully completed single missile fire (Higher level sound effect). I can then stitch them together to make the second level sound file "Mass Missile Fire" sound effect:

Once that mass firing sequence is complete, I save it out as the second level sound. From here I move onto the 3rd level sound which incorporate several of these sound files in combination with others:

Here you can see that the sound effect is repeated twice in a much larger sound event. In this case what you are looking at is the KV128 Storm Surge sound event, which includes another distinct sound effect called "Enable Stabilizers". The total sound piece when complete is the sound event used on the sound board of the KV128 Storm Surge engaging its stabilizers and firing its barrage of missiles TWICE with fantastic effect.

Just for kicks, here is another example of the Pulse D Arc Cannon sound file at the level 2 sound editing:

The Pulse Arc Cannon was a seriously challenging (And expensive) project effort to produce. I used previous work on the seeker missile explosion, and extracted just the SUB-Woofer component of the blast sound effect and applied as an under tray sound, beneath the firing sequence of the Pulse Arc Cannon. This was the 3rd revision of this total sound file and I found that... although the sound file played well on a mobile device, it lacked the "Umph" on a large sound system with sub woofers available. So... I can't have a sound file that doesn't sound good on a proper DTS sound woofer. Version 3 was born and BOY!! does it sound GOOOOD on a full sound system.

If you have a chance to fire that sound file on a large sound system, please do and enjoy.

Please visit: http://www.tauempiresoundboard.com

By all means.... if you are as stoked for this model as I am! here is the link!

I hope it brings a smile to your face, as much.... as it does mine. Everytime I hear it, I think of this Tau model, with its titanic sexy weapon, blasting off PURE TAU AWESOMENESS.