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I am doing a audiobook at the moment and im coming across a few problems.

Firstly i must admit I dont have much experience in the area. So basically Im doing the story of snow white, and i have a few sounds Im a bit stuck on.

So firstly theres a part when the hunter stabs the wild boar, and the boar falls to the ground Now i have no idea how to emphasize the brutality of this action, i can make some things similiar but cant get the violent aspect of the moment.. which i think is important.

Secondly, I have decided i want to go a bit beyond just a regular audiobook and wanted to put in some dramatic, spooky orchestral sounds... My question is do you think this is going to work well with the audiobook? Or am i just inventing a bit too much and will all just be cluttered with sound?

Thank you for your time

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  • This is really two distinct questions. Can you break it up so that people can answer whichever they may have an answer for?
    – AJ Henderson ♦
    Jan 5, 2015 at 17:52
  • Thank you for your time, Im going ahead with some orchestral music but nothing too complicated, im going more for the spooky sfx like wind and I´m also going to put like church bells in the background.
    – Gabmucs Jorge
    Jan 8, 2015 at 14:55

3 Answers 3

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Great background music is what will make your client fall in love with the project. Unless they hate it. You really can't control that. Just follow your ears.

For the impacts (spear to boar, boar to ground) a little exaggeration in the low end goes a long way towards indicating weight, heft, and momentum. I mean a little, underplay your hand with editing at first and you will avoid some of the cheesiness that can come through in overprocessed sound effects.

A nice well recorded vocal for the hunter doing the stabbing, and the boar being stabbed.

The action and the sound that feels like "it" carry the emotion. Objects are narratives in themselves in sound design. No need for fancy stingers and dark pads unless it's a super-horror milieu or something.

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Also silence or decrease in amplitude before the attack can make it spooky as well, just drive the amplitude a bit up when the action occurs.

What's also nice if you use (find legal ones of course) is sounds that are made for games, the often are little bit more fx then natural resembling sounds.

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I would say if you mix the background music well enough it really couldn't be all that bad, and for the stab sound try sampling pre existing ones from shows or movies (your gonna have to check the legality of that though)

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  • usually not legal to straight up grab from shows or movies, try buying from free and cheap sample libraries (be cognizant of the legal) or depending on your usage, consider springing for Sony 6000 general series sound effect library, hollywood edge, etc.
    – he_artburns
    Jan 6, 2015 at 5:46
  • Depending on the significance and length of the sample.
    – Teslim Olunlade
    Jan 6, 2015 at 12:11
  • I don't think it matters at all on the length of the sample. Illegal is illegal. Always find legal sfx or record your own.
    – Luke Farroh
    Jan 8, 2015 at 15:00

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