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I have a nice continuous 30s wind record. From that clip, I would like to make something sounding like a sudden gust of wind.

I tried to simply play with the volume control around an interesting part of the sound--setting a relatively fast attack and slow decay. But the result is not terribly convincing:

Do you have some suggestion to achieve a more realistic result?

FWIW, I'm new to sound design (even if I'm eager to learn). But that means I don't master all the vocabulary--so maybe I just need the right keyword describing what I want so I could google for a tutorial.

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    Did you record it yourself? I'm not saying it can't be done, but I'd hate to see you throw more time into it than needed. If you can, I'd highly recommend trying to record a gust of wind. Source is, in my opinion, one of the most important factors of any truly convincing recording. If that won't work, maybe try just blowing into the mic? From a safe distance of course.
    – Brian Wright
    Commented Sep 14, 2018 at 12:30
  • Thanks for the comment @BrianWright. Indeed, the simplest--and probably most convincing--solution would be to record a real gust of wind or something close to it. But as I said, I'm new to sound design, and I've seen tutorials where people are doing amazing things with white noise. So I still wonder if there is a way to "shape" some continuous sound to make an "impact" or "impulse" effect (if those are the right terms).
    – Sylvain Leroux
    Commented Sep 14, 2018 at 23:21
  • youtu.be/TSf8Er2gV_Q?t=415 ;)
    – Sylvain Leroux
    Commented Sep 14, 2018 at 23:51

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You need to add another layer. Simply changing the volume of your existing sound effect won't cut it. Add another layer. Preferably from a different source. I have used a pair of microphones next to a split-system air-conditioner before - that can be quite effective.

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  • Thanks @Mark for the reply. I'm a little bit ashamed to ask such a basic question, but could you elaborate a little about "adding another layer"? I understand the basic concept of stacking several sounds for a richer outcome. But in that case? Are you suggesting I should completely avoid playing with the volume envelope but only add extra layers to create the initial sound rise, then remove them one after the other to create a slow decay?
    – Sylvain Leroux
    Commented Sep 14, 2018 at 23:41
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    By Layers, I am referring to the concept of layering sound in a DAW such as Reaper or Pro-Tools. This is analogous to "stacking" which is the term you are familiar with. Yes, I think you should avoid playing too much with the volume envelope and add richness in the sound through layering or stacking. You can use volume to provide overall finesse to the effect, but I don't believe that using it as your primary tool is the best approach.
    – Mark
    Commented Sep 15, 2018 at 8:47

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