how was it made? Serafine sound from Star Trek Generations...

joris de man · 2nd February 2012

Hi Guys,

There are a few films that have sounds in them that to this day I have no idea how they were made, especially at the time of release.
One of those is Frank Serafine's sound design on the Star Trek Generations film.
I bought the soundtrack and to my suprise, the cd was filled up with sound design elements of the film after the music itself.
A good thing it was too, as these contain some of the best designed sci-fi sounds I've heard; a fantastic combination between really clear and hi-fi sounding fx and punch/body.

One sound in particular that boggles my mind is the one for Soran's laser gun.
Even with all the capabilities of today I'm bowled over by how awesome it sounds, and I can only guess how they did it.
It sounds too organic for a straight synthesized sound, so my guess is the source is likely a slinky hit or other metal wire type tap sound, thrown through a harmonizer/pitchshifter of some kind with some non-linear reverb or delay.
But that is about as far as I get, and even with today's tools I'm hard pressed to design anything sounding as fab

Does anyone know how this sound was created (and the nexus energy ribbon as well, while you're at it?). Major kudos to Mr. Serafine and his team!

Cheers,

Joe

charles maynes · 2nd February 2012

I dont believe Serafine had anything to do with Generations- that was supervised by Jim Wolvington who was the sound designer for the Next Generation TV series.

Star Trek: Generations (1994) - Full cast and crew

joris de man · 2nd February 2012

I stand corrected...thought it was serafine but regardless, I'm still very curious to hear how these sounds were designed....

charles maynes · 2nd February 2012

you should be able to find at least a few articles online regarding that....

dr.sound · 2nd February 2012

On this:
Welcome to Synclavier!

James Wolvington : http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0938795/ did his
Sound Design in the "Synclavier".
Here is another link:http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Jim_Wolvington
Here is another link: http://filmsound.org/studiosound/pp_startrek.html

thierryd · 2nd February 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by dr.sound

On this:
Welcome to Synclavier!

James Wolvington : James Wolvington - IMDb did his
Sound Design in the "Synclavier".
Here is another link:Jim Wolvington - Memory Alpha, the Star Trek Wiki
Here is another link: Sound Design of Star Trek

Wow some great links, bringing back memories of now old technology. I bought a Synclavier 9600 out of pure nostalgia a few years ago, but haven't had much time to play with it yet. It's not really an instrument one uses in most of today's schedules and if you fire it up you have to be careful giving it enough 110V through massive 220-110V power convertors. :-)

Greetings,

Thierry

charles maynes · 3rd February 2012

you succeeded in making me a little bit jealous.....

joris de man · 6th February 2012

Thanks guys, after Charles put me right, I did find a few articles about it but nothing on the specifics of those particular sounds....anyone got any ideas? Cheers, joe

2nd February 2012	#1
joris de man Lives for gear Joined: Jun 2002 Location: Amsterdam - now Steyning, UK Posts: 571 Thread Starter	how was it made? Serafine sound from Star Trek Generations... Hi Guys, There are a few films that have sounds in them that to this day I have no idea how they were made, especially at the time of release. One of those is Frank Serafine's sound design on the Star Trek Generations film. I bought the soundtrack and to my suprise, the cd was filled up with sound design elements of the film after the music itself. A good thing it was too, as these contain some of the best designed sci-fi sounds I've heard; a fantastic combination between really clear and hi-fi sounding fx and punch/body. One sound in particular that boggles my mind is the one for Soran's laser gun. Even with all the capabilities of today I'm bowled over by how awesome it sounds, and I can only guess how they did it. It sounds too organic for a straight synthesized sound, so my guess is the source is likely a slinky hit or other metal wire type tap sound, thrown through a harmonizer/pitchshifter of some kind with some non-linear reverb or delay. But that is about as far as I get, and even with today's tools I'm hard pressed to design anything sounding as fab Does anyone know how this sound was created (and the nexus energy ribbon as well, while you're at it?). Major kudos to Mr. Serafine and his team! Cheers, Joe __________________ www.jorisdeman.com \| Composer \| Sound Designer

2nd February 2012	#2
charles maynes Gear Guru Joined: Jan 2004 Location: out in the dirt. Posts: 15,625	I dont believe Serafine had anything to do with Generations- that was supervised by Jim Wolvington who was the sound designer for the Next Generation TV series. Star Trek: Generations (1994) - Full cast and crew __________________ Charles Maynes credits Charles' webpage "Better the Arabs do it tolerably than that you do it perfectly. It is their war, and you are to help them, not to win it for them." T.E. Lawrence today is a good day to make your obituary better.... General Smedley Butler- WAR IS A RACKET American Rhetoric: Dwight D. Eisenhower - Farewell Address

2nd February 2012	#5
dr.sound Lives for gear Joined: Mar 2004 Location: Burbank, CA Posts: 692	On this: Welcome to Synclavier! James Wolvington : http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0938795/ did his Sound Design in the "Synclavier". Here is another link:http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Jim_Wolvington Here is another link: http://filmsound.org/studiosound/pp_startrek.html __________________ Marti D. Humphrey CAS aka dr.sound www.thedubstage.com Imdb credits http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0401937/ Like everything in life, there are no guarantee's just opportunities.

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3rd February 2012	#7
charles maynes Gear Guru Joined: Jan 2004 Location: out in the dirt. Posts: 15,625	you succeeded in making me a little bit jealous.....

6th February 2012	#8
joris de man Lives for gear Joined: Jun 2002 Location: Amsterdam - now Steyning, UK Posts: 571 Thread Starter	Thanks guys, after Charles put me right, I did find a few articles about it but nothing on the specifics of those particular sounds....anyone got any ideas? Cheers, joe