Old school sound fx guys?

[petsematary]

I'm in the radio biz. Most people here know that.

Recently, I've become interested in the old school of making radio. Especially comedy. What I'm talking about is the old way of performing and recording live in front of a real audience and cueing up a big-ass table full of props and have a guy make real sound effects in real-time. Like the BBC shows from way back. Does anyone do that anymore?

I'm so sick and tired of the tired old sound effects CD's we have at work and 99% of all the stuff I hear on the radio sounds like shit. It's like...people aren't perfectionists anymore. No one records their own background sounds and ambiences. Not to mention the sound fx. And the comedy is super-lame but I guess that's a talent thing, not a technical issue. Bottom line is: radio sounds bad and un-human in a way.

Anyone know what I'm talking about? Is this a dead art form? I'd love to make a show like that again...just go wild and be super conservative.

Well...guess I'm ranting. I must be bitter.

[Marbarbaar]

For a bit at least, I'd think so.

Many FX in radio, tv, film seem same-y.
I don't know if it's just because we know and recognize these samples, but regardless, I think it would be nicer if people would just go out and record stuff again, got inspired and creative, so this wpuld translate into their projects.

I know not everyone can record sounds like killer whale songs, but many things, as I see it, should just be recorded and not pulled out of a CD again,
so you get character to the sound that fits the project far better than anything else.

[petsematary]

Yeah, exactly. I've had cd fx libraries worth thousands in my hands and still most of them have weird reverbs and effects that pretty much render them useless. And I don't buy the time-saver argument either. People say recording your own sounds takes too much time. BS! I've found that recording your own fx actually saves time compared to looking through 25+ CD's of sounds. As long as you know how to do it, it doesn't take a lot of time.

You say the sounds in tv, radio etc. sound the same. I totally hear you. I actually think that where I live...today, 2006...sounds unique. You just can't take a CD recorded in spain or something and expect it to sound "now". Even if it IS a background sound carpet. Today, right here, has a sound to it. Cars sound different, music in the background is different, people talk differently, cell phones go off...everywhere and anytime has a signature sound. It's a shame people aren't interesting in capturing it but instead, settle for some old 80's "cafe ambience" recording made in Craptucket, Lameville.

[Marbarbaar]

kudos!

agree.

I've also noticed some odd things like reverbs rendering the files unusable.

Good point on the Old Sameyville ambience.
Since few months my own projects began to irritate me.
Most people tell me it sounds very professional.
I realised this is just because they recognize the sound that comes from those many TV shows & films they watch.

My stuff sounds exactly like that!! (though often not as professionally mixed & mastered as the real thing)

This is a big creativity & feeling killer!

You're also on the money regarding time.
I've also noticed being faster when recording the thing myself instead of altering some prefab wavs.

The "prefabs" are still cool for impossible things like rainforrests and the mating calls of Brazilian Buttfrogs,
but I´ve now decided that if I´m going to be serious about becoming a sound designer, I´ll have to take the profession seriously by not seeing it as a wav arranging thing.

Coming years I´ll keep recording little things indoors, pulling out some still irresistible prefabs, until I have the money to buy some good gear to do the job myself.

Perhaps then I can even begin to compile these fx and sell them to sound designers.......

[petsematary]

Word. Some sounds are "impossible" to record yourself so those are nice to have on a CD. Big guns, killer whale farts and whatnot. Sound design is a cool profession tho. I just saw the Peter Sellers Story movie and got really inspired by the fake old footage of the Goons recording at the BBC... that's how I want to do things. Just like that.

[Jim vanBergen]

People ARE still doing FX tables and live performance, but never for radio. Now there's on dude with an Instant Replay and a bunch of mediocre files (at least here in NY, that's what you hear on Stern, O&A, Radio Chick, WPLJ morning Zoo, Hot 97, etc.

But I HAVE done sound designs for theatre that incorporate:
-crash boxes
-mini, working 'door' units
-bird calls
-offstage vocalizations
-sound "props"

as well as shows, like David Ives one-act "Polish Joke" that has two actors on a bare stage and two hidden Foley operators at a massive table of toys. Halfway thru the one--act, the foley ops and their trade is revealed. It's pretty impressive...and I miked them with a couple of PZMs, headworn condensers, and 58's on booms so they could work each effect be it near, distant, or vocal...or totally unmiked (like the slam of a small freezer door).

When you are doing SFX for a living (as I did for a decade) you collect sounds AND libraries, and spend copious amount of time cataloguing.

I still own about 25 libraries...over 500 CDs of sound effects, plus racks and boxes of DAT, minidisc, and CDs worth of location recordings.

The hard part is finding an artist to work with and a producer who will give your project an opportunity. I sure loved doing "Polish Joke" several times, including the NYC Off-Broadway premiere.

Best,

Jim van Bergen

[digital_wiz]

Originally Posted by petsematary

Recently, I've become interested in the old school of making radio. Especially comedy. What I'm talking about is the old way of performing and recording live in front of a real audience and cueing up a big-ass table full of props and have a guy make real sound effects in real-time. Like the BBC shows from way back. Does anyone do that anymore?

There's "A Prairie Home Companion" on NPR in many areas. Garrison Keillor and company perform skits and host music acts in front of a live audience. They sometimes go on tour doing live shows in theaters around the country. They have a live sound effects guy (Tom Keith) that makes many of the sounds with his mouth and microphone.

This show has been airing off and on since 1974 and there was a recent Robert Altman movie of the same name. I have not seen the movie but I catch the radio show from time to time. I find it rather entertaining but others may think it's boring.

Read all about it here:
http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/
Sound effects man:
http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/a...om_keith.shtml
Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Prairie_Home_Companion

Robert Altman Movie:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0420087/

Earlier movies (possibly of actual live shows):
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0488895/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0843869/

[treymonfauntre]

a friend of mine does puppet shows and she is absolutely amazing at what you describe