A Quick Thank You

Just wanted to thank everyone for the amazing response to yesterday’s video. A hearty welcome to all new visitors, and much respect to my longtime readers! More posts and videos are coming in the future.

Speaking of longtime readers, many of them are linked in the Aural Linkage sidebar of this page, and you should visit their sites for Serious Sound Wisdomâ„¢. If you haven’t done so, also read Designing Sound’s recent post on the growing online sound design and field recording community. All these links belong to people who are way smarter than I am, and their insights and techniques are legendary. Check ’em out.

It’s also worth noting that a couple of the sound design elements of yesterday’s clip has been previewed before in previous posts on this site…

• The film motor sound in the identity stinger is from a Kodak Brownie camera.
• The bicycle effect that was demonstrated was used in the power-up effect in my robotic sound design clip.

Some of the other elements include public-domain soundtracks from 1950’s films, the sound of a struck mezzaluna, and even a DAT tape read error.

Thanks again, all,  stay tuned for more sonic mayhem.

Social Sound Design

Andrew Spitz's new site, Social Sound Design, gathers great talent and attitude...a rare combo.

I’ve been using the new SocialSoundDesign.com for about a week or so, and I’m mighty impressed. It’s a strict Q&A format, but with some spiffy features. Most importantly, it’s got people way smarter than me involved, and I learn something every time I visit. (Ooh, plus it uses a fabulous red and black and white palette like another sound design website I could possibly mention. :-p)

While this is true of other forums (some of my faves are listed in the sidebar), so far SocialSoundDesign.com (SSD) has an extremely low signal-to-noise ratio of content to attitude. Everyone is giving with their knowledge. No one’s copping attitude. Questions range from the remedial to the advanced, and answers are informative and varied. It’s amazing to see many of the major sound design bloggers and active online professionals starting to gather in one place. It’s like a family barbeque for the Online Sound Clan…with very strange noises. Andrew Spitz deserves huge kudos for bringing this great resource to life.

As with any such website, the community is only as rich, giving, and patient as its members. If you’re interested in sound for film, games, and any other medium, it needs your voice. Check it out, register, follow it on Twitter for new-question updates, and join the conversation.

Silence = Busy = Good

Worry not, dear readers…no recent posts means I’m busy, which is good! Longtime readers or friends know that audio is only one part of what I do, and recently I’ve been working on some video projects, including my first HD video shoot (tomorrow!) with the Canon 5D Mk II. Ironically, we’re shooting MOS – no production sound. Now, if only my damn Canon 7D would actually show up…

This topic actually a slight teaser as to what may be coming to Noise Jockey in the next few weeks. I shall say no more for the time being, other than “Stay tuned.” :-)

Also in the works are more Thrift Store Sounds installments, a series I’ve tentatively called “Stupid Lav Tricks,” some sound synthesis and processing fun, and much more. Bookmark, subscribe, or whatever…more Good Stuff on the way.

In the meantime, didja read about the bugling elk? The wobbly Roomba? The ruined truck drum kit? The most annoying sound ever?

Request: Recording Opportunities on New Zealand’s South Island?

I’m bound for the South Island of New Zealand this winter (or, their summer). I’m traveling with the Significant Other, so all I can really bring with me for sound gear is the ol’ Zoom H2 (now with its spiffy new wind-busting afro!). However, the question remains: What are the killer recording opportunities there?

I’ll be exploring the entire nothern coast from Abel Tasman to Akaroa, driving through Otago, and spending many days in the alps, ranging from Doubtful Sound up to to Arthur’s Pass. We’ll be there for three solid weeks.

If anyone has any suggestions, I’m all ears! Feel free to offer ideas and suggestions in the comments on this post, via Twitter, or at nathan [at] noisejockey [dot] net.

Update from Noise Jockey World HQ

Thanks to all the people sending kudos, advice, and good vibes to the World Headquarters here at 101 Lucious Sound Circle. Our gleaming tower of aural awesomeness wouldn’t be here without you. The Management wanted to throw two quick updates out there for Ye Olde Readershippe.

First, Noise Jockey is experimenting with Sound Cloud for audio hosting and playback. Their inline audio player is sweet: you’re actually able to see the waveform, and as readers, you can make comments at any point in time on an audio clip. Holler back if this switch creates any problems!

Secondly, Noise Jockey is officially both an Amazon and a B&H Pro Audio affiliate. I’ve had years of trouble-free, well-supported purchases from both companies, especially the awesome folks at B&H. This means that you can help support Noise Jockey by purchasing any book, audio gear, or other item that is directly hyperlinked from any post on this site.

Finally, see District 9. Just do it.

Welcome to Noise Jockey.

I so don’t know what I’m doing. And that’s what makes it great.

Welcome to Noise Jockey, where I, Nathan Moody, will be chronicling my journey (some would argue my “descent”) into the world of audio, field recording, music, sound effects, sound mixing, and more. I’m a digital creative professional who has skirted the world of audio for over a dozen years, and usually acts as the audio advocate of whatever visual (and usually interactive) project I’m working on.

Dabbling in field recording and sound is certainly less of a hobby or pasttime than playing or recording music, but I think it’s on the rise. The surge in online video certainly calls for more finessed approaches to sound for picture. The availability of insanely advanced audio hardware at low prices is truly ushering in a golden age of new sound gathering. Call me a semi-professional, or obsessed/advanced amateur, or a tourist, but I’m having a blast. And I figured it’s time to share, not just successes, but missteps and mishaps.

Noise Jockey will feature notes from the field, sound experiments, cool samples, stories, techniques, and music. You are hopefully interested in the same, and might find some interesting insights from a highly visual person moving towards the sonic arts.

Let’s kick things off with some silliness: Here’s a short piece I performed on a Casio Magical Sound Dial toy keyboard, multitracked in Logic Pro. The sound was captured from the keyboard’s single speaker by a complete piece of crap Shure microphone (plenty of higher-fidelity sound to come in the future, don’t worry). It’s simple, silly, and I just love the 8-bit, overdriven-speaker sound.

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/5763611″ params=”show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=ee0000″ width=”100%” height=”81″ ]

There is much more to come, so please stay tuned. Oh, and do feel free to also follow Noise Jockey on Twitter. Welcome!