Level up 🎚️
How to sound design on a budget
I’ve spent the last couple of months working on a project for Empathy Museum - listeners (literally) walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. It was a series of non-narrated stories, working with a minimal music budget.
So this month I wanted to share a few tips and tricks to elevate your scoring and sound design if you’ve got a small or non-existent budget. (Btw, if you or your client can afford to commission a composer, please do!)
1) Use music stems
A lot of the music on free or affordable sites is too big and overpowering for podcasts - there can often be a YouTube meets corporate vibe. But some sites will give you access to the stems, ie just the melody, bass or percussion lines. This allows for a much more measured, pared-back sound. Epidemic is good for this.
2) Layer, layer, layer
Layering multiple sound effects is a simple technique but it really levels up your whole sound design. Try sound effects over a simple rhythm or melody.
3) Try Splice
Splice is an affordable source of music samples -it’s the go-to for a lot of musicians. I use it to make electronic/house music, but then I realized some of the samples are perfect for podcast scoring. If you use search terms like ‘piano’ or ‘guitar’, it’ll throw up short, often simple melodies that are the ideal length for transitions. It also has a bunch of good field recordings you can use for ambi. (This isn’t an ad, I just really rate Splice!)
4) Build your own archive
Take the time to amass your own archive of field recordings. You’d be surprised how often they come in handy, and can sound better than what you find online, even if you’re only recording on your phone. (Bear in mind where you’re allowed to legally record in your country/state - typically fine as long as someone doesn’t have a ‘reasonable expectation of privacy’.)
5) Compose your own
It’s easier than you think to learn how to write short riffs or melodies using software like Ableton. There’s tons of tutorials online, and friend of the newsletter Katie Semro offers affordable classes.
Jobs
🌹 Peggy Girshman Fellowship ~ KFF ~ Washington DC
🌹 Producer ~ KCRW ~ Santa Monica, CA
🌹 Producer ~ Wondery ~ Remote, US
Courses
🎤 Resonant Chambers ~ evening of live sound performances ~ 5 May
🎤 Think Like a Business: Creating Opportunities as an Independent Producer with Emily Shaw ~ SoundPath ~ 9 May
🎤 Third Wave Podcast Workshop ~ workshop in Los Angeles taught by David Weinberg ~ 29 July - 2 August
🎤 Pod-Pod ~ audio residency at UnionDocs ~ 11 September - 18 December
Quick note: I took part in the 2021 Pod-Pod, so hit me up if you’re thinking of applying and have any questions. Thanks for reading and supporting The Audio Storyteller!