Whilst checking the DUC I came across a new boutique sound effects library - Undertone. Founded by audio extraordinaire Tom Hambleton, Undertone has been a Post Production facility in the mid-west since 1994. In their work they have built up sound libraries over the years from the numerous films and projects that have come their way, and now they would like to share these recordings with editors and audiophiles alike.
1967 Chevy Camaro
To inaugurate the launch they have released a 1967 Chevy Camaro SS recorded with Engine, Tailpipe, interior MS and Exterior booms 24/96 priced at $200. Besides starts, idles, pull aways, driving, and stops, this comprehensive package also includes sounds from all the buttons, knobs, switches and mechanisms made with the engine off (aka “dry”). They were able to cover most behaviours with this beast with the exception of driving at extreme speeds (everything was at or under 65MPH). All files are optimized for SoundMiner integration, with comprehensive metadata embedded.
Ambiences - Prairies, Small Forests
Next they have a nice stereo collection of Prairie and Small Forest Ambiences ready. This is a small collection of a unique area in Western Minnesota that has a small prairie containing a small forest surrounding it. The land is a nature reserve and therefore fairly wild. It is, however, surrounded by cornfields and cow pastures so you will hear the occasional distant cow. The prairie grasses and plants are abundant as is the insect and bird life. In fact, hot late summer days on the prairie often sound like night with their thick bed of crickets. But all these recordings happened in the middle of the afternoon.
They went there twice, once on a hot day in September, and again, 4 years later on a chilly early spring day and recorded in the exact same places. In the future they hope to record in different seasons in the same places again. Everything was recorded with the Sennheiser MKH 30/40 MS combo and was decoded (and printed XY) in post so no need to do anything to these files or worry about MS decoders. All files are optimized for SoundMiner integration, with comprehensive metadata embedded and it is priced at $50.
Classic Cars
This is a small collection of 3 Classic Cars from the late 30's that is limited in its scope, but still quite useful for the right project prices at $50. The tailpipes sounds were deep and throaty; the engines were whiry and whiney; and the horns were appropriately honky. There is also a distinct “tin box” sounds to most vehicles of this era.
They only had a very short time to record the 3 cars for a couple of shots in a film they were working on. Also, all the movement is on gravel, which again, was a requirement for the film. Yet there are some really useful sounds here: starts, idles, reverse, forward, abrupt stops, along with horns, doors, trunks and hoods. All files are optimized for SoundMiner integration, with comprehensive metadata embedded.
Undertone have some interesting plans that include a massive cooking library of boils, frying, chopping, slicing, pouring, biting, drinking, set-downs etc. which will be very useful for those of you doing cooking shows.
The Story Behind Kung Fury From A Sound Effect
If you've been on social media recently, chances are you've heard about Kung Fury, a new Swedish '80s action spoof that just reached 16 million views on YouTube that started out as a Kickstarter Project. It's a crazy, festive project, and Asbjoern at A Sound Effect has managed to get the story behind the sound for it. Find out how sound designer Patrik Öberg and foley artist Tapio Liukkonen recreated the sound of the '80s.
My name is Patrik Öberg. I am a creative freak. I do music and sound design for a living. I run my own company Nakatomi (yes, named after the greatest action movie of all time: Die Hard.. You know, the one with the building and the Ho-ho-ho jokes?!) which mainly focus on producing music and sound for films, games and commercials.
I did a lot of re-sampling of “today’s effects”, recorded in 44.100kHz/16 bit, and worked hard on getting the EQ and reverb to match the films from that era. For example, during the animated part, when Kung Fury “goes to heaven”, I looked at hours of cartoons from that time. Several of which were my favorites when I was I kid, like “Transformers”, “Silver Fang”, “He-man” and so on… I think I did a pretty good job with that one. Of course, Mitch Murder’s track in the background obviously helped!
You can read the full interview on the A Sound Effect blog.