【Sonic Design】Collection of Exercises (Week 5 onwards)

NAME: LEE XIN YI, CINDY | STUDENT ID: 0373299 | PROGRAMME: BACHELOR'S OF SOFTWARE ENGINEERING

📚 Quick Links

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Task 1 - Sound Fundamentals https://cindyleexy2818.blogspot.com/2025/09/sonic-designtask-1-sound-fundamentals.html

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Task 2 - Auditory Imaging https://cindyleexy2818.blogspot.com/2025/11/sonic-designtask-2-auditory-imaging.html

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Task 3 - Audio StoryTelling https://cindyleexy2818.blogspot.com/2025/11/sonic-designtask-3-audio-storytelling.html

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Task 4 (Final Project) - Silent Movie https://cindyleexy2818.blogspot.com/2026/01/sonic-designtask-4-silent-movie.html

Week 5

Basic Tools & Techniques for Sonic Design

Week 5 - 21 October 2025

This week our lecturer, Mr.Razif had a lecture session with us on the topic Basic Tools & Techniques for Sonic Design.

Lecture: Basic Tools & Techniques for Sonic Design

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Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs)

DAW (Digital Audio Workstation): Software used for recording, editing, and mixing audio.

Adobe Audition Pro Tools Cubase Nuendo Reaper

These tools allow sound designers to layer, modify and refine sounds with precision.

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Essential Sound Design Techniques

Layering

Combining two or more sounds on top of each other.

Blends multiple elements into one cohesive and unique sound.
Commonly used to make effects richer.

Time Stretching

Extends or shortens the duration of a sound without changing its pitch.

Affects pacing, tempo, or speed while keeping the tone consistent.
Useful for syncing sounds with animation or visual timing.

Pitch Shifting

Alters the pitch of a sound without changing its length.

Higher pitch → smaller or cuter sound (e.g. toddler, toy, small creature).
Lower pitch → larger or heavier sound (e.g. monster, dinosaur, giant).
Helps convey character size or emotional tone.

Reversing

Plays a sound backward to create unusual or otherworldly effects.

Often used in horror, sci-fi or dream-like sequences to evoke mystery or tension.

Mouth It (Vocalization)

Using one's own voice to imitate or record sound effects.

Can be an effective creative shortcut, but generally not recommended for formal sound design exercises.

📚 Additional Resources

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Lecture Slides: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E3XROi64XDoCd-SJvBvDKXtg2wq_0sxr/view

We are then given an exercise to try altering 3 sample soundtracks (explosion.wav, punch.wav, sample_voice.mp3) with various effects such as stretching, pitch shifting, reverse, chorus and phaser. We have also implemented hard limit to soundtracks to avoid peaking which might destroy the speakers. In the final processed soundtracks, the layering technique is also used as there are multiple tracks going on under a certain period of time.

Exercise 1

Download the 3 sound effects and experiment with the sound design tools to achieve

1. Variation of punch sound (from one punch sound file)
2. Monster or Alien Voice (from one voice recording)
3. Deep Rich Explosion (from one Lo Fi Explosion sound)

Original Audio: punch.wav

Direct control of panning and volume on the Jetplane track

Figure 5.1: Multiple effects on the same punch soundtrack

Varied Punch Sound

Applied techniques such as Stretching, Pitch Shifting, Reverse and effects such as Parametric EQ, Reverb and Hard Limit.

Altered Audio Before Addition of Effects

Altered Audio 5.1.1: Punch_RevStretch.wav

The original audio was altered with Reverse and Stretching to produce this soundtrack (CloseUp).

Altered Audio 5.1.2: Punch_Short.wav

The original audio was altered with Stretching, specifically shortening the duration, and Pitch Shifting, making it sound more dull to produce this soundtrack. It is then added with Parametric EQ to make it sound more boomy and pan to the 2 dinstinct tracks of the same audio to make it sound like the punches are coming from both sides (LeftPunch & RightPunch).

Altered Audio 5.1.3: Punch_Long.wav

The original audio was altered with Stretching to produce this soundtrack where it lasts longer that the original. This is then added with Reverb effect to make it sound like blowing a final hit on the enemy using all of their might (Beatdown).

Final Product

Final Processed Audio 5.1.4: Week5Punch_mixdown.mp3

The mix combines multiple punch variations into a sequence that builds intensity and motion. It begins with a sudden, close-up impact that feels as if something swiftly approached from a distance and struck in an instant. This creates a sense of surprise and immediacy. This is followed by a rapid exchange of short punches panning between both ears, immersing the listener in the action, and finally concludes with a deep, echoing hit that feels like a powerful finishing blow.

Original Audio: sample_voice.mp3

Figure 5.2: Multiple effects on the original and reversed version of the voice soundtrack

Alien Sound

Applied technique such as Reverse and effects such as Pitch Shifter, Reverb, Chorus and Hard Limit.

Altered Audio Before Addition of Effects

Altered Audio 5.2.1: sample_voice_Rev.wav

The original audio was altered with Reverse to produce this soundtrack (Track 2).

Final Product

Final Processed Audio 5.2.2: Week5AlienVoice_mixdown.mp3

The final mix blends both the original and reversed voice tracks, each enhanced with effects such as Pitch Shifter, Reverb, and Chorus to create an otherworldly tone. By retaining the original voice alongside the altered version, the result preserves a sense of human speech while introducing an eerie, alien-like resonance.

Original Audio: explosion.wav

Figure 5.3: Multiple techniques and effects on the explosion soundtrack

Explosion Sound

Applied technique such as Stretching, Reverse and effects such as Pitch Shifter, Parametric EQ and Hard Limit. Track 1 used Parametric EQ to emphasize on the bass to make it more boomy while Track 2 uses pitch shifting to make the tone of the explosion more lower to serve as another layer of the bass.

Altered Audio Before Addition of Effects

Altered Audio 5.3.1: explosion_rev.wav

The original audio was altered with Reverse to produce this soundtrack (Track 4).

Altered Audio 5.3.2: explosion_stretch.wav

The original audio was altered with Stretching to produce this soundtrack where it lasts longer that the original and had a little distorted sound. (Track 3).

Final Product

Final Processed Audio 5.3.3: Week5Explosion_mixdown.mp3

The final mix layers multiple explosion variations into a single dramatic sequence. It begins with a reversed explosion, creating a tense suction-like buildup that feels as if the air is pulled inward before detonation. This is followed by the main explosion burst, delivering a deep and powerful impact strengthened by the boosted bass layers. The sequence ends with a stretched version of the explosion that produces a heavy, mechanical slow-motion effect, giving it an intense, distorted quality that feels both cinematic and unnatural.

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Week 6

Bus Track Intro & 1st Consultation

Week 6 - 28 October 2025

This week we were introduced to bus track where this technique is used when there are several sound tracks that need to be applied with the same effects. For example, the sound tracks that should have the same EQ effects can be grouped together with bus track and changes made to the effect on the bus track can be applied to all other tracks grouped under the same bus. It is more convenient to use.

This week I have only made a 30s audio mixdown for Task 2 which is less definitive to get any feedback from.

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Week 7

2nd Consultation for Task 2

Week 7 - 4 November 2025

This week, I have made quite a progress on my Audition mixdown for feedback. For a second, I thought that the pace for my audio tracks were going too fast, but after getting feedback, I was reassured that overall was fine. During consultation, Mr.Razif shared his experience of having to find the correct source of the sound to better reflect on real life situation.

For my case, it was about the birds chirping audio. I just simply chose one that sound nice from freesound, but if it were for Mr.Razif, his team were required to do research on the bird chirping sound of whether if it's those type of birds that would really chirp in the morning and is the type of chirp people would hear in Malaysia. Those kind of details are really what makes the sound designed impressive.

This week is the submission for Task 2 - Auditory Imaging.

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Week 8

Initiate Task 3

Week 8 - 11 November 2025

We didn't have any class this week. However we have to start on our next project which is Task 3, Audio Storytelling. I have chosen my story, The Grateful Crane, and worked on the script that will be used for recording.

Week 9

Dynamics Processing

Week 9 - 18 November 2025

This week, we were introduced with techniques such as Dynamics, Noise Gate, Compressor and De-Esser. These techniques are helpful for refining our raw voice recordings. We tried the techniques on the dry voice recording we have previously as learning material.

Week 10

Task 3 Consultation

Week 10 - 25 November 2025

This week I have put some effort into editing the voice recordings I recorded. Owing to not being confident enough when reading the story, I recorded the audios part by part, but little did I know that the end result wasn't going to be good. Although I chose the audio files that I were satisfied with the pronunciation and sounds, it ended up being not unison as the audio files were mashed up in the same mixdown. They all had different quality and fidelity, which requires a lot of effort to make it sound the same. That's why I ended up recording again after getting feedback where I got to know that my voice sounded thin and less bass. It is really better and saves time needed for excessive editing.

This week is the submission for Task 3 - Audio Storytelling.

Week 11

Modulation

Week 11 - 2 December 2025

This week, Mr.Razif had a brief on our last project, task 4, about how sound design is integrated into the development of a game with the use of storyboard; they lists sounds for typical UI in the storyboard while defining the scene. Other than that, Mr. Razif also demonstrated the tools and effects we can use to edit our game sound effects, this includes: Chorus, Phaser, Flanger under modulation; Pitch Bender. https://freesound.org/people/LilMati/sounds/703884

Exercise - Sound Effects from Raw Sound

Sound Source For Practice: https://freesound.org/people/LilMati/sounds/703884

Processed Audio For Practice:

SFX Practice - Diamond

Week 12

Recording Session

Week 12 - 9 December 2025

This week is our recording session where we went into Taylor's D3.03 Studio and recorded the sounds for our final project.