It doesn’t seem like long ago at all that I was writing blog articles to showcase the latest contributions from Fox Audio Post production and FreeToUseSounds, not long indeed since we were welcoming Fox Audio as a new contributor. Well now both companies have given us even more sounds which I’ll give you a guided tour of below.
Fox Audio Post-production
The next contribution from Fox Audio features a focused collection of eleven vehicle sound effects, specifically an s-type Jaguar. Regular readers of articles in this category know that I love unusual sound effects and there are definitely some of those here.
There are sounds of the mirror moving, the glove compartment opening and closing, the compartment between the seats, the trunk opening and closing in both manual and automatic modes and also this rather nice fuel trap sound. I don’t think I have any other versions of this sound in my personal library and I would be hard pressed to find many alternative sounds for glove compartments and mirror motors too.
The sounds are nice and loud and have lots of character. Also featured are electric windows, sounds of the hood and the car’s actual doors. The electric window sounds are all in one take to save editors time looking through multiple, very similar sounds. Normally, I prefer the “one sound per take” way of working, but I think having multiple variations in one take works particularly well here.
The great thing about this contribution is its versatility. If one of your main characters drives an s-type Jaguar, then, thanks to Fox Audio, you have a lot of the little sounds that give that car its character to flesh out your scenes. If, however, you’re using another modern car and need the sound of a motorized mirror, these sounds will serve well there too.
Honestly, I don’t tend to use that many car sound effects in my work. I don’t see myself needing an s-type Jag sound any time soon, perhaps not ever. So why do I like these sounds so much? Because of another aspect of this library’s versatility. They are so character-rich that they make inspiring source material. I think very convincing mechanical and robotic sound design could be achieved using just these eleven sounds and a little magic. Lots of sound designers use electric windows as the basis for robot servo sound design, for example. So, while I may not be responsible for driving characters around in fancy cars, I do very much
look forward to building fancy s-type robots to put into my next sci-fi project.
Check these sounds out, plus a host of household sounds they gave us here, then check out the rest of their sounds, as well as the post-production services they can provide you here.
New Sounds from FreeToUseSounds
This time we’re looking round the latest 180 or more sounds that FreeToUseSounds have generously given us, which range from household, Foley, comprising switches galore to exotic, Gamelan percussion, as well as some interesting, character-rich truck doors.
The Gamelan collection features instruments I haven’t even heard of including a gender. Mostly the collection features a single hit from the gender or a gong, finger cymbal or small or large drum for example, but there are also a few glissandi as well, such as this one, which would be ideal for magical effect, flashback, think bubble or some other kind of cartoon transition with a bit of mystery.
Having the hits divided up like this means that you can arrange them into tunes if you wish, build your own percussion loops or use the material in more abstract ways.
Playing with the pitch of the gong samples for example and reversing them could create some good horror accents. Likewise, some of the drum samples, appropriately treated, could be turned into whooshes or passbys. They could also be used as wood Foley. This sound made me think of a staff impact for instance.
Adding some exaggerated vibrato to some of the sounds would make for some great cartoon sound design. Even without the pitch-bending, there are some great clonks and bonks here that animators could have a lot of fun with.
There are a great many switch recordings featuring switches of different sizes and tones. These are light or mains power switches, but could just as easily be used as switches on a control panel or as other kinds of clicks. Layer and sequence them and you could build a nifty cartoon machine or use them as elements in an intricate mechanism or robotic transformation or movement sound.
Check out these and all the other sounds FreeToUseSounds has kindly given us here, then check out the rest of their prodigious catalogue here.
Once again, a huge thank you to these and all our other contributors. If you’d like to contribute sounds with us to showcase your talent or want to find out the benefits we offer contributors, get in touch with us. We’ll be happy to answer any questions you might have.
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