Sound Design & Editing

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Sound References:

For my project, I was looking to include two main parts to the sound design: The environment and the armour/sword. The ambience should be simple to either create, but the sounds of the armour might be more difficult as it is more complex and specific. I decided to look at some references to get an idea of the sounds armour/swords created. 

'Mobility in Medieval Plate Armor/ Armour'

The following video demonstrates a lot of the sound armour might have made. The video is mainly demonstrating armour mobility but this showcases a large range of the sound too. The sound of the metal is quite hollow, and lots of metal contact sounds are heard. This is because a suit of armour is made up of many smaller plates of metal. 

'Video Game Sound Effects // Armour Clank'

Additionally, I looked into how someone may create their own sound effects. I researched this specifically since I was planning to try and create sound effects of my own, either fully or partially. I have a good quality microphone available to me, a Blue Yeti microphone to be specific, with a pop filter attached. As a result, the sound effects I create should be pretty high quality and absent of any significant noise/background noise or other problems. 

The above video is an example of how simply sound effects can be produced, by simply rubbing metal surfaces together. The idea is that the sound is mostly accurate since it is more the materials that cause the sound. From here, the imagination of the viewer will achieve the rest, since they will be unaware of the origin of the sound effects and these should mostly line up with audience expectations. 

However, this is only partly true, since certain shapes can lead to undesirable sounds. In the video three different objects are utilised for sounds, one being a large pot, which has a sound very distinct of a pot due to its hollow and empty inside. Unfortunately I lack the knowledge/experience in sound design to detail this specifically, but it is something to keep in mind. 

Sounds sourced:

I decided to source some sound effects which were free to use in my project, since these would be more professionally developed and varied in their sounds. Here are the sound effects I have sourced: 

Rustling movement in a steel plate armor







License: None








I would like to include a music track, as I feel it could help convey my story more effectively. I would look to include something with sad or depressing connotations to the sound. It should also be thematically fitting to the Medieval era if possible. 

Here is a possible track that I like that I may look to include:




Sounds created: 

I have created some sound effects of my own for use in my project. I achieved this by getting two large metal sheets together, rubbing, hitting, scraping and clattering them together to produce a range of sounds. Unfortunately, I was unable to find a great variety of objects to use that were suitable, so my sound design may be insufficient on its own and thus sourced sound effects in combination with my created ones may be the most logical way forward. 

In order to achieve the sound, I used my Blue Yeti mircophone and attached it to a simple stand, pointing it in the correct direction. I used my Laptop to connect the microphone, with the microphone as far away from the laptop as possible to reduce any background noise. I also recorded these sounds in the quietest time/room available to me. In order to record these sound effects, I used the program Audacity, which I will also use to manipulate/edit sound effects should I feel the need.

Here is the collection of sound effects I had recorded: 


I created these sounds by using some metal objects around the house (such as sauce pans and tins) and rubbing/clanging them together. I tried to do a variety of smaller and louder sounds, some lasting longer and some only brief in duration. I used a range of different motions, such as simple scrapes of the two surfaces, curving the motion and using the edges of the objects to produce unique sounds. 

Unfortunately, I was not happy with the result. The sounds did not resemble that of armour that I was looking for, the metal sounds sounded like the pans and objects used to create them. The sounds sounded too heavy and refined. Also, there is some background noise present in the sound effect files, specifically a computer fan in the background. In order to record the sounds, I used my laptop to connect my microphone and record the sound via Audacity, but the computer fan was easily picked up by my sensitive microphone. Due to these reasons, I decided to try again with creating sound effects, this time with some different metal objects. 


Here is my updated sound effects I have created First, I used different objects for the sounds. Specifically, a variety of tools such as a saw and metal filer. These produced sounds more appropriate to what I was looking for.. I was particularily happy with the Rustling sound effects I tried, which felt more like the cluttering of multiple pieces of metal rather than the individual scrape sounds that felt more out of place. 

Furthermore, I believe I have solved the issue of background noise. In order to prevent the sound of my computer fan, I ran the cables under the door of the room I used, and then recorded the sounds. The fan was also pointed away from my microphone as much as possible, and as far away as the cable I had available to me would reach. This appears to have mitigated the issue of background noise, atleast to the point in which I cannot hear it myself. It is possible there is some slight background noise in the sound file which could be examined, but this is to be expected with my less professional sound recording equipment/room. Though, if this was the case, the noise must be so minimal that it cannot be heard. 

Overall, I felt this second attempt at recording custom sound effects was much improved, and the sounds were more appropriate too. I would like to include these in my overall sound design, whether just using my custom sound effects or a combination of this and the ones I had managed to source for free use. 

Editing & Sound Implementation:

Once I had composited my animation, I was ready to start adding sound to the project and edit it into a final video. I used Adobe Premiere Pro as I was comfortable with the software and felt that both the addition of sound effects and any editing would be fairly simple to achieve in this program. 


I started by importing all of my footage and SFX into Premire Pro, using an organised file structure to help me speed up my workflow a bit. 


After importing my animation video file, I was able to preview it without it stuttering due to the .AVI format having a big performance impact. I noticed that the animation seemed a little slow and monotonous, so I very slightly sped up the video by 110%, which added some extra punch to the animation. 


I started adding in some layers of the 'Wind' Sound effect sourced earlier. I added some layers to give it a bit more depth as well as enabling it to extend over the entire timeline. 


I proceeded to start adding in the SFX I had created earlier. I did this using all of my own SFX as well as a couple sounds from 'Good Quality Armour Sound Effects' in which one of the sounds indicated chains for the chainmail, a SFX I had not been able to create myself (Fortunately these SFX had no licensing or royalty requirements). I layed a lot of my sounds on top of one-another since a suit of armour has a lot of pieces which are clanging and rattling, so this depth created a more believable sound design as most of my sounds gave the impression of an individual plate, which was then layered to give the impression of many. 


I reduced the sound of these effects so they were a more appropriate volume. This did slightly vary, from -15 to -40 depending on the sound effect. 


Here is a current view of my sound effect implementation, majorily using my own effects. I have used less sounds when there is less movement in the character, and more for when a key motion is being driven. So far I have worked on Scene 2, which features a lot of movement, especially when the knight picks up the sword. This required the most intense sound design, with a large clang sound effect for when the sword hits the shoulder, as well as a subtle scrape sound effect for when the sword slightly skids to the side of the shoulder after landing. 


Here is another update of the sound effects implemented. I have worked on Scene 4 next. 


After I was pretty happy with the sound effects, I added a title card and credits to the end of my video. This was necessary to make my project 'complete'. 


For the title card, I used a pretty simple title card with just text, since I did not want it to be over-complicated and wanted it to be relatively minimal. The typeface being used is 'Perpetua Titling MT' a pretty simple and straight serif-based typeface, which connoted a more Medieval era whilst remaining rather minimalistic. I decided to create the title card with the title split into two parts, 'A MEDIEVAL KNIGHT' and 'REIMAGINED'. For the 'REIMAGINED' text, I created a simple opacity animation, where the text faded in after a second of the 'A MEDIEVAL KNIGHT' text had been on screen. I personally liked it as it added a small variety, and it helped to illustrate my project a bit better, how it is a Medieval knight which has been reimagined. This shortly followed by a text with my name credited followed by the credits for the 'Wind' sound effect listed above appropriately. 


Finally, I implemented a sound track to my project. I had experimented with and without, but ultimately settled on including music as the latter felt too plain and slightly tedious to watch. In addition, the music was very powerful in conveying the general story to the viewer. However, I really liked the eerie and ominous start to the short, where Scene 1 pans across the environment with a subtle wind sound effect with nothing else, sounding very isolated and alone. To retain this without the music covering it up, I had the music fade in very gradually until Scene 2 begins, where the music peaks in volume. 

At this point, I felt the editing and sound design were finished, concluding the work required for my project. I exported this out at the highest settings (video quality, bitrate and audio quality) ready to be submited. 






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