Audio Recording

This is coming from recording.org forum with the exact thread found here:, the original poster is having a problem about how to create a realistic sound like it was coming from behind.

The good thing is that the OP (original poster) provided all the materials for mixing and a sample animated video. This completed mixed sound is needed to be incorporated in an animated video. When you watch the video provided; the sound appears complex but let’s simplify here. Supposing the sound is mixed with respect to a certain observer witnessing the event (missiles chasing the UFO), of course the observer (a person with two ears) is placed at the center of the event. It is why in movie theatres, the screen is always placed in the center with digital stereo system (left and right to simulate real situations). What if we have a scene that a missile coming from left to right chasing the UFO then the missile explodes in the mountain far right? Then as it explodes, we can hear the sound of the falling rocks. To mix, assuming we use the samples of the OP in the thread .We use three audio samples:

1.) The sound of the missile
2.) The sound of the rock explosion
3.) The sound of the falling rocks.

First, to simulate missiles flying from left to right is to pan it far left (-100 to +100 using your mixing software) to right. Then as it flies away from the observer, the sound volume of the missile decreases; I use Adobe Audition to mix this one:

The green line is the volume line; it starts from the top and ends in the middle. The volume starts loudest then it decreases to -6dB (slanting green line from left to your right means a decreasing volume trend).Also, the pan line starts from the hard left all the way to the hard right (blue diagonal line) (to simulate a real time +100 to -100 adjustments in panning).I did not apply reverb on the missile track as I need to sound like it was very near to the observer.

Second is the bomb, to simulate like it was exploded far right, I panned 100 units right. Then to simulate like it was exploding behind. I apply reverb with the settings below:

The objective of applying reverb is adding more depth to that event and to simulate it exploding from behind.

I also apply some EQ to the bomb, see below for the settings:

The objective of adding EQ is to cut 2000Hz range which is not realistic to hear in actual scenarios; you hear some bass and cut mid range in actual sound.

Third, with the rocks… I panned it also 100 units because it will make sense since the location of missile explosion and rocks are the same. The reverb setting is the same with bombs since they are in the same perceptual location. I also apply some EQ to the rocks , with similar objective to missile explosion.

If you like to see all tracks in the Adobe Audition multi-track view, here it is:

http://www.audiorecording.me/wordpress/postimages/fullscreenshotmultitrackview.jpg

The final mixed sound is this:

So what you will hear is that the missile is flying from left to right and explodes it far right in the behind, with rocks falling from the mountains.