Retro Sound? at DVinfo.net

Bryan Ortiz · April 12th, 2008, 03:04 AM

I was wondering if anyone knew the best way to make sound, ie voices and sfx, to appear aged. Imagine the old 1950's - 1960's educational videos where the voices seemed to punch out more. Is there a program or perhaps some effect in post? I am working on a mac platform when it comes to editing and sound. Thank you for your time.

Abe Dolinger · April 12th, 2008, 11:31 AM

This can be achieved with some careful EQ and maybe a little tape hiss (cheesy but it works sometimes). If you're not experienced with EQ it can be tricky. You could try loading up an example of the sound you're talking about in an editing program and studying the frequencies that are emphasized. Then use a good graphic EQ to make your recordings match. If you're using a sound program that can use VSTs I recommend Voxengo SPAN for frequency reading (spectrogram) - free and very good.

Bryan Ortiz · April 18th, 2008, 01:15 AM

Thanks I appreciate the response.

Alexandru Petrescu · April 19th, 2008, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryan Ortiz

I was wondering if anyone knew the best way to make sound, ie voices and sfx, to appear aged. Imagine the old 1950's - 1960's educational videos where the voices seemed to punch out more. Is there a program or perhaps some effect in post? I am working on a mac platform when it comes to editing and sound. Thank you for your time.

Here I'm only guessing...

Ageing the voice could be obtained by pitch shift effects, but not sure this is looked for. Like I record my voice now and then make it sound as if I were 80yr old. Is it this?

Simulating early years audio (1950, 1960) can be achieved by encoding the end result at very low sampling rate. Output through a 8khz sampling (instead of the typical 44KHz cd-quality) would make it sound as that years' sound because these were the analog equivalent encoders at that time that public would hear on radio/tv/film.

Just some thoughts...

Bryan Ortiz · April 28th, 2008, 12:13 PM

Great idea. I will definitely experiment with that method thanks for the help. I appreciate your time.

Glenn Davidson · April 28th, 2008, 12:21 PM

Has the audio been recorded yet? If not, writing and speaking style will go a long ways to achieve the sound you are looking for.

Luke Tingle · May 2nd, 2008, 08:39 PM

eq and added noise. Think less frequency range. Less highs, less lows et. When I think of old film sound I remember those early 40's films/music recordings where the dialogue/vocals/music have a rather nasty midrange boost (like 2-3K)

April 12th, 2008, 03:04 AM	#1
Bryan Ortiz New Boot Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: San Antonio, Tx Posts: 13	Retro Sound? I was wondering if anyone knew the best way to make sound, ie voices and sfx, to appear aged. Imagine the old 1950's - 1960's educational videos where the voices seemed to punch out more. Is there a program or perhaps some effect in post? I am working on a mac platform when it comes to editing and sound. Thank you for your time.

April 18th, 2008, 01:15 AM	#3
Bryan Ortiz New Boot Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: San Antonio, Tx Posts: 13	Hello Thanks I appreciate the response.

April 28th, 2008, 12:13 PM	#5
Bryan Ortiz New Boot Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: San Antonio, Tx Posts: 13	Thanks Great idea. I will definitely experiment with that method thanks for the help. I appreciate your time.

April 12th, 2008, 11:31 AM	#2
Abe Dolinger Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 111	This can be achieved with some careful EQ and maybe a little tape hiss (cheesy but it works sometimes). If you're not experienced with EQ it can be tricky. You could try loading up an example of the sound you're talking about in an editing program and studying the frequencies that are emphasized. Then use a good graphic EQ to make your recordings match. If you're using a sound program that can use VSTs I recommend Voxengo SPAN for frequency reading (spectrogram) - free and very good.

April 28th, 2008, 12:21 PM	#6
Glenn Davidson Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Nevada City, California Posts: 499	Has the audio been recorded yet? If not, writing and speaking style will go a long ways to achieve the sound you are looking for.

May 2nd, 2008, 08:39 PM	#7
Luke Tingle Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 88	eq and added noise. Think less frequency range. Less highs, less lows et. When I think of old film sound I remember those early 40's films/music recordings where the dialogue/vocals/music have a rather nasty midrange boost (like 2-3K)