How Sound Libraries Are Made: Behind 'Animal Hyperrealism' With Mattia Cellotto - A Sound Effect Podcast 18

Creating Animal Sound Libraries - Animal Hyperrealism - A Sound Effect Podcast 18

Posted April 25, 2022 by Asbjoern Andersen in A Sound Effect, Sound community highlights

In this brand new episode of the A Sound Effect podcast, acclaimed sound library creator Mattia Cellotto shares insights, stories and surprises from the making of his extraordinary Animal Hyperrealism sound effects series:

Interview by Jennifer Walden, hosted by Asbjoern Andersen and Christian Hagelskjaer

Please share:

Here’s what’s in this episode (with starting times):

0:00 Introduction and new independent sound effects

03:12 Mattia Cellotto on creating his impressive Animal Hyperrealism sound effects library series. Learn much more about the making of the Animal Hyperrealism series here.

37:36 Find more great podcasts about sound from our friends in the Audio Podcast Alliance

Hear the episode below:

Sound effects libraries highlighted in this episode:

Nature & Countryside Ambiences Arabian Desert Play Track 67+ sounds included, 416 mins total
Rated 5.00 out of 5
From: $220

Arabian Desert is a collection of stereo and quad soundscapes recorded on the Arabian Peninsula in the Empty Quarter, the largest expanse of sand dunes on Earth. The recordings range from soft to medium and gusty/blustery wind, with variations including sand spray, vegetation movement and insects.

This collection of recordings will help portray the vast expanse of the Empty Quarter. Many of these soundscapes are not much more than soft wind. There’s also gusty and blustery wind, recorded with microphones at the top of dunes and underneath the sand surface. Wildlife is incredibly sparse in the Empty Quarter and is represented in this library by buzzing flies and other insects.

Select options
Ship Sound Effects Boat Horns Play Track 250 sounds included, 264 mins total From: $89

Sound Tailor – Boat Horns

Imagine you had a real color palette when it comes to boat horn sounds. That is now possible with Sound Tailor Effects Library new release.

In the heart of Burgundy, in central France, we met with this passionate boat horn chaser and collector who has managed, through years of research, to acquire one of the largest boat horns collection in the world. In a quiet field, we captured these incredibly loud horns, from close to distant spots, with a variety of static and dynamic microphones.

This library includes 33 unique boat horns, organized in a chromatic scale, from A2 to F#5. We recorded 4 blasts of each horn, from short to long ones, for convenient editing. Each horn comes in 3 audio files, with 3 different microphone perspectives:

– 4 meters in LCR (a combination of Neuman TLM103 / Sennheiser SM57)

– 50 & 200 meters in a 5.0 surround mic array (Sennheiser MKH8020/8040)

They have the same length and can be easily combined for more sonic possibilities.

In addition, you get recordings of an air siren, custom made from a boat horn, and 5 edited loops of it, plus 3 different train steam whistles.

Boat Horns contains more than 22,41 GB / 252 Files.

WHAT’S INSIDE
All files are 24Bit/192kHz WAV Surround / LCR & 24Bit/48kHz Stereo Version files.
All meticulously embedded with Soundminer & UCS Metadata.

INCLUDED SOUNDS – KEYWORDS
AIR SIREN, BOAT, BOAT HORN, CUSTOM HORN, DISTANT SIREN, HARBOR, HARBOUR, OCEAN, SEA, SHIP, SIREN, STEAM WHISTLE, SURROUND, TRAIN

Select options
Game Audio Packs - Game Sound Effects Libraries Clocks and Mechanics Play Track 2300+ sounds included, 276 mins total $99

TOOLBOX FOR MECHANICAL SOUND DESIGN
Clocks and Mechanics is the ultimate tool to design mechanical processes and tell stories with the ticking, chiming and ringing of clocks. Whether you have to create tiny mechanical movements, rattling gadgets or even large gear mechanisms like steampunk machines, this library will cover it all.

CLEAN AND DETAILED RECORDINGS
Clocks and Mechanics provides you with recordings of grandfather clocks, wall clocks, desk clocks, alarm clocks, pocket watches and many small mechanisms, all carefully edited and natural sounding. Included are various sounds of chimes, bells, loopable ticking at different speeds, detailed clockwork and gear mechanisms as well as rattling, snapping, clicking and handling of spare parts. All sounds were captured in mono and stereo using the LCR recording technique.

ONE OF THE LARGEST CLOCK SOUND LIBRARIES
Severeal recording sessions in the workshops of various clockmakers resulted in a library containing 440 soundfiles with more than 2300 individual sounds, making this collection one of the biggest clock libraries available on the market.

Artur Baryshev (Sound Designer)
“One of the most detailed library out there! It contains a huge amount of carefully recorded clock-related material, which can be used in a wide variety of situations: not only for clocks, but for small mechanical things, steampunk robots, UI, ambience, motion design and the list goes on. Also, this library contains the biggest amount of ticks I ever saw. Nice!”

Add to cart
Instruments Strange Instruments Play Track 2021 sounds included $100

Strange instruments is collection of wild and unconventional instrument sound effects. Featuring 30 instruments; this collection covers a wide range sounds from a variety of unique props. From whirling and whooshing Bullroarers, Wind Wands, and Twittering Bamboo; to dramatic impacts and pitch bending from Gongs and Cymbals in water; to the strange calls and warbling of PVC Horns, Overtone Flutes, and Bamboo Swazzles,… the sonic scope of Strange Instruments is wide and varied.

While these props have their place in some forms of music, they were specially selected, performed, and recorded for rich sound design possibilities. Discover how this wild new source material can bring a fresh perspective to your design. Check out the previews of what this library contains at normal speed and what can be achieved with just simple pitch shifting!

Add to cart

The 3 libraries in the Animal Hyperrealism series:

Animal Sound Effects Collections Animal Hyperrealism Vol I Play Track 290+ sounds included
Rated 5.00 out of 5
$180

Animal Hyperrealism Vol I is a library containing sounds themed animal vocalisations, from real to designed creatures totaling more than 1300 individual sounds in 290 files.

The sounds were partly recorded with animals trained for media production, partly recorded in zoos and wildlife centers. The asset list includes but is not limited to: african lions, bengal tigers, horses, donkeys, cows, exotic birds, owls, bobcats, pumas, dromedaries, wolves, dogs, geese, lemurs, gibbons and many more.

All the content has been recorded at 192KHz with a Sanken CO100K plus a Sennheiser 8050 for center image and a couple of Sennheiser MKH8040 for stereo image. All files are delivered as stereo bounce of these four mics, though in some instances an additional couple of CO100K was added to the sides.

The resulting ultrasonic spectrum is rich and allows for truly extreme manipulation of the content.

Bonus: Two extra libraries included for free: This library also includes two additional releases from Mattia Cellotto - for free: Crunch Mode delivers 230 crunchy sounds made with a variety of vegetables, fresh bread, pizza crust and a selection of frozen goods. The Borax Experiment gets you 158 squishy, gory, slimy and gooey sounds.

Add to cart
Animal Sound Effects Collections Animal Hyperrealism Vol II Play Track 2000+ sounds included
Rated 5.00 out of 5
$180

Animal Hyperrealism Vol II is a library containing sounds themed animal vocalisations, from real to designed creatures totaling more than 2000 individual sounds in 283 files.

The sounds were partly recorded with animals trained for media production, partly recorded in zoos and wildlife centers. The asset list includes but is not limited to: amur leopards, bottlenose dolphins, californian sealions, pacific walruses, red ruffed lemurs, owls, parrots, dwarf little fruit bats, hamsters, guinea pigs and many more.

The content has been recorded at 192KHz with a Sanken CO100K plus a Sennheiser 8050 for center image and a couple of Sennheiser MKH8040 for stereo image.
A special section of the library features samples recorded at 384KHz. For these sounds an additional microphone was employed, specifically the CMPA by Avisoft-Bioacoustics which records up to 200 KHz. This microphone was actually used to record most of the library but the 384KHz format was preserved only where energy was found beyond 96KHz not to occupy unnecessary disk space.
All files are delivered as stereo bounce of these for mics, though in some instances an additional couple of CO100K was added to the sides.
The resulting ultrasonic spectrum is rich and allows for truly extreme manipulation of the content.

Bonus: Two extra libraries included for free: This library also includes two additional releases from Mattia Cellotto - for free: Crunch Mode delivers 230 crunchy sounds made with a variety of vegetables, fresh bread, pizza crust and a selection of frozen goods. The Borax Experiment gets you 158 squishy, gory, slimy and gooey sounds.

Add to cart
Animal Sound Effects Animal Hyperrealism Vol III Play Track 1711 sounds included
Rated 5.00 out of 5
$180

Animal Hyperrealism Vol III is a library containing sounds themed animal vocalisations, from real to designed creatures totaling more than 1700 individual sounds in 279 files.

The sounds were recorded in zoos and wildlife centers. The asset list includes but is not limited to: european red deers, monkeys, reindeers, hornbills camels, crickets, tamarins, boars, frogs, red ruffed lemurs, parrots, and many more.

The content has been recorded at 192KHz with a Sanken CO100K plus a Sennheiser 8050 for center image and a couple of Sennheiser MKH8040 for stereo image.
Part of the cheats section of the library features samples recorded at 384KHz. For these sounds an additional microphone was employed, specifically the CMPA by Avisoft-Bioacoustics which records up to 200 KHz. This microphone was used to record most of the library but the 384KHz format was preserved only where energy was found beyond 96KHz not to occupy unnecessary disk space.
All files are delivered as stereo bounce of these for mics, though in some instances an additional couple of CO100K was added to the sides.
The resulting ultrasonic spectrum is rich and allows for truly extreme manipulation of the content.

Bonus: Two extra libraries included for free: This library also includes two additional releases from Mattia Cellotto - for free: Crunch Mode delivers 230 crunchy sounds made with a variety of vegetables, fresh bread, pizza crust and a selection of frozen goods. The Borax Experiment gets you 158 squishy, gory, slimy and gooey sounds.

Add to cart

Check out the full list of Audio Podcast Alliance members below – click a podcast name to go directly to their latest episode:

AMPS Podcast • CAS In Conversation • Field & Foley • Immersive Audio Podcast • LA Post Production Sound Design • Level with Emily Reese • Location Sound Podcast • Sound Business • Soundbytes Podcast • SoundGirls Podcast • Soundtrack Show • Soundworks Collection • The A Sound Effect Podcast • The Dolby Institute Podcast • The Game Audio Journey • The Sound Architect Podcast • Tonebenders • Twenty Thousand Hertz

Hear more audio-related podcasts here

Please share this:

THE WORLD’S EASIEST WAY TO GET INDEPENDENT SOUND EFFECTS:

A Sound Effect gives you easy access to an absolutely huge sound effects catalog from a myriad of independent sound creators, all covered by one license agreement - a few highlights:

Cinematic & Trailer Sound Effects Magic – Alchemy Play Track 4213 sounds included ~~From: $135~~ From: $108

SONIC SPELLS WITH REAL PERSONALITY

MAGIC – ALCHEMY is a professional sound effects library built from real chemical reactions and elemental forces. It delivers short, character-rich magic sound effects perfect for spellcasting, magical UI design, and fantasy storytelling. Designed to sit cleanly in a mix and shimmer with personality, these spell sounds are ideal for games, trailers, audio dramas and more. Real reactions, recorded with obsessive detail.

Magic Sounds from Real Chemical Reactions

No digital fakery here. Every sound in MAGIC – ALCHEMY began as a live experiment — alcohol burning in jars, butane growling through pipes, fuses igniting, water swirling in glass. These are true-to-life textures, captured in a lab-grade recording setup. The result? Magical sound with depth, realism, and spark..

Short, Sharp, and Ready to Use

These are not long, cinematic flourishes. This library is about immediacy — short, dry, punchy magic effects that are easy to slot into your project. Ideal for game asset design, magical feedback sounds, and trailer moments where clarity counts.

Three Spell Flavours: Holy, Cursed, Neutral

Need a healing chime, a cursed hex, or something more ambiguous? The Designed section is grouped into Holy, Cursed, and Neutral categories — giving you emotional options that match your scene’s intent, whether you’re crafting a fantasy RPG or a subtle magical interaction.

Built for Professionals, Whatever You Create

Whether you’re layering magic for a fantasy film, adding interactive audio to a mobile game, or creating rich textures for audiobooks or theatre, MAGIC – ALCHEMY fits right in. It’s mix-ready, flexible, and full of sonic character.

20 %

OFF

20 %

OFF

20 %

OFF

20 %

OFF

Select options
Game Audio Packs - Game Sound Effects Libraries Spells Variations Vol 4 Play Track 255 sounds included $10.20

Spell Variations Vol. 4 marks the grand finale of our magical sound series, delivering a diverse and powerful collection of spell effects. Inside, you’ll find summonings, blood spells, petrifications, healing spells, dark incantations, and much more!

This volume includes 255 high-quality sound effects, organized into 27 distinct spell types, each with multiple variations (3 to 17) to ensure no spell sounds the same, even when reused across your project.

Each spell type is carefully named and sorted into individual folders, giving you intuitive navigation and maximum flexibility for magical scenes, game effects, or cinematic transitions.

Recorded, edited, and mastered in 192 kHz / 24-bit, these sounds deliver exceptional clarity and full adaptability for pitching, layering, or creative processing.

A must-have library for professional sound designers seeking drag-and-drop magical sounds for video games, trailers, animations, or any audiovisual production.

More about the pack
– Intuitive file naming
– All you’ll ever need regarding magical sounds [Use them again & again
Use the sound effects over and over, in any of your projects or productions, forever without any additional fees or royalties. Use the SFX in your game, in your trailer, in a Kickstarter campaign, wherever you need to, as much as you want to.
– Totally mono compatibility
– All sounds have several variations.
– Use your imagination and feel free to use any sound for a creature other than the one described, remember that the world of sound is totally subjective.
– For any questions or problems: khronstudio@gmail.com

Features
– 255 spell sounds
– Number of Audio Waves: 255
– Format: 192KHz / 24 bits
– Win/Mac: Yes
– Minutes of audio provided: 19:21

40 %

OFF

Add to cart
Whoosh Sound Effects Tiny Transitions Play Track 565 sounds included $18

‘Tiny Transitions’ deivers 275 short Whooshes and other Transition sounds. Instead of the huge, more cinematic transitional sounds that you are accustomed to hear from SoundBits, this sound pack focuses more on the smaller, not-so-intrusive production elements that come in very handy for any Sound Designer, All-In-One Film Editor or Web-, App- and Game-Developers.

All these small motion-supporting elements that you need in your everyday work for game menus, apps, general motion designs, … or as parts of more complex moving stuff.

You get 275 designed sounds + a selection of 290 cleaned and edited source sounds that were used to design the Tiny Transitions. These sounds are mostly different props that are scraping or sliding on different surfaces and also some vocalized whoosh attempts.

All source sounds were recorded with Sonosax SX-R4+ and Sennheiser MKH8050+MKH30 M/S rig.

All sounds come with embedded Soundminer Metadata.

50 %

OFF

Add to cart

Explore the full, unique collection here

Latest sound effects libraries:

User Interface (UI) Sound Effects UI Interaction Elements Play Track 277 sounds included $40

UI Interaction Elements by Cinematic Sound Design delivers a meticulously crafted sound effects library designed to enhance every click, swipe, tap, and notification in your user interface. This collection brings your apps, games, websites, and software to life, providing a rich auditory experience that makes every interaction feel responsive, intuitive, and satisfying.

Inside this library, you’ll find over 200 high-quality sounds, ranging from subtle, crunchy clicks and soft taps to layered futuristic swipes, innovative button presses, toggle switches, and alert notifications. Each sound has been professionally recorded and mastered to ensure clarity, balance, and versatility across any platform or device.

Whether you’re designing a mobile app, developing an interactive game, or building a modern web interface, UI Interaction Elements provides sounds that seamlessly integrate with your visual design, enhancing user feedback and engagement. The library has been meticulously designed, with each sound layered down and optimized for a maximum performance.

Bring your interfaces to life and create a tactile, immersive experience for your users. Make your UI unforgettable, one sound at a time.

20 %

OFF

Add to cart
Animal Sound Effects Forests and Mountains Play Track 96+ sounds included, 220 mins total $110

Forest and Mountains features nature and wildlife sounds from California, Washington, and Oregon. Included are a number of bird recordings and forest ambiences, along with some insects, winds, rivers, and rain.

These were recorded over the past three years in various forests, foothills, and mountain environments. A lot of these took place in or near Southern California’s Angeles Forest and San Gabriel Mountains, an area that spans 1200 Square Miles and varies vastly in terrain.

Also included are some sounds from Northern California, along with recordings from the Pacific Northwest.

The recording techniques for this varied as sometimes I went with the recorders running unattended to capture night, dawn and early morning. Other times I’d record while being close by.

Working as a Sound Effects Editor I’ve curated this collection with Editors in mind. Background Ambiences and Spotted FX can really bring a location to life and give it so much story and character and that was a lot of the inspiration behind putting this all together.

The Locations

California (61 Files) – This is where a majority of the sounds from this library were recorded and specifically Southern California. Variety of areas and different environments, mostly around Angeles Forest, from Lower Elevation Foothills to more rugged mid-elevation Mountain Canyons and then much Higher Elevation and more remote terrain. Also included are a few recordings from the Eastern Sierras and Northern California.

Washington (19 Files) – Southern WA in Gifford Pinchot Forest and various Northwest Forest areas near Puget Sound.

Oregon (16 Files) – Lakeside Recordings in forest and marsh at Klamath Lake in SE Oregon.

The Birds

Prominent / Specific Birds (36) (Closer Mic Perspective and more detailed) (* denotes multiple versions)

Acorn Woodpecker, Barred Owl, Black-headed Grosbeak, California Towhee, *Canadian Geese, *Fox Sparrow, *Great Horned Owl, *House Wren, Northern Flicker, Oak Titmouse, Pacific Wren, Pileated Woodpecker, *Raven, Robin, *Song Sparrow, Spotted Towhee, Swainson’s Thrush

Other Birds Featured (17) (Mixed together from various perspectives, calm to busy depending on time of day, and then closer to more medium and distant sounds.)

Acorn Woodpecker, American Coot, California Quail, California Towhee, Cassin’s Finch, Fox Sparrow, Great Horned Owl, Hose Wren, Mallard, Mountain Chickadee, Northern Flicker, Nuttall’s Woodpecker, Oak Titmouse, Pied-billed Grebe, Common Poorwill, Raven, Red-tailed Hawk, Spotted Towhee, Steller’s Jay, Western Tanager, Western Wood-Pewee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Wilson’s Warbler, Wrentit, Yellow-throated Blackbird, Zone-tailed Hawk

General Forest (9) – A mix of some wildlife (Chipmunk, Deer, Bullfrogs), and more general lighter forest ambiences.
Insects (7) – Crickets from various perspectives and different forests along with some Grasshoppers.
Rain (4) Light to heavier in a canyon with dense vegetation, some with distant birds.
Rivers (5) Smaller detailed creeks to faster moving rivers.
Wind (11) A mix of calm to heavier with gusts, vegetation, and tree creaks.

Metadata
Detailed with descriptions and markers and photos to easily navigate and allow for options when searching. UCS was used to categorize and various bird species are identified. I’ve also labeled the metadata with what I consider Lower Elevation (up to 1500 feet), Middle Elevation (2000-5000 feet), and Higher Elevation (above 5000 feet). Included are the season of the year which was mostly Spring and Summer. Using Open-Tier in Soundminer you can use these to help get a bit more specific to particular environments.

The Gear

Sound Devices MixPre-3 & 6 | Zoom F3 & 6 | Sony PCM-D100

Mics

Sennheiser MKH 8020 | Sennheiser MKH 8040 |

Sennheiser MKH 30 | Clippy EM 272

Add to cart
Game Audio Packs - Game Sound Effects Libraries General UI Sounds Play Track 136 sounds included $10

Hello Creators!

Here’s my new pack: “General UI Sounds“

I wanted to create a sound pack to cover different situations in an user interface.
I hope you enjoy implementing this sounds in your project!

Making-Off

All this sounds were originally recorded with a Zoom H6 (cardiod microphone), and were processed in Logic Pro X, mainly editing the recorded material but also I used the Logix Pro X sampler.

Some considerations

1. Keep in mind this sounds can be used in a variety of situations, I put a name to the SFX but this doesn’t mean it can’t be used in other contexts.

2. The sounds are in 44.1Khz/16 bit format. I have the original files at 96khz/24bit also, if you need this format, please contact me.

Check all my packs on Asoundeffect

50 %

OFF

Add to cart
Car Sound Effects BMW Z4 E89 2009 sports car Play Track 221 sounds included, 47 mins total $65

All files are recorded 32bit, 192 kHz, with RØDE NTG1, Line Audio Omni1 and FEL Clippy XLR EM272 microphones, Sound Devices MixPre-6 II recorder. Library contains wav files of driving, interior and exterior foley, mechanical and electrical sounds. It is also available in UCS.

Add to cart
Universal Category System (UCS) Toy Quadcopter Play Track 10 sounds included $8

Toy Quadcopter is a focused mini library capturing the playful and high-pitched character of a toy drone in motion. Perfect for film, TV, games, and interactive media, it offers a variety of flight sounds, close fast pass-bys, slow passes, motor modulations, and essential electronic signals.
This collection includes take-off and landing sequences, beeps for syncing, calibration and low battery warnings, as well as servo engine textures and detailed proximity recordings. Recorded with precision and clarity, it’s a compact but rich toolset for designing scenes that call for small UAVs, gadgets, or sci-fi elements.

Add to cart