Randy Thom On Sound Design, Storytelling - And What's Wrong With Sound For Animated Films Today

Posted September 7, 2015 by Asbjoern Andersen in Film sound, Sound design guides

The Dolby Institute – in collaboration with The Soundworks Collection – has kicked off an excellent podcast series on sound design. And their first episode features sound design legend Randy Thom. Here’s what’s in there:

Skywalker Sound’s Director of Sound Design Randy Thom discusses with Dolby Institute’s Glenn Kiser how writers and directors can use sound as a tool to tell their stories, the importance of APOCALYPSE NOW to modern sound design, his work with Robert Zemeckis to maroon Tom Hanks on an island in CAST AWAY with no music or wildlife sounds, and what’s wrong with the current state of sound for animated films.

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User Interface (UI) Sound Effects Kawaii UI Play Track 714+ sounds included $50

Introducing Kawaii UI, a delightful collection of charming, rounded user interface sounds designed to infuse your projects with joy.

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Roomtones Hospital Ambiance Play Track 24 sounds included, 59 mins total $33

Hospital Ambiance is 59 minutes/1.80 Gb of ambiance recordings from an old hospital. 24 separate files – recorded in 24bit/96kHz A-B stereo. All sounds are UCS-compatible.

Hospital Ambiance was recorded in the rooms and corridors of the old (now defunct) Aarhus County Hospital in Aarhus, Denmark. A prominent feature is the lack of acoustical treatment in corridors and hallways, giving a rather hard and reverberant sound, which is typical of Danish public building styles of the 1930’s and 40’s.

Elevators and automatic doors are heavy and noisy; humming and clanking as patients and staff pass through them. Electric vehicles used to move patients and supplies around inside the complex are old and not exactly noiseless either. Finally, while I did not have access to operating rooms or the like, I did get into a couple of basement corridors, where there were less people and more Hvac noise (yay!).

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Door Sound Effects Locker Doors Play Track 104 sounds included, 4+ mins total $12

This is a collection of 5 different metal lockers, opened, closed, banged and handled for all of those school hallway situations you’ll come across. They are super clean and were recorded with close and “roomy” perspectives for all but one.
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Hand Combat Sound Effects Massive Punches Play Track 505 sounds included, 1 mins total $29.99

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Environments & Ambiences Textured Rain Play Track 116 sounds included, 135 mins total $41.30

Textured Rain features meticulously recorded rainfall on a wide variety of surfaces and objects. Each sound is delivered as a seamless loop, with three distinct intensities per surface for maximum flexibility.

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Destruction & Impact Sounds Extra Crunches Play Track 74 sounds included, 27 mins total $9.99

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Industrial Ambiences Airflow Collection Play Track 36+ sounds included, 157 mins total $48

Moody wind drafts for game & cinematic sound design can always give depth and realism to your production. This collection of airflow sounds covers structural air pressure, howling and whistling wind through doors, rattling frames and cracking stuff. Perfect for creating bunker-like atmospheres, tense survival settings, or immersive environmental layers, these sounds bring authenticity and emotion to your projects. Whether you need subtle drafts creeping through an abandoned shelter or violent gusts shaking a refuge, this library delivers a versatile toolkit ready for games, trailers, and film sound design.
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