Music, Sound, and Audio Technology

Soundrangers Launches the Next Generation of Its Online Library

By StudentFilmmakers.com
posted Feb 1, 2009, 06:10

StudentFilmmakers Magazine, the #1 Educational Resource for Film and Video Makers - February 2009 EditionSoundrangers (www.soundrangers.com) is featured in StudentFilmmakers Magazine's February 2009 Edition. Read the full online article and interview here.

Soundrangers - Sound FX and Music for Interactive Media, Film, and TelevisionSoundrangers launches the next generation of its online library which gives users added functionality such as Soundboxes for organizing projects, prepaid accounts for multiple users, better search, and more content. Barry Dowsett of Soundrangers shares, �We created our library specifically with the end-user and their projects in mind. You don�t need to search through endless amounts of random linear source, only to have to edit and modify a small portion of it to fit your project.� Dowsett explains, �We try to prerender our library into workable content so the end-user doesn�t have to look very far. So for instance, we offer looping ambience that actually loops, one-shot sounds when you only need that one sound, various length mixouts of our music tracks, and a design aesthetic that allows seamless integration of our content into the given medium.�

Q&A with Barry Dowsett of Soundrangers:

What's new at Soundrangers?

Barry Dowsett: We've just launched the next generation of our online library which gives users added functionality such as Soundboxes for organizing projects, prepaid accounts for multiple users, better search and of course more content.

How does Soundrangers differ from other music and sound effects libraries?

Barry Dowsett: We created our library specifically with the end user and their projects in mind. What this means is you don't need to search through endless amounts of random linear source, only to have to edit and modify a small portion of it to fit your project. We try to prerender our library into workable content so the end user doesn't have to look very far. So for instance, we offer looping ambience that actually loops, one-shot sounds when you only need that one sound, various length mixouts of our music tracks, and a design aesthetic that allows seamless integration of our content into the given medium. Soundrangers was created as a reaction to not being able to find the right sounds or music for various projects we were working on. So we decided to create them all ourselves.

What are some advantages and benefits to using Soundrangers?

Barry Dowsett: Our library is all auditionable and downloadable from our website, which saves you the cost of buying or leasing libraries upfront. You buy only what you need, when you need it. Also, as I mentioned above, we try to create content that we think is most suitable for the various genres we work in. If you need a simple dog bark, you get a simple dog bark and not a lengthy sound file of distant dogs barking mixed with car horns and a hissing tree monster. Musically, we create modern underscore that will work in film as well a interactive media, since the two are becoming more intertwined these days and both require a working relationship between voice, sfx and music. I should also mention that because we design everything in-house, we can maintain a high degree of quality control across the whole library.

What would you say the libraries are best used for? What do you recommend the libraries for, and who do you recommend the libraries for?

Barry Dowsett: Currently we have a lot of video game developers and indie film producers using our library, as well as the usual traditional media types. Because the library is built for the user, developers and film makers without any editorial or sound background should find it easy to simply drop our sounds into their production without a lot of fuss. Sound designers and post users with know-how and gear will have a great wealth of source material to work with created in a manner conducive to the medium they're working in.

How often do you update your libraries?

Barry Dowsett: Weekly.

If you were forced to choose one, what would you say is your most favorite music or sound FX category on Soundrangers?

Barry Dowsett: Probably some of the regional ambience. There's nothing like being alone, somewhere out in the world, capturing the sound around you precisely as it happens in that moment of time.

Could you share a quick tip for filmmakers, videographers, and editors in relation to using music and sound effects libraries?

Barry Dowsett: Don't always approach sound in a literal way. Use your imagination when searching and experimenting with sounds. Try layering sounds together to help get the mood of a scene across. Often sounds that you wouldn't think work together can help convey the message more efficiently than the literal sound on its own. For instance, blending an explosion under a car door slam can add some dramatic impact and low end.

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