As sound editors, we’re always looking for opportunities to fortify our sound effects library. A great sound editor can deliver excellent editorial with even the most limited toolbox. However, for a team that works on demanding series of varying styles with quick turnarounds—getting bogged down by a weak library isn’t an option.
For aspiring editors and audio students, I always come across one tip in—to start building up a personal SFX library. So I complied a list of 10 spring inspired sounds, that if you have access to, you should go out and record this refreshing time of year!
How often do you look up at the clock in disbelief that day is already halfway gone? Time is easy to lose track of and there’s nothing worse than feeling behind on your projects. We interviewed our expert mixers and sound editors for their input on how to consistently deliver work in a professional manner: on time!
Whether you’re a seasoned field recordist or just getting your feet wet, you probably know by now it’s not the cheapest hobby. It’s a niche market that requires very specialized equipment and accessories, so it’s no surprise these companies charge an arm and a leg for their products. In my experience, when it comes to the most important pieces in your kit, IE recorder/mixers, microphones, etc, investing in the best gear your budget allows usually pays dividends in the long run. But with accessories like a synthetic fur windcover, I’m curious to see if we really need to spend $100+ to achieve satisfactory recordings. To me, it’s more important to get out in the field and start recording rather than waiting to afford the perfect setup. So with that being said, let’s try making a DIY windcover!
Awards season is here and we are SO honored to have been nominated for three Children’s and Family Emmy Awards for our sound work. We spoke with our talented team to get an inside look at the sound work for our nominees.
Growing up in the Midwest, it seemed like everyone had a basement (not a thing here in LA). A basement is a bonus space the size of your entire floor plan. For adults, this means lots of storage (functional but boring); for kids, a giant playroom! When I was young, my dad bought two used pinball machines from a friend and plunked them down in our basement. These were mid-70’s era classics with all the (literal) bells and whistles. At any time of day you could hear these very specific sounds emanating from our basement, working their way into the consciousness of one young sound designer in the making (me).
Needless to say, these two pinball machines became family treasures. So when it came time for my parents to downsize their house (no room for pinball), I just couldn’t resist keeping one for myself and my family.
We are extremely proud to announce the release of our latest Boom Box Library: The Pinball SFX Library!
The Pinball SFX Library features 830+ custom-recorded sound effects from a vintage pinball machine such as bumpers, pistons, coin return, bonus balls, game play, flippers, metal doors, jackpot, plungers, scoreboard ticker, power on, power off, startup sequence and more.
It’s been some time since we’ve discussed the art of designing backgrounds here on the blog. Although backgrounds aren’t the sexiest food group in the sound editorial process, they’re absolutely crucial for providing the foundation of storytelling for every scene.
In the past, we have published multiple blogs that list classic cartoon sound effects and the emotion they convey to the audience. Our hope is that these lists will help those stuck in their sound editorial from having to sift through their entire sound library looking for the perfect sound.
We recently found ourselves working on a Roller Derby themed episode for one of our shows. As you can imagine, this episode called for an abundance of roller skating sounds to cover a wide variety of performances. With the guidance of Re-recording mixer Jacob Cook, Tess and Tim took it upon themselves to plan and execute a recording session to help build up our library and turnover some much needed roller skating sounds for the episode.
I was recently cutting sound effects on a scene for my apprenticeship project that included a slo-mo sequence. During the spotting session, my supervisor was discussing proven ways to get in and out of slo-mo sequences with different stingers and sub dives as the bread and butter. He referenced this specific sound effect to me and I thought it would be a fun idea to try my hand at recreating it.
By the beginning of this year, Boom Box Post had fully moved into our new facility with three Atmos mix stages, three 5.1 mix suites, eight sound design/editorial suites, and full client amenities. So, when Women’s Audio Mission reached out to revisit the idea of having an in-person workshop focused on sound for television and film that would meet the needs of their Los Angeles membership base, we had the perfect space to accommodate it.
2025 is officially here! One of my New Year’s resolutions is to make a conscious effort to improve my speed and efficiency in my sound work. It’s easy to get stuck in your old ways, especially if you’ve been working with Pro Tools for quite a while. Since there are a million ways to achieve the same result, what better time than now to start exploring other techniques and form new habits in your workflow?
2023 marked substantial growth for Boom Box Post, introducing new shows, seasons, and features. Let’s reflect back on the year and see what we have accomplished, and what we look forward to!
Happy Holidays from Boom Box Post!
What’s that sound? The holidays are right around the corner! Use the provided sound effects along with the rhymes and written clues below to complete this winter holiday crossword puzzle!
As sound professionals, we always have our ears open for interesting sounds. This isn’t limited to just sound effects I can record but also interesting ways sound can interact with the spaces we inhabit. Over the years, if I find myself in an especially interesting space, I’ve made a point of recording myself clapping once, so that I can later farm that sound as an Impulse Response, recreating the space. This practice carries the same nostalgic feelings as my field recordings, but expands the idea to my mixing. I can put any Impulse Response (the clap) through a reverb plugin that will, like magic, recreate that space. You too can be out there capturing wild and interesting spaces for your work!
We recently received a request from one of our readers: “can you show me how to create a fight cloud?” Ask and you shall receive! Here’s how we approached designing the sound of a classic fight cloud!
This past week we chatted with one of our supervising sound editors, Tess Fournier! Tess has shared so much insider knowledge here over the years but we felt it was time to get an update on both a professional and personal level!
Our Black November sale is live, and our entire Boom Box Library site it 50% off with code NOVEMBER50.
Everything is on sale including our already heavily discounted Everything Bundle. Don’t miss out this chance to elevate your sound effects library at just a fraction of the usual price.