This nuts-and-bolts guide to sound design for animated films explains audio software, free downloads, how sound works, the power of sound when wielded by an animation filmmaker, and provides varieties of examples for how to use sound to enliven your films with professional sound.
Sound-savvy animators save precious resources (time and money) by using sound for effects they don't necessarily have time to create. For example, the sound of a crow flying gives viewers a sense of the crow without the crow. Where there's a macabre element or scene in an animated film, this book explains why you should choose a low frequency sound for it-low frequencies are scary, because the ear can't decipher their origin or direction!
On the DVD: three 5-minute animations; sample sound clips, jump cuts and video streams; plus motion graphics with which to practice sound-applications explained in this book.
"This is one of the few books that talk about music and how to cut it to picture. Beauchamp also lists a number of resources where you can audition and purchase music cues. Ditto sound effects - he lists online libraries that sell sounds, what kind of sounds to get, what to stay away from, and finally how to record your own SFX...Bonus are two detailed case studies along with a DVD that illustrate the process of producing sound for animation. We follow along as the job is assigned and the soundtrack goes into production. The design and creation of dialog, music and SFX stems is diarized and the audio and video for each stage presented on the DVD. This provides a valuable set of examples to model your own process on. In addition, there's an excellent bibliography at the end with titles of other good books on the subject should you wish to pursue your studies further. This book and DVD combo is a highly recommended package for the following areas of study: Animation, Sound Design, and Film Studies at the high school, college, and university levels. And it's a must buy for libraries that collect texts on these subjects."--AWN.com
"A good initial guide for the budding AV artist." - DJ magazine
"An interesting and enjoyable read." - Black Filmmaker
"Designing Sound for Animation is a nuts-and-bolts guide to sound design for animated films, explaining audio software, free downloads, how sound works, and the power of sound when wielded by an animation filmmaker. It also provides varieties of examples for how to use sound to enliven films with professional sound." - Animated News, Oct. 2, 2006