Getting "Front To Back" Effect In Stereo Mix

C

charleyvonne

New member
Hello folks,

I'm wondering how to do this:

I have a song in the making where I want to give the listener the effect of walking down a street in the rain, with water rushing down drains, cars passing, the tonal differences of the rain hitting parked cars, leaves, other surfaces ect... What technique could I use to create a kind of 3D effect where, instead of moving from left to right, these sounds give the impression of coming towards the listener, then fading off behind them? I know there's a technique for this, it's a type of audible illusion made using some rather simple tricks.

I'm using Cubase LE at the moment, but I'm hoping to get hold of 4 soon.

Many thanks in advance!
 
You could mess with the phase relationships and frequency response...

Or, you could actually use space and distance, which is by far the most effective way to mess with the phase relationships and frequency response.
 
Hi charleyvonne

One idea which may (or may not) work is to combine volume, frequency component and reflections (space).

As the POV moves towards the sound source (SS) you are wanting to represent, start low in volume, getting louder as POV moves next to the SS then fading away again.
but you'll need to simultaneously modify the frequencies in the sound file. Start out with a low shelf eq cut (or HPF) to remove any low end (proximity) and subtle high shelf eq cut (or LPF) to reduce volume of extreme highs (which tend to be attenuated by distance) and bring these back in as POV moves past the SS as you raise the volume.

As POV moves past the SS, roll off highs and lows again. The highs will need to be attenuated more than previously, as the sound is now emanating from behind, and some high freqs are attenuated more by the action of soundwaves moving past our pinnae (ear bits)

You can also combine the above with subtle reverb to create a sense of 'space'; wetter effect in front, becoming drier as the SS comes closer and becoming wetter when moving past (again, rolling off the high frequencies as POV moves past the SS)

Don't forgot to move pan from pretty much central (reaching both ears simultaneously) when in the distance, to one side of the sound spectrum when passing by the SS then panning back to near-central when POV is well past the source.

You'll probably need to set up an audio channel and stereo fx channel for each individual sound effect so you have control over the placement of each sound source.

Hope this provides you with many hours of fun experimenting.


(Man, surround sound studios must have it easy!!) LOL :D

Dags
 
Don't forget about the doppler effect. When a sound source is traveling towards you the sound waves are squashed together to create a higher frequency and pitch. When something is moving away, the sound waves are stretched out creating a lower pitch. This is exactly why the sound a car or truck's engine makes seems to change pitch as you pass it on the highway.

That said, I imagine that this would be somewhat difficult to replicate. I have never tried, but i guess I would start by automating a pitch shifter in addition to the other ideas posted above. Remember as well that its not a steady change in pitch, it happens quite quickly as the object passes you.
 
Hey folks,

Wow, sounds... Technical!!! How would I go about doing this in Cubase LE? I'm not familiar with all the technical terms but I'll try to learn as quickly as I can!

Many thanks for your help and advice folks, sounds like it could be fun and stressful at the same time lol!
 
Hi again!

I just thought (for once), reading through all this again, could I make life a whole lot easier by taking a good LD mic and moving past the sound sources as I record them, i.e. simply walking past the drain? I'd need exceptionally quiet footwear, or even bare feet, in order to eliminate footstep noises and I'd also not need to do it in the peeing rain... If not for the protection of the mic then for the fact that rain beating on said mic would sound awful! I suppose I could run a hosepipe down the drain outside my house and walk past... I've no idea, would this work???

Lol, the neighbours will think I'm a complete and utter loony, more so than they already do!
 
What you have described with moving the microphone is probably the best solution as it is the simplest. All of the advice we gave on processing your tracks this way is assuming that you have the sound recorded already. If you can capture an actual recording by moving the mic, that is prob by far your best bet. I don't know what your setup is, but if its a laptop, take it outside and sit by the edge of the road until you get your sounds. There is no sense in creating an effect like this artificially if you can capture it naturally, especially since you are a self proclaimed newbie.
 
Lol, ok! Well I'll give it a shot and sooner or later the finished song will be on myspace and in the songwriting forum here. It's called Lost, just so you know what to look for. I'll keep the advice here tho, and start playin with stuff to get some experience!

Many thanks!
 
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