Building a sound library?

[Pete]

Hey all,

I'm working on a series of videos at the moment, but it's starting to become a massive pain to sift through freesound.org every time I try something new. Does anyone have experience with building their own sound library so that the sounds are organized and accessible (and fitting to most of your needs)?

Thanks!

 

[MileCreations]

I believe Zach King (finalcutking) is releasing some sort of sound library in the next few days http://www.facebook.com/thefinalcutking

I know that doesn't answer your question, but it's potentially another place to look

 

[Alcove Audio]

Yup, I have hundreds of gigabytes of sound files.


Soundminer is the most popular with professionals.

http://store.soundminer.com/

If you buy CDs of entire libraries or single sound from an approved site (like SoundDogs) and import them into Soundminer it also imports all of the MetaData, and it allows you to attach MetaData to the sounds you create. The waveforms are visible as you audition them. You can import small sections of a sound file with Soundminer; for example, one track contains 20 gunshots but you need only one, so you select/highlight the one gunshot that you like and, through Soundminer, your DAW will import only the one gunshot rather than the entire sound file.

I have no experience with the following except for Snapper, which isn't bad, but not as versitile as Soundminer.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Snapper/

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SoundSaver/

http://www.sound-ideas.com/metadigger.html

Of course the budget solution is to use iTunes; it takes next to forever to rename the files and enter the MetaData, but doesn't cost you anything; but then again Time = Money



BTW, when working on projects I have separate sessions for sound FX, Foley and music editing. When the project is done I just import the audio folders onto one of my sound library drives for later sorting and MetaData.

 

[NBattistone]

My work history and background prior to filmmaking was in audio engineering and production. Since I have ventured into filmmaking years back, I have built a sound library that just exceeds 1.5TB.

Building and maintaining your own sound library is definitely an essential element in being able to find and access the right audio elements for any production. There are many companies out there that make sound effect, foley, and sound design kits specifically for film productions, but much like any other store bought libraries, they can often be hit or miss. The "Hollywood Edge" libraries are pretty decent, and contain a wide variety of sounds specifically for TV, Radio, and Film production.

The one thing I can say is that you should always be searching and adding yo your sound library. If you can, go out and buy an external drive specifically for your sound library, and develop a filing and organization system that works best for you. Much like the previous post, I have main folders dedicated to: Sound Effects, Foley Sounds, Sound Design, and Music Beds. From there, you can create a sub-filing system as specific as you'd prefer. I have mine pretty well organized into probably 200 subfolders. Ive also created a database using Filemaker to easily organize my contents.

I also agree with the previous post about SoundMine and Snapper. They are both pretty awesome applications for previewing and importing sections of an audio file directly into your DAW, though I do concur the Soundmine is a more versatile application.