Can I set audio to sound far away

whydahlog wrote on 5/12/2008, 5:48 AM

Hi,

Having read some of the responses to questions on this forum, I am hoping some one can help.

What I want to achieve on an audio track is to have the audio, an orchestral piece, sound as if it is far away and slowly come forward as an image slowly zooms from 'far away' to full screen.
I have tried 'fade in' and an audio envelope but niether give me the result I am looking for.
I guess, but i don't know, that I am looking for a compressor in Vegas 8 that will crunch the lower frequencies out to start and slowly bring them back as the audio approaches the 'forground'. Or am I barking completely up the wrong tree.
Thanks in advance
whydahlog

Comments

richard-courtney wrote on 5/12/2008, 6:12 AM

Will your project be in Dolby surround?

You need some component for your mind to hear as a reference as being
nearby as normal volume.

drbam wrote on 5/12/2008, 6:14 AM

The most common way to do this is with a verb slowing moving from wet > dry. I mostly use outboard verbs, routing the return into a console so unfortunately I can't offer advice on how to automate a plugin verb to achieve the effect.

Geoff_Wood wrote on 5/12/2008, 4:50 PM

If an iniline effect, put an automation envelope hooked up to 'Wet/Dry'. If a master effect, set the track level low, and put the automation onto FX send, or automate 'Dry Level' on the effect bus.

geoff

reberclark wrote on 5/12/2008, 4:51 PM

A combination of volume (fade in) and reverb (wet to dry) should do it. Most sound editors have these features.

Chienworks wrote on 5/12/2008, 7:00 PM

There will also be a frequency response change with distance. Not all frequencies travel distances equally well. Unfortunately right at the moment i'm way to brain fried on allergy medications to remember whether it's bass or treble that bleeds away with distance, and i don't seem to be able to reason it out either. Surely someone else knows ... ? In any case, adding the appropriate EQ curve will help make the illusion much more realistic.

musicvid10 wrote on 5/12/2008, 8:01 PM

In addition to what Chien mentioned, there is a factor called delay distortion -- which means that not all frequencies travel at the same speed through air -- some simply arrive at the ear earlier than others.

Although a bit of a challenge, I bet a plugin with some presets and adjustable parameters (distance, time curve, doppler effect, etc.) and automation would be a hit with Vegas users.

I guess if I was doing this without using effects, I would start with mics at the back of the auditorium and crossfade to the stage mics with the camera zoom, with the two audio levels preset to my taste. This would be the simple and natural way.

Another idea is to do it with Acoustic Mirror, I wonder if this is possible?

reberclark wrote on 5/12/2008, 8:20 PM

Using three convolution reverbs (software) in far, mid, and near mic positions with Pristine Space or a similar program might help.

whydahlog wrote on 5/13/2008, 5:30 AM

Thanks a lot for all the suggestions, a great help in many ways. I guess I am going to have to get to grips with a third party audio plugin - I was hoping there was something in Vegas 8. Audio is not exactly my thing though.

Thanks again
whydahlog

Steven Myers wrote on 5/13/2008, 5:10 PM

I was hoping there was something in Vegas 8

I think at least one reverb comes with Vegas. After all, the necessary amount will be so small that it will be barely apparent. Just a touch.
You might be able to use a little EQ to help.
Automating those plug-ins will let you simulate motion.
Experiment.

newhope wrote on 5/21/2008, 4:15 PM

"Audio is not exactly my thing though"

Then, while the suggestions above are great lets keep it simple and do what a couple of responses have suggested.

Using the equaliser that is part of the effects on a standard audio track in Vegas cut the bass below about 400Hz using the first EQ band of 1 to 4 as it is set normally to shelf. Automate it's return back to a flat response as the shot zooms in. You may want to adjust the frequency higher depending on the audio content of your track.

Now add reverb to your signal by creating a new Buss and placing the reverb plugin in it then use the Buss send on the track with your orchestra to adjust the level of the send reducing it to none as the image zooms in. Select the Sony Express Reverb or Reverb plugin and choose a 'Reverb Mode' of 'Live Ambience' if the orchestra is in an outdoor setting or 'Concert Hall' or 'Wide Open Hall' if they suit for an interior setting.

Normally the buss send on your tracks is is set to 'prefader' and this is the best mode to leave it in for this process as it will allow you to send as much reverb as you need independent of the level of the orchestra track's volume.

Lastly you will need to fade the level of the orchestra up over the period of the zoom. Don't use a fade in but use the tracks volume envelope to do this.

A final option would be to start the sound in mono, or near mono, and slowly bring it into full stereo as the zoom progresses. This assumes you have a stereo recording of the orchestra of course.

You could do this fairly easily by copying the period of the audio for the zoom to a new track and then right clicking on the copy and selecting 'channel' and 'combine' This makes the audio on the new track play as mono.

Apply EQ and reverb to this track as described above and then slowly cross fade between it and the stereo track over the period of the zoom.

Did I say I'd keep this simple?

I'm afraid there isn't one plugin that will do it all for you but this approach uses the available plugins and functions of Vegas at a relatively simple level to achieve your aims.
The rest is up to your ears... to judge the settings and if it sounds the way you want it.

New Hope Media