In my last two newsletters, we talked about the deep frustration of learning sound design, and how to think like a storyteller when you create your sound.
But, even with these approaches, the frustration of practicing sound design is still very real. That's why almost no one does it. And I get why: there are basically no frameworks to follow that a sound designer can use to improve with.
Think about it: athletes have clear work outs, warm ups, and nutrition plans written for them every single day. They just need to follow the plan.
Musicians know they need to practice their scales, maybe do some sightreading, and learn new songs. No matter what, they always have something to fall back on.
Heck, even pilots have well-organized checklists that they follow at the start and end of every flight. They can just fill in the dots and know what to do.
Sound designers aren't so lucky. We're just told "Uhh, I dunno, maybe do some redesigns?" and then are left to our own devices with no extra help, no guidance, and no feedback. So, it's no wonder so many people just quietly quit.
If we want to make sound design a lucrative career, though, having frameworks to follow and dots we can just fill in day-by-day is crucial. Even when we're not feeling at our best (which will be most of the time), we need ways to be able to do something.
So, on top of the 10-minute framework that we talked about last week, I want to introduce you to the HMLS technique — a super simple sound design technique I cover in my upcoming Step-By-Step Sound Design course in-depth.
It stands for "High, Middle, Low, Style", and it's a way we can easily and quickly create layered, high-quality sound effects without a whole lot of effort and with just 4 tracks. If we just fill in these tracks, we're left with a satisfying sound in a very short period of time.
The first three tracks (High, Middle, and Low) are named after the frequency-range of audio content that will go on those tracks. The style layer is where you can put what's often known as a “sweetener” — an element that can enhance the sound, even if it's totally unrelated (for example, adding a jet engine underneath a monster roar).
Here's how you can go about using the HMLS technique:
Find a video clip that you'd like to make some sound for.
Trim the clip length to around 5 seconds or less to keep it manageable and easy.
Find just one sound you'd like to design in the entire clip.
This could be a footstep, a gunshot, or anything else. Don't try to do everything. Just pick one sound.
Create 4 audio tracks in your DAW
Name one “High”
Name the next one "Middle"
Name the next “Low”
And name the last “Style”
Now, with the sound you want to design, you'll start searching for and inserting elements on each track that relate to each of their frequency ranges. Let's pretend you're working on a gunshot:
On the "High" track, you'll find a high frequency element to insert. If it's a gunshot, this could be the metallic or gear-like elements of the gun's trigger being pulled.
On the "Middle" track, you might insert a sound that represents the initial crack of the gunshot.
On the "Low" track, you might insert something to enhance the body of the gun. This could be something like a cannon shot, or just a gun sample you've found with a lot of oomph to it.
And then the most interesting layer is the "Style" layer. Here is where you can put a sound that has nothing to do with the sound itself, but can enhance it. For example, maybe you'd put in a kick drum, or even a tiger growl on the Style layer to enhance the feel of the sound as whole.
This will create a great starting point for you to create a sound that feels more full, and gives you a direction to move in. From there, you can start worrying about processing the sounds with plugins and adding more tracks. But at first, just put down 4 layers: High, Middle, Low, and Style.
If you don't know what to do, if you don't know how to practice, just follow the HMLS framework above. Fill in those dots every day — even if it's just for 10 minutes.
Most sound designers are just sitting around, hoping better jobs will land in their lap someday, even though they're not practicing at all. Often, months (or years) can go by without any real dedicated output.
But, the few that will do practice and learn their craft are going to do great. Even though the game industry is having quite a shakeup at the moment, skilled sound designers are so unbelievably rare, they'll always be in demand.
And if you want more guidance, more frameworks, know exactly what to do whenever you sit down to practice sound design, and get direct feedback on your work, my upcoming Step-By-Step Sound Design course is for you!
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