Sound Ideas Blog
This is the perfect space for sound ideas.
We are delighted to introduce Randy Thom, a prolific and well-respected Director of Sound Design, Supervising Sound Designer and Re-Recording Mixer as the guest blogger for Sound Ideas. Randy is one of the best in the field with Oscar, Emmy and Grammy nominations to his credit; as well as receiving C.A.S. Career Achievement and MPSE Career Achievement awards.
You can learn more about Randy here.
What They Want vs What They Think They Want
July 31, 2026
Realism and Naturalism can be straitjackets. Too many directors are under the illusion that sounds are more about physics than about story. Sounds are characters.
BROWSE THROUGH OUR POSTS
The Sonic Superpower of Fruits and Vegetables
July 31, 2025 - Randy Thom
Big, hollow peppers, celery, cabbage and watermelons are among the most musically gruesome of veggies and fruits.
Read moreBring the Wild to Life with Our Bug, Frog & Snake Sounds
July 18, 2025 - Sound Ideas
Looking to add some bite, buzz, or ribbit to your next project? We’ve got you covered! The brand-new Bug, Frog & Snake Sound Effects collection is here, packed with 279 spine-tingling, skin-cra...
Read moreEnhancing Intelligibility in Sound Mixing
March 28, 2025 - Randy Thom
Enhancing Intelligibility in Sound Mixing One of the most powerful but subtle techniques in sound mixing is micro-adjusting the timing of words, sound effects, and/or music to improve c...
Read moreFebruary 25, 2025 - Randy Thom
Sonic Analogies and Synonyms Aspiring sound designers often ask how important it is to get an academic degree of some kind before pursuing a career in media sound. A degree itself isn’...
Read moreJanuary 31, 2025 - Randy Thom
What to Leave Out In sound design for film, video games, podcasts, or ambient art installations, the principle of “less-is-more” is worth thinking about. Sound designers often discover ...
Read moreEnhancing Sound Effects by Slightly Offsetting Diverse Sound Elements
December 31, 2024 - Randy Thom
Offsetting Diverse Sound Elements Sound designers can improve emotional impact of short-duration events while maintaining believability in visual synchronization.This technique involves...
Read moreGiving Characters Personalities Via Sound Design Vol 2
November 28, 2024 - Randy Thom
Giving Characters Personalities that Evolve Via Sound Design Installment Number TwoIn last month’s blog I included a little over twenty examples of films that use a character’s changin...
Read moreGiving Characters Personalities Via Sound Design
October 31, 2024 - Randy Thom
Giving Characters Personalities That Evolve, Via Sound Design Film characters become more relatable when audiences are invited to not just see their world but to hear it as they do, esp...
Read moreUsing A Thesaurus For Sound Effects Searches
September 30, 2024 - Randy Thom
Using A Thesaurus For Sound Effects Searches When diving into a sound effects library looking for tornado-related sounds, a couple of search terms quickly come to mind: tornado and wind...
Read moreUsing Layers to Make One Sound
August 30, 2024 - Randy Thom
Using Layers to Make One Sound I’m working on a project now that needs a certain kind of creature voice. It’s an animated film, and this particular creature character should sound var...
Read moreHow To Continue To Beat Your A.I. Competitor
July 31, 2024 - Randy Thom
Continue to Beat Your A.I. Competitor A.I. is not going away, and it will improve at doing sound. I think eventually it will be better at it than any human. That’s the bad news for all...
Read moreCurating Accidents and Mistakes
June 28, 2025 - Randy Thom
Curating Accidents and Mistakes As sound designers and mixers we struggle to get some level of control; control of our working situations and our tools. The funny thing is, sometimes no...
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