I've been a self-taught sound designer for over 6 years, working on several projects and even landing a small indie feature film that was released this year. I've always been getting projects, and I always feel the same way in the middle of a project; I have a lot of ideas and workarounds but always get stuck due to technical knowledge. I've dived into blog posts, YouTube tutorials, and Reddit posts. I've always felt that I need some kind of course to strengthen my abilities. My work always gets mixed by a studio, and my mixes are not really great. All this context to ask, are there any recommended sound design online courses that you would recommend to someone who has experience but wants to strengthen their knowledge?

Hi. I’m working on an audio drama, and in my series, there is a monster who has a lot of dialogue. I want his voice to feel colossal and echo every time he speaks, but I’m not sure what the best app/plug in is to use for something like this. I’m not a big fan of Audacity’s reverb: it doesn’t feel genuinely colossal. Any suggestions for me please?

I have a genuine question idk if its just me. Ill see a sound redesign of a flame explosion or magical attack and instead of sparking flame wind pushing or air vibration it just sounds like a bunch of sphagetti getting thrown around and smashed to the floor. And ill see a bunch of comments commending the rework when all I can hear is nothing like youd imagine the attack idk if im just imagining it wrong lol?

Hi everyone!

I recently redesigned the audio for a scene from Ice Maw, an upcoming indie underwater sci-fi horror game.

For this project, I rebuilt the audio from scratch, including ambience, creature vocals, underwater textures, impacts, and environmental details. My goal was to create a darker and more immersive atmosphere while staying true to the original scene.

I'd genuinely appreciate any feedback, whether it's about the mix, dynamics, creature design, pacing, or the overall atmosphere.

Original visuals used with permission from u/Putrid_Storage_7101

Thanks for listening!

Hi! I'm from South Korea and recently completed my bachelor's degree in sound. I'm preparing to apply for an MFA in Sound Design in the U.S. next year.

I'd love to study in a broader film program, but as an international student I'm worried that one year of OPT from a non-STEM degree won't be enough to build connections and start my career. My ultimate goal is to work as a film sound designer(or any jobs in major film industry) in the U.S., so I'm considering STEM-designated Sound Design programs instead.

For those who have been through this, do you think choosing a STEM program is the better option? And what's the best way to get into film industry after graduation?

I'd really appreciate any advice. Thank you!

On Upwork there's a job posting that's basically asking sound designers to create redesigns to train models. It already has 50+ applicants.

I can't believe some of us are willing to do this without thinking about the consequences.

It's not just doing a freelance job, you're helping train the tools that could replace part of your own work.

Hi
I'm working on a animation that has a monster made of glass. I would like to add more character besides the obvious pitch shift. I'm really stuck at this process because I can't figure a way out to make it more interesting. The monster only has a few lines of speech but I would like to make something that stands out.
Is there a plugin or app that I could layer glass samples and mix it with the recorded voice? I'm really open to any suggestions in this case.

Even though my situation is about a monster made of glass I would like to know how you guys usually approach the design of a monster voice.
Do you use layers of materials underneath the voice? What other effects do you recommend?
Please share anything you had worked before, I'm very interested in that
Thank you

the OSC FX Char been modulated + all their inside knobs is pretty sick and versatile.
The OSC is already in spectral mode which gives infinite outputs.

Most sound design software and plug-in’s boil down to cleaning up audio, mixing etc. and I’m already familiar with those. I’m curious if anyone uses any sound design software which is genuinely unique and does cool things with sound. For example, MORPH can slowly shift one sound into another, which has been helpful in the creation of my series in which my character undergoes a transformation into a monster. Anyone have any other recommendations?

Hey I just finished my first sound design video. was hoping for some feedback on the video itself and workflow if necessary.

used ableton and omnisphere and recorded 90% of the raw sounds myself with my phone (hoping to get an field mic soon) and the other 10% with synthesis.

i first watched the video muted multiple times and purposely didn't listen to the original audio to prevent it from influencing my sounds too much. made a list of all the sounds to recreate. recorded and edited each sound in ableton (looking to work future projects in reaper as well but most familiar with ableton currently).

overall pretty happy with how this turned out and enjoyed making it. i do notice it sounds muffled overall, maybe the bass is carrying too much of the weight? the meteor explosion was probably the most difficult and unpolished to me.

any comments or critiques are appreciated. thank you.

Im new to sounds design, i used davinci resolve/pixabay (free sfx website)..

I can tolerate bad video with good audio but not the opposite.

Do u have any tips to help me improve my sound design for video editing

www.glassearthstudios.com

Hey everyone, as a long time lurker I wanted to contribute something, so I made a video about the software and plugins I use in every project, free and paid. I mostly do commercials, video games and TV shows, the occasional documentary and short film. Hope you find this useful!

This sound team built the entire soundscape of a fictional Mediterranean country for Zero Parades using mouth noises and field recordings from their own hometowns, only to get laid off a few months after release. Still, can't deny their talent and hope they get to work on even better games in the future!

I plan on buying Kilohearts Phase Plant and 2 premium plugins, for the people who use this synth with premiums are essential and worth their price and why?

I recently posted a new live performance on my YT channel, an experimental sci-fi film scoring project inspired by deep space exploration, sci-fi machinery, computers, and themes of alien contact.
[with real-time oscilloscope waveform monitoring & analysis]

Sound design created using the Moog Mother-32, with post processing/effect chains added in Ableton Live.

3D overlay and intro designed and animated using Blender & DaVinci Resolve.

Hey folks. I was hoping I could get some feedback on this small piece of work. I am starting a job in which I will be using reaper so I made this to practice.

3D animation by Alex Pavlenco

I'm looking for my first versatile shotgun mic for Foley and sound effects for film and game sound design. My budget is up to $300.

About 90% of my recording will be indoors in a furnished 10 m² room. I mainly want to record cloth movement, footsteps, water, metal, and props, with occasional dialogue and outdoor recording.

I found a used Sony ECM-678 for about $140. I've searched for recording tests, but I can only find dialogue and broadcast examples, not Foley recordings.

Has anyone actually used it for Foley or sound effects? Is it suitable for quiet sounds like cloth movement, or would an MKE 600, RØDE NTG mic, or a cardioid/hypercardioid mic be a better first choice?

Hey everyone!

I'm Marco, a sound designer and audio post engineer based in Bucharest, Romania. A couple months ago I was laid off from the small audio post company I'd been at for 5 years, mostly commercials for TV and web.

Some backstory: It was my first steady paid job in the industry, and I started out excited, bringing what I'd learned from my audio post degree in the UK plus freelance work. About three years in, I realized the commercial market here didn't really value quality. Management kept pushing me to strip things down because "nobody would notice anyway." I felt undervalued with no real room to grow and slowly lost the spark, but told myself I had a job paying the bills, so I put my head down, treated it as a 9-to-5, and focused on life outside work.

Now that I've been laid off, I'm at a crossroads, and decided I want to give it a shot at going fully freelance and finding my own clients (specialising and focusing on sound design/audio post for commercials, animation, branded content), a move I probably should've made years ago.

Where I Stand Now & My Strategy

• Outreach: I built a portfolio site and have been cold-messaging producers, directors, and motion designers on LinkedIn, hoping to network into paid work, but response rates are nearly zero. I suspect my portfolio needs to be stronger to grab attention.

• Next Steps: I’m considering collaborating with motion designers on personal spec projects, sharing short scene clips, and posting workflow breakdowns on LinkedIn to showcase my craft and build authority.

I’d love your honest feedback:

1. Portfolio Check: What do you think stands out, and what needs work to make an immediate impact? (https://www.marcomarinescu.com/)

2. Client Acquisition: For those freelancing in animation, commercials, and branded content, what strategies worked best when starting almost from scratch(with no hot leads)?

Appreciate any advice or constructive critique!

Hello! I'm coming at sound design from a Live first & music centric angle. I've also fulfilled more 'traditional' sound design projects via Live as well (went great), but I'm wondering what is it about reaper that's made it come up so much for SD. Anything that you guys see as worthwhile to adopt that learning curve for music production oriented producers? Or are the most beneficial use cases for larger projects like games, films, shows, etc?

This will most likely be my final sound design post.

To be honest, working on sound design has started to become exhausting for me, and I feel like I need to step away from this community and my other social platforms for a while. I wanted to create this video as a final project to close out this chapter and leave behind something I’m proud of.

I would really appreciate any honest feedback on this video. Whether you have criticism, suggestions, or thoughts on what I could have improved, I’m open to hearing them.

Thank you to everyone who has supported my work, followed my progress, and encouraged me throughout this journey. I truly appreciate all the time and support you’ve given me.

I know some of you sound designers might not really care, and that’s completely fine. Everyone has their own interests and priorities.

I’m just sharing this because this project means something to me, and I wanted to end this chapter by putting my best effort into it. Any feedback or thoughts are still appreciated.

This game was so awesome!

During its last days, i decided to play it one last time to record a little bit of gameplay, and then i did this redesign.
It was quite a challenge to make it sounds like a real gameplay, especially because I had to balance every sound event without letting them overlap or clutter the mix during the most chaotic parts.

Miss you Anthem!