'50s PSA sound mimicking

boy_afraid

boy_afraid

Member
Hey everyone, I'm working on a spoof of a 1950's PSA, I've watched a few and I noticed a big characteristic of them is that old analog reel-to-reel sound. Does anyone know how to get a similar sound, that kinda stuffy, saturated effect? I'm thinking of layering some record static overtop, but is there anything (filters, etc.) I can do to distort the otherwise crisp dialogue track?

Anyone advice is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!

-Brooks

p.s. here's an example i found on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGrfqvr-JPg&search=50s%20psa

ahh and where can I find that cheesy music?
 
Try rolling off the highs and lows to get that midrangey lo-fi quality, for starters. Vinyl hiss/pops and analogue static can add a nice colour to the track, but remember that you're trying to simulate a filmstrip, rather than a record or tape. Subtle flanging and distortion can give you that beat-up projector speaker sound. If you have time and/or gear on your hands, try getting ahold of a few old filmstrips and recording the background noise (eg. during the countdown leader). If you can get a long enough loop, you'll be in good shape for background noise. From time to time, you may also want to put in sudden splice jumps (nice hard edits) or dodgey perforations (a frame-long dip in the playback speed). Compress the living plop out of it, and you're there.
 
If you are going for a harsh analog tape sound then add some wow and flutter effects. Not sure if the above plug-in does that but there are several that do.

Good luck
 
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