Adding Realistic Disortion to Audio

skippyfx

skippyfx

Active member
I have a song for a short film I am working on that needs to sound like it's being played from a car with a decent sound system. I've only messed with the Track EQ a little bit in Vegas 6d but don't think it sounds very convincing. Do any of you have any tips for achieving this kind of effect?

Thanks in advance.
 
Find a car with a decent sound systen, and play the song in question at the appropriate level. Use a stereo mic kit to record the appropriate perspectives (inside the car, outside the car, etc.)

If that's not practical, you can get a similar effect "in the box." Most high-end car stereos are all about the bass, so you should probably start by reducing the high's and upper-mid's. Experiment with guitar amp modelling plugins (eg. amplitube) to get the distortion you're looking for. Multi-band dynamics compression will also help you bulk-up the bottom end.
 
find the biggest car in the block , then you will probably find the right stereo system :-)
as S MUIR sudgested - stereo mic for perspective sound
 
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention: use mics that can take high SPL levels inside the car. Also, watch you're ears. If you don't have high-noise `phones, then run cables through the windows and record and monitor from outside the car.
 
What did you try doing with the EQ? I would try cutting out a lot of the treble, and some of the lowest bass, while boosting the mid to low bass. Then try messing around with reverb to approximate the size of the car.

If you want to get detailed you could try searching the internet to find some sound systems' frequency response curves, and try matching your EQ to those curves.
 
Hey, thank you all for your response. I will record the song from a car system if I can't make it work this way first. Here is what I have done so far:

http://www.skippyfx.com/files/omd_test.mp3

Keep in mind the levels change with cuts closer to the car. Right now there are 3 noticable layers; Far, Medium and Close. Let me know what you think.

P.S. The actor turns up the volume half way through and shortly after is a cut to a long shot.

FRAMING:
Close: http://www.skippyfx.com/files/omd_close.pnghttp://www.skippyfx.com/files/omd_close.png
Mid: http://www.skippyfx.com/files/omd_mid.png
Far: http://www.skippyfx.com/files/omd_far.png
 
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First things first, burn a CD copy of the entire song with a 1-frame beep 2 seconds before the start of the song (so that the different perspectives can by aligned in your mix). Be sure to include that beep (temporarily) in your editorial session.

Pop that newly created CD into the car's CD player and record all the neccessary perspectives. Basically, this will involve coverring the required permutations on the following variables:

- Windows down / up
- interior / exterior
- long / medium / closeup (for the exteriors)
- moderate / cranked playback

The playback level, in particular, will have a dramatic impact on how the car interior reacts to the sound.

When you're cutting in the re-recorded music, first synch them all up to each other using the beep. Then, checkerboard the various perspectives and use multiple-track crossfades to transition from one perspective to the next. Resist the urge to delete the orriginal "dry" track you had cut in earlier, because you may find the re-recorded version a little too "wet" in the mix.
 
check your audio post software, most have pre-sets to make it sound like a phone call, am radio etc.

you could try something like a sheet of wax paper, make a paper bag shape and put your mic in there but not touching the edges...kind of like a zeppelin windscreen. that should distort the soundwaves pretty well.

or record it using the built in mic on the camera for one of the tracks.

matthew
 
I use a Korg Kaoss Pad for my music, so I would think you could input the song you wanna use thru the Kaoss Pad and with one of the filters manipulate the song to sound how u want.
 
Mic up your studio speakers and combine that with the original. Hopefully your studio speakers are not little cube type speakers, if so, use your home stereo.

The two pop suggestion is an exellent bit of advise to apply this technique after you've recorded it.

Anyway, crank the bass on your home stereo, and as Oleg said, use a stereo mic. to capture that.

You won't need to use much volume when mixing the home/studio captures with the original. Remember the home/studio speaker take will be a bit more reverberant which is what you're after anyway.
 
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