The Sound Effects Bible: How to Create and Record Hollywood Style Sound Effects

Great tips and trick for the budding foley artist and sound engineer.

I'm an aspiring game sound designer who has only ever bought/used other peoples sound effects. There's a huge portion of this book describing how to create a number of sounds (included in the table of contents too for easy looking) and it has helped me IMMENSELY with my projects. Fast shipping, no damage. Overall great book, very useful.

This is the book I've been looking for for my sound design students - good information and advice, little filler, at an affordable price. Perhaps what makes it so affordable is that it appears to be a print-on-demand volume.I was taken aback by the print quality, which I would best describe as a high-quality photocopy on heavy paper. The cover is substantial and the paper is substantial. Yet, the design of the book clearly features photographs and gradient areas which were meant to reach the edge of the page, but don't, everything is hyper contrasty, including gradients and photographs which are not well reproduced.I would encourage Michael Weise Productions to give this book the presentation it deserves, even if it costs a few dollars more. The content can stand on its own merits.

Very practical "how to" book. Not only does Ric explain techniques for creating sound effects, he gives insights on the process and procedures. So, if you need a special sound that is not described in the book, you do get some ideas on where to look and how to create it yourself. Also has a lot of good background on sound production, mica, recording techniques and such. Good stuff!

The Sound Effects Bible is about the "nuts and bolts" of sound info, such as: - the science of sound and sound effects - extensive resources for microphones and mike application - setting up studio recording or field recording equipment - recording principles and procedures - the art of Foley - sound hardware and software - sound design and studio design - plus dozens of sound effects explanations and proceduresIt is quite a thorough guide to the mechanics of sound design and implementation.

If someone calls something the "So-and-so-BIBLE", one should be well aware of the original. A less conspicuous title would've been more appropriate.Before I start to comment: I am a sound engineer for almost 45 years of dealing with movie- and television-sound. Having worked most of the time in Germany and Costa Rica, I cannot boast about any Hollywood productions in my credits, but I have done thoroughly my homework, and now am transferring the knowledge of that homework and experience to my students at the Universidad Veritas' School for Film & TV in San José, Costa Rica.I have worked with Mel Kutbay and Hans-Walter Kramsky in Germany, to whom I am deeply indebted for all the tricks and beautiful sounds coming out of old cardboard boxes, handkerchiefs, bicycle chains, etc...OK, about "the Bible":1) "Genesis" takes up almost a third of the book (113 out of 309 pages). In my wife's version it is 70 pages long, out of 1561. Hmmm...2) The commandments are well intentioned and even helpful. But the author forgot to observe a critical one: "Thou shalt be humble." It is tiring to read, and re-read the self-adulation of the work he has done, and how wonderful his quarter-million-file sound archive is. Plug, plug, plug... It feels sometimes like wearing a FiLa or Lacoste T-shirt - which I definitely don't, because I paid for the chemise, and am not doing any free ads on top.3) I still have to find out the relation between a Limiter and (quote): "...compression with an infinite or extremely high compression ratio." (unquote). Duhhh...?4) And making Mr. Christian Doppler an Aussie (Australia) instead of an Austrian denotes sloppy research, or poorly paid attention in physics class.Overall, the book is good for beginners, and it conveys good information, but I must confess, that after the first 100 pages my reading became biased, trying to zap out (mentally) the commercials.It gives good advice on miking positions and archiving, but beyond that it falls short, and even has very contradictory information (i.e. "synthesizers are not good for cartoon effects").Mis dos centavos.Haymo Henry Heyder (in sunny Costa Rica)

GREAT BOOK!!!! Lots of substance!!! If you are new to this topic, this is a great place to start... Lot's of creative ideas for experienced readers as well... Can I give it 6 STARS? Seriously, it's a book that anyone interested in recording, editing, or using sound effects should read... And then leave it close on a bookshelf for reference...

If you are just getting into foley or sound design for film, please do yourself a favor and buy this book. It goes over everything from mic placement to building a foley pit in your basement. Detailed and well organized. I've just finished reading it and plan on reading it a second time. Easily FIVE stars.

Un libro ideal para conocer las bases del mundo del audio en la industria cinematográfica.

Great book! I read it with pleasure and passion. I found many answers I was looking for into it and I definitely learned a lot. Despite the fact that this book has been released ten years ago, many things and principles remain still the same today. I believe that Ric Viers has successfully been able to touch on every aspect (gear, field recording, metadata, softwares, creativity, basic principles, etc.) with just enough details.

Un libro fondamentale per neofiti e professionisti del sound design cinematografico. Da leggere per intero e allo stesso tempo da consultare all'occorrenza. Ispirante. Caldamente consigliato!!!

Loved this book, easy to read, not overly-complex by any means. It's great for beginner and intermediate level sound engineers as the book holds your hand, but it would probably wear on pros unless they've never tread foot in this area of sound recording before. The few beginning chapters are fantastic if you're interested in learning how sound works. Overall this book is really helpful for helping you avoid beginner pitfalls in a lot of areas (gear, space design, working in the field etc), and it ends giving you a great A-Z of sound effects you might need and how to record them (there's some great sense of humour thrown in to boot!). If you're looking for more advanced information on certain topics (field recording, timecode, lav mics etc) then check out the sequel 'Location Sound - Ric Viers' as this covers it in much more depth.One warning though, technology has progressed a fair amount since this book was published so don't expect certain pieces of technology to be ready available and relevant in this day and age (e.g. Fostex FR2 recorder is now discontinued).

I am a hobby sound recordist. I love to record nature sounds like birds, rains, sea waves, brooks in the mountains etc. I find these sounds very peaceful. If I close my eyes and listen to them, I get transported to a fantasy world of peace and tranquility. This being a new hobby that is emerging across the world, there aren't too many good books on the subject. There are many books on sound engineering, recording or even post processing. But they are mostly written for the music or film industry professionals. Nothing is available for the hobby nature sound recordist.I bought this particular book because I loved the author's writing style. I knew this is not targeted specifically at nature sound recordists but for the foley artist, which the author himself is. Still I got it as my first book on the subject. There are many chapters and elements in the book that are useful for anyone interested in sound recording. So that way it is good.The photographs in the book are all black and white and the printing quality of those photographs are pathetic. You have to just ignore them. Otherwise the book is full of practical advice for the DIY foley sound recordists.