Question

If you were designing sound for a game, in what instances would you create your own sounds using foley (or by recording sounds from the environment) versus utilizing pre-existing material from a library? Similarly, when would you create (or hire someone to create) original music versus licensing pre-existing material from a library or label?

Answer 1

First let us understand what is Foley: Foley effects are sound effects that are easier and more efficient to perform to picture.

A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. These are normally created with foley.

It is the reproduction of everyday sound effects that are added to films, videos, and other media in post-production to enhance audio quality.These reproduced sounds, named after sound-effects artist Jack Foley, can be anything from the swishing of clothing and footsteps to squeaky doors and breaking glass. Foley sounds are used to enhance the auditory experience of the movie.

According to this theory,if i have to suggest between foley (or by recording sounds from the environment) versus utilizing pre-existing material from a library for designing sound for a game,i would rather prefer Foley because Foley is more of a technique for creating sound effects than a type of sound effect, but it is often used for creating the incidental real world sounds that are very specific to what is going on onscreen, such as footsteps. With this technique the action onscreen is essentially recreated to try to match it as closely as possible. If done correctly it is very hard for audiences to tell what sounds were added and what sounds were originally recorded (location sound).

For designing sound for a Game it is very important to feel it like real so that people can enjoy playing the game as real.So that is why foley will be more helpful.

In the early days of film and radio, foley artists would add sounds in realtime or pre-recorded sound effects would be played back from analogue discs in realtime (while watching the picture). Today, with effects held in digital format, it is easy to create any required sequence to be played in any desired timeline.

The principles involved with modern video game sound effects are essentially the same as those of motion pictures. Typically a game project requires two jobs to be completed: sounds must be recorded or selected from a library and a sound engine must be programmed so that those sounds can be incorporated into the game's interactive environment.

In earlier computers and video game systems, sound effects were typically produced using sound synthesis. In modern systems, the increases in storage capacity and playback quality has allowed sampled sound to be used. The modern systems also frequently utilize positional audio, often with hardware acceleration, and real-time audio post-processing, which can also be tied to the 3D graphics development. Based on the internal state of the game, multiple different calculations can be made. This will allow for, for example, realistic sound dampening, echoes and doppler effect.

Historically the simplicity of game environments reduced the required number of sounds needed, and thus only one or two people were directly responsible for the sound recording and design. As the video game business has grown and computer sound reproduction quality has increased, however, the team of sound designers dedicated to game projects has likewise grown and the demands placed on them may now approach those of mid-budget motion pictures.

This is the another reason why foley can be considered rather than utilizing pre-existing material from a library.

Unlike sound effects, foley are the sounds that are added near the end of production of a video.

Music supervision is the art of selecting and licensing preexisting songs or recordings for use in visual media like film, television, video games, and advertising. A skilled music supervisor might choose the perfect song to enhance a dramatic television moment, help an advertising producer make smart, inspired music choices, or find a cost-effective work around when a film's plot requires a particularly expensive, hard-to-license recording. Music might be selected based around a central guiding aesthetic, a sense of how the music would complement a specific scene, or knowledge that a certain new track is well positioned to succeed.

Developers may also elect to license pre-existing compostions and master sound recordings,which might include a popular song or 'library music'.In most situations when listening music,the developer will need to obtain both synchronization and master use rights to the music.

Synchronization rights allow for the composition to be synched to the game or any marketing materials and master use rights allow for the original master recording of a particular artist to be synched to the game or any marketing materials.

The major factor for any developer involving licensed music will be the costs associated with the license which will vary depending on the intended use of the music and the forms of exploitaion by the developer.The developer will want to obtain as broad as rights as possible but with the request for more rights comes a higher price tag.

Some of the factors that might determine the costs of a licensed song:
a) The popularity of the artist and song.
b) How many times the song used in a game.
c) The total amount of the song used in a game.
d) If the song used will be used in marketing materials.

A music used in an advertisement or game will increase costs substanially.That is why we can use licensing pre-existing material from a library or label.