Release the hounds! A Q&A about a new breed of dog sound effects

 

Hi Giel, please introduce SoundFuse and your new library

Hi, I’m Giel van Geloven and I’ve been working as sound designer and re-recording mixer for over 15 years. I mainly work on feature films and television drama, and I’m currently supervising sound editor on a new thriller television series called “Dutch Hope” by director Dana Nechushtan. I run a studio called SoundFuse in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

A year ago I started the the sound-fuse.com website because I liked the idea of sharing my sound effects. I love the smaller sound effects labels for their originality, and it’s amazing what amount and quality you get for a great price. A Sound Effect is a great way to get a good overview of all these smaller labels. I’m also really into initiatives like the Sound Collectors Club, where you share your sound effects and get to use the sound effects other members contribute for free – it’s a good addition to every studio’s house library.

I just released Dogs, a comprehensive dog library containing dogs barking, whining, squealing, breathing and much more, all recorded in my studio.
 

How did you come up with the idea for a dog SFX library?

Quite frankly, I was fed up with the same dogs you hear in a lot of films. You probably know which libraries I’m referring to…

The same dog squeals every time a dog is chased off, the same barks. Apart from that, I wanted more control over the way dogs sound in my projects.

It’s great to be able to “voice” a dog in a film with the actual sound effects from a single dog, so all the barks, whines and squeals come from a single animal. Especially when dogs play bigger roles in films, this gives you more sound continuity for the role.
Dry dog recordings give way more control and depth in the mix. Add a tap delay and some reverb on a barking dog in a street alley, or just a room reverb on interior locations.

Most dog FX in commercial libraries have a natural reverb which makes them harder to fit to picture. To be able to cut sound perspective in scenes, we were all doomed too using the few dry dog FX we’ve all heard hundreds of times before. I figured that was a pretty good reason to record some fresh ones and release them.
 

How did you go about getting the sounds and noises you wanted from the dogs?

I started out recording with my own dog a few years back. I actually taught him to bark at a hand sign command.
He’s not included in this library as I wanted to record everything at 96k. This was in the 48k era, and he’s not around anymore…

 
And I got a lot of great material by playing single dog barks/whines to them while recording. Most dogs react instantly. Some pieces of bread go a long way to get some great barks. Fair trade, right?

Watch a clip here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKOuY5VxsGA
 

The library features four different dogs – how did you decide on what dogs to include?

I love dogs, and a lot of friends bring their dogs over during their holidays. That gives me access to quite a few different dogs. I wanted at least three or four dogs for this library to be able to cover a wide size range. I recorded six dogs over the period of one year.
But not every dog was good enough for the library. Some were not able to “perform” on mike, and some just didn’t react. Too bad, but i didn’t want to force them into anything.
 

Any particular dog that stood out while making the library?

A dog called Nop is the star of the show. Nop can get so enthusiastic he’ll produce the most terrifying squeals. I would leave the recording stage for a quick coffee, and upon entering again he would go nuts. Right in front of the microphone.
Quite hilarious as I had to mimic enthusiasm not to ruin the recording.

 

Any tips or ideas for making the most of the library?

This library is a great asset for every sound designer or picture editor. It covers almost every dog sound you’ll ever need. Because the effects recorded at 24 bit, 96k, you can pitch and stretch the hell out of them.
 

How do you imagine people will be using the new library?

Apart from everyday dog use in projects, I use growling dogs a lot for sweetening non animal related effects. Cars revving sound a whole lot bigger with a dog or lion growl added to it. Processed growls also work great on the attack of thunder rumbling, they add a lot of extra punch.
This library is also great for creature vocalisation designers. Layering multiple processed elements from this library can create a pretty nasty monster, as can be heard in the demo. Enjoy the library!
 

 

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