Sound Design For Documentaries - Masterclass With Peter Albrechtsen

If you want to learn more about documentary sound design, few know as much about it as Danish sound designer Peter Albrechtsen.

He’s worked on docs such as the multi award-winning ‘The Queen of Versailles’, Sundance-winner ‘Putin’s Kiss’, ‘Canned Dreams’ and ‘The Bastard Sings the Sweetest Song’. His film work includes Lars von Trier’s ‘Antichrist’ and ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’.

Below, he shares his insights and experiences on what makes documentary sound work:

DocHouse Sound Design Masterclass with Peter Albrechtsen

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THE WORLD’S EASIEST WAY TO GET INDEPENDENT SOUND EFFECTS:

A Sound Effect gives you easy access to an absolutely huge sound effects catalog from a myriad of independent sound creators, all covered by one license agreement - a few highlights:

Cinematic & Trailer Sound Effects Shine And Glitter Play Track 150+ sounds included $21.75

Shine and Glitter brings shiny, elegant sounds to your local sound library. Find the true sound of it with Vadi Sound Library.

About Shine and Glitter SFX Pack

From glittering transitions and fairy dust to tonal sparkle sounds in 150+ stereo 24bit/96kHz .WAV files.

This pack has designed transitions, resonance, shining, synth, particles, tonal sparkles and doppler of magical shine and glitter elements; crunchy, noisy, glassy.

The texture of the sounds is realistic and flexible for customization. Great for film, video, game, advertisements, and suitable further as sweeteners outside of the magic genre as well.

Here’s a studio-grade pack for all your projects and games with the usual Vadi Sound craft and attention to detail.

Keywords, Elements, Mood and Style
Shine, magic, effect, glitter, star, dust, doppler, transition, spell, angelic, supernatural, synth, tonal, sparkles, long, double, LPF, HPF, movement, reverse, underwater, chime, crunchy, crackle, particles, noisy, free, reed, glassy, envelope, classic, shining, motion, coin, purse, tabletop, alarm, precious, stone, pitch, oil, can, resonance, drop, downward.

What else you may need
You may also want to check out our Cinematic Whooshes & Transitions for 294 files of organic and processed sounds of transitions and whooshes, including swipes, futuristic sci-fi sounds, tonal, pass by, power ups/ downs, movement, machine, and more. Essential Magic SFX Pack may also help with 182 files of the dark side of essential 4 elements of fire, water, earth, air as well as electricity, cyber-magic, magicka, hits, buffing, whooshes, squeaks, sparkling, explosions, bubbles, chimes and selective green magic sounds.

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Funny / Comedy / Cartoon Cartoon Volume 5 Play Track 100 sounds included $50

AudioHero’s Cartoon collection Volume 5 features 100 professionally produced sound effects, ready for use in your productions. This library includes everything you need to turn your production into a cartoon masterpiece! These sounds are all hand-picked from the Sound Ideas Cartoon Express, General HD and Digiffects Complete libraries.

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Funny / Comedy / Cartoon Cartoon Volume 4 Play Track 200 sounds included $50

AudioHero’s Cartoon collection Volume 4 features 200 professionally produced sound effects, ready for use in your productions. This library includes everything you need to turn your production into a cartoon masterpiece! These sounds are all hand-picked from the Sound Ideas Cartoon Express and Hollywood Edge Cartoon Trax 1 and 2 sound effects libraries. Included are musical accents, bells, boings, hits, skids, honks, squeaks, bounces, crashes and more.

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Explore the full, unique collection here

Latest sound effects libraries:

Hum, Buzz & Glitch Sound Effects Raw Buffers Play Track 14 sounds included, 23 mins total $25

RAW BUFFERS – a Discman glitch library.
Abrasive glitch clicks, scrambles, tones and bursts.

Harvesting the glitches from short-circuiting the “electronic skip protection” chip on a late 90’s Discman player.
Connecting the legs of this chip mangles and scrambles the buffer data, resulting in abrasive digital clicks, stutters, tones and bursts.

23 minutes (1.6GB) of 192kHz/24 bit recordings
UCS compliant and with relevant metadata.

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Foley Sound Effects Aprilia Mojito 2004 scooter motorcycle Play Track 74 sounds included, 34 mins total $55

All files are recorded 32bit, 192 kHz, with RØDE NTG1, Line Audio Omni1 and FEL Clippy XLR EM272 microphones, Sound Devices MixPre-6 II recorder. Library contains wav files of driving, foley, mechanical and electrical sounds. It is also available in UCS.

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Cloth and Fabric Sound Effects Character Fabrics Sound Effects Play Track 196 sounds included, 4 mins total $14.99
Enhance your projects with our 196 Carefully Recorded and Designed Fabric Sound Effects. This diverse collection of high-quality fabric sounds is perfect for adding realism and dynamic movement to your characters and environments. From the rustling of clothing to the swishing of fabrics in motion, each sound has been meticulously recorded and designed to bring your scenes to life. Ideal for game developers, filmmakers, and sound designers, these fabric sound effects will add depth and authenticity to every wardrobe, interaction, and environmental detail. Whether you’re working on character animations, environmental design, or immersive storytelling, these sounds provide the perfect touch to elevate your work.

Features:
- Body Armor Mesh – 70 SFX
- Clothing / Textile Drops – 61 SFX
- Fabrics – 57 SFX
- Zips – 8 SFX
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City Life Sound Effects City & Suburbs Ambiences Play Track 135+ sounds included, 340 mins total $22

City ambiences, downtown ambiences, suburbs, residential area, harbor, industrial area.. traffic, people in background, urban birds, nocturnal-quiet ambiences etc.

Check the sound list for additional info.

High quality recordings recorded in MS, XY, AB; NOS, etc., mostly with Sennheiser MKH microphones and Sound Devices recorder/mixer. Files are without any dynamic manipulation (compression) with max. peak around -5dBFS.

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Bird Sound Effects Birds Ambiences Play Track 7 sounds included, 22 mins total $8

Immerse yourself in the serene and captivating sounds of nature with Birds in Various Ambiences – Field Recordings Collection. This compilation features a rich assortment of bird sounds captured in diverse environments.

Each recording transports you to a different setting, featuring a wide array of bird species communicating in their natural habitats.

Perfect for sound designers, filmmakers, meditation enthusiasts, or anyone seeking to enhance their space with natural ambiance, this collection offers a diverse range of audio clips for relaxation, creativity, and inspiration.

Whether you’re creating a calming atmosphere, enriching your audio projects, or simply appreciating the beauty of birdsong, this collection brings the natural world to your ears with unmatched authenticity.

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