How to make IMPACTS and BRAAMS
What is this and who can use it?
Here I describe the process of making IMPACTS + BRAAMS from scratch. Made for the sound design team, but if you’re developing a sound library and making your own samples, it’s worth looking into!
What makes up an impact?
The 3-Act Story
We can think of an impact as a 3-Act story:
Riser (“Shwooop”)
Boom
Reverb tail
Taking that further, each of those Acts are made up of a combination of different actors that fill the frequency spectrum.
The Frequency Spectrum
Starting from the lowest frequency:
Sub
Thump (like the "flump" of the kick drum)
Smack
Crack
Sizzle
Hook (which is a mid/high frequency theme-specific sound that makes the IMPACT interesting and gives it movement on the 2nd and 3rd acts)
Video Walkthrough
VIDEO TIMECODES
IMPACTS
0:35 - What makes up an IMPACT
1:20 - Add a "Simple Kick" (with reverb)
2:40 - A demonstration of the final IMPACT and BRAAMS.
3:55 - Add a "Sub"
5:50 - Add a "Thump"
7:10 - Add a "Smack"
9:41 - Add a "Crack"
11:50 - Add a "Sizzle"
12:50 - Add a "Hook"
17:00 - Add additional theme-focused "Hooks"
19:18 - Try adding a white noise sweep to fill high frequencies.
BRAAMS
20:52 - Demonstration of the final BRAAMS (without IMPACT)
20:57 - Took a theme-focused Hook to be the main sound.
21:41 - Add a "Braams" element.
24:13 - Give the sound more elements that help it "rip."
25:10 - Add something that helps fill the bass frequencies.
26:11 - Add another element that helps the "shwoop" effect.
TIMECODES WITH EXPLANATION
IMPACTS
0:35 - What makes up an IMPACT.
1:20 - Add a "simple kick" (with reverb). Contributes a mid to low frequency burst of energy.
2:40 - A demonstration of the final IMPACT and BRAAMS. What the entire thing should sound like in terms of energy and power.
3:55 - Add a "Sub." Fills low frequency that gives a sound legs.
5:50 - Add a "Thump." Fills mid/low freqs that gives it a body.
7:10 - Add a "Smack." Duplicate and give them a stereo range, which can give the sound a different dynamic. Throughout this process, I'm adding interesting FX so that the listener can grasp onto an interesting sound.
9:41 - Add a "Crack." I added FX, saturation, and reverb... just like all the other elements on a sound.
11:50 - Add a "Sizzle"
12:50 - Add "Hook" layers, which is a theme-related sound that makes the entire sound relevant (based on what the SFX album is about) and interesting.
17:00 - We can call these "Additional Hooks" Since this was for the YSR (Yellowstone Rhythms) SFX album, we wanted to hear some naturey bird sounds.
19:18 - Adding a white noise sweep to fill high frequencies.
BRAAMS
20:52 - Demonstration of the final BRAAMS (without IMPACT)
20:57 - Took a theme-focused Hook to be the main sound. Got rid of unnecessary frequencies and accentuated the roary and gurgly sounds we wanted to keep on the sound. This also added to the "shwoop" in our "Act 1."
21:41 - Add a "Braams" element.
I took bass clarinets to give this the "rippiness" that's typical of braams. You can use anything that gives us a "rip" feel. French horns are probably typical. Tubas are great, overblown saxophones are great.
We want to fill all the frequencies with these too. I was cutting the lows on these because there other elements that took over those low frequencies (like a synth bass... but especially because this was paired with an IMPACT).
24:13 - Give the sound more elements that help it "rip." We want these to have as much character as possible, without getting messy. So we're going to be shaving unnecessary frequencies.
25:10 - Add something that helps fill the bass frequencies. This bass in particular gives the track a "bite." This is another element that adds that typical BRAAMs "rip."
26:11 - Add another element that helps the "shwoop" effect.