The Secrets Of Skyrim's Sound Design

[@KtheOperator]

That shot of his Darjeeling tea was so out of context

[@inarisound]

How about that ear? (right in your face) xD

[@hariseldon3611]

Well, seems like you didn't get the reference

[@bryannova5655]

InstaBlaster...

[@Kinkoyaburi]

The camera operator at some point randomly decides to film extreme close-up of Mark's ear. Because - sounds - ears - get it? Get it!?

[@GreenforeverLeaf]

What about the tea?

[@noisyboyuk]

GreenLeafForever Your comment + your username = win. Congratulations :D That WAS probably the most random cutaway I've ever seen though.

[@GreenforeverLeaf]

noisyboyuk I love random cutaways.

[@gargos25]

GreenLeafForever What about the keyboard and the wrist-watch?

[@pauls1555]

Kinkoyaburi no I don't; sounds, ear, I don't understand

[@XXROGUE]

2:02 I wouldn't have been able to understand this video if I never saw that closeup of Tea... thanks for including that!

[@playinngamin6821]

+Kyle Riccio BAHAHA! Yes!

[@_Colie]

+Kyle Riccio lmfao

[@jxxn0812]

bro... it distracted me so much I had to rewind a good 20 secs

[@Simtar123]

Man this camera work is really...something else...and the editing is also...unique...

[@anticommunist3415]

It just works

[@Zhevros]

lmfao the closeup on his ear @ 4:23

[@tenzin8773]

Totally scripted!

[@EminoMeneko]

Ear fetish from the cameraman. (¬‿¬)

[@kmrdgus]

Ah. The infamous ear close-up at 4:23. All the best cameramen use it.

[@tastyscrib8143]

That shot where you get a good look in his ear for 5 seconds

[@nicklay7893]

4:23 what the fuck?

[@JonFromWA]

It's an ear, oh my god!

[@SamSteeno]

Nick Lay I came to see the comments because that was my exact reaction... haha!

[@royd-l]

+Nick Lay It's truly a great cinematic angle!

[@GloryHoleBased]

+DoritoDoer it really is.

[@MuffinGamingMC]

+Nick Lay The cinematography is... EARie

[@omerfarukbykl6097]

0:59 "Field recording work is fun too. You're just sitting in the woods.. Getting eaten by bugs but trying to be very still with the mics" Yeah, definitely great fun

[@RyonRykal]

Great interviewee. The way he talks and explains it in this calm and clear way is very good to listen to!

[@dacasman]

all that hard work and people replace the sounds with mods lol

[@yourgoodfellowquentin4418]

dacasman Okay, the ironflesh spells are so hard to listen to. Don’t judge me, that stuff is piercing.

[@AdamSpade]

I love this guys setup. Cubase, old Dell monitors, and a Fireface 800. He knows where to put his money.

[@Gongasoso]

I hope he could see this. Mr. Lampert, if you ever find yourself in the need of a sound for some robotic flying bug, for instance, that the player could control, and land on it's hand or something: Try tossing a key set in the air, then grabbing it again. Notice the sound it makes. I just think it fits...

[@blackspirit9446]

Todd Howard was filming

[@blackspirit9446]

04:23

[@thinkforaminute]

I love the sound of the Soul Trap spell being used. Best sound effect in Skyrim.

[@Obyvvatel]

Wait, so Skyrim had only 1 sound designer?

[@D3w10n]

+Obyvvatel Well... its kinda showing... I mean, its not bad but... not really good either.

[@Diamiratrapbeats]

+D3w10n dude it was fricking beautiful

[@user-tp5yb4hr4w]

D3w10n i don't know that that's the right comment to make. it certainly could have been better in some areas. but it was only one sound designer. but he did quite brilliantly on his own. im sure it could have been better if he had some other people helping him on this task. but it still amazes me how modders these days will make things sound better like the sheathing and unsheathing of a blade. some times did not make sense say when you are sneaking and pull out a dagger that makes this crazy huge sound that in a realistic scenario it would give away your position. but skyrim sneaking works very different from other games like for example the thief series.

[@e99fuy0ng]

I highly doubt that. There's far too much content for just one person to do judging from my own experience. He's the audio director which indicates he has people working with him on foley, spot fx, ambience, dialogue etc.

[@D3w10n]

someone newtolife I do realize now my comment may sound condescending, but sound component of Skyrim is fairly minimalistic and its usually a result of inexperienced sound team or overburdened one. I do like that there is not a lot of ambient noise, but it kinda makes towns in game a bit thin. And yea, sound overhauls that are in Workshop are insanely good, like it makes game tons of time more immersive. And I really enjoyed Thief game (I only played "Deadly Shadows", scared the shit out of me so many times), so I know how good stealth works :D

[@jxxn0812]

the tea close up shows the secrets in detail of how we make sounds

[@DawgStudios]

lol@ random ear shots and the tea.

[@GBCM_]

Love the random cut to Darjeeling tea :P

[@lfinch150]

What reason did they have to cut to the tea packets

[@gameinformer]

None at all. We apologize.

[@zamathellama9708]

@@gameinformer why did game informer reply to a random comment made 6 years after the video was uploaded

[@joemarsden68]

​@zamathellama9708 after years of embarrassment they finally mustered the courage to apologize

[@Valenspire]

This is really interesting! I love watching videos like this cause it inspires me to do it myself. Must say that the cameraman was not as talented, zooming in to the ear like wtf?!

[@dirtykeyz]

looks like white obama

[@BestKCL]

It’s the haircut

[@Nova04550]

"Iteration after iteration, until we run out of time, and then we ship the game" - Sound Designer

[@lawlorcoaster]

Haha, thanks man! I was really curious about that, you're awesome for answering.

[@jxxn0812]

bro really binded the R and T for zoom in and out lmao

[@warnexus]

great interview, GI!

[@mitcho8666]

its deffiantly not fruity loops lololo

[@centurionl]

i think that quest update sound he didn't use is better than the one the game has

[@ESPPsycho]

I love these types of videos!

[@UpInFlam3z]

Best "WTF" laughter I've had in quite some time.

[@gyrofield9963]

STACK THE LAYERS

[@BIGNOLZIE]

Please tell me this guy didn’t create the sound for the nirnroot

[@kimeradon]

you just inspired me to find a sample of an old steam engine and use it for an electro house song:D

[@Fordtransitlover91]

He uses Cubase! :) Don't know which version it is though.

[@NINedStark]

How can i use automations for video game soundtracks? Like Pitch automation, Cutoff filter automation.. i can make inside the DAW but would be better if the engine game trigger some this effects, for example: if the player are inside water, the sound will be pitched down, cutoff (its just a example, i dont know sound design techiniques yet..)

[@sogyalverquin]

+NINedStark look into FMOD or Wwise. ;)

[@NINedStark]

+Sogyal Verquin I will take a look, thanks!

[@ericwycoff1399]

Really sick video! Ableton Live is a very good DAW for making sounds for games as well :D

[@WaffleCake]

I want this man's job.

[@XBLGR]

He says he sits there with recording equipment trying to be as silent as possible in the middle of a forest

[@mellodge]

3:27 Mackie big knob great piece of kit. I totally regret selling mine and now can't afford another. By the way I wouldn't attempt sound design on Fruity Loops LOL! Correct me if I'm wrong but FL studio is MIDI only no?

[@SteemaMusic]

no

[@KrySoar]

I think its look like barack Obama o_O

[@lordkrythic6246]

What program is he using on the left monitor? I'm currently using Audacity for sound/music in my game development.

[@photosnap3328]

Lord Krythic Cubase

[@lawlorcoaster]

Ok you bird watchers out there, can you identify what species made that call he played, and would it be found in real life in an environment as cold as Skyrim?

[@dagroovetom3327]

Thats Cubase.. not FL studio's ... both are digital audio workstations, but different formatting.. Fl studio's is alright, i deff wouldn't use it for mastering tracks, but it seems like he goes about making 4 to 10 bar riffs of layered sounds and then bounces it out to place into a library which from there probably reuses it an different arrangement patterns .. reprocessing over and over

[@THE_SANCUS]

Is that Cubase?

[@fabianrr]

Nuendo.

[@totallycheckthisout]

cool thanks, I work with sound design too, it's fun! :) thanks for sharing

[@Solidsnake856]

what DAW is he using?

[@inceptor1]

If he only knew what the current DAW version 7 of Nuendo will offer him in regards of game sound, special FX editing and integration. It is amazing... He should be a happy man, these days. :-)

[@Fricetix]

I totally agree :D

[@HEK-TIK]

but in tchernobyl there are acually animals running around so why is it far fetched to use bird sounds or normal wild animals in general ?

[@ferdyhoshigakitube]

Cant be Unseen

[@ZakaryBest]

Before you freak out about them using Cubase... that is Nuendo not Cubase. Nuendo is built from the ground up for film and video game audio. Cubase on the other hand is built from the ground up for music, which is not Ideal for working with video game audio.

[@EminoMeneko]

OMG THEY USE CUBASE I'M SO HYPED I DON'T EVEN OWN IT !

[@ZakaryBest]

...

[@EminoMeneko]

:)

[@aprilpattonify]

OK with the dwarven sphere ... how the GU k do you defeat that?!?! That just popped in my head:/

[@ferdyhoshigakitube]

how is he collect this sounds? i mean there must be the source

[@gab_gallard]

Field recording and/or synthesis.

[@bojantanasic221]

Back when windows didn't update every week and Cubase worked seamlessly.

[@shoresAK-47]

sooo coool

[@icareg]

cool mousepad

[@Gabrielland150]

That is not much, and for secrets of Skyrim's sound design it is pretty short to be even just to scratch the surface of it. This is also very basic, regarding settings, gear , and out of topic.

[@mypandashallflyyy]

who edited this

[@Terbiakji]

he looks like a white barack obama

[@gwynsolstice4488]

Thank YT.

[@n0000pe]

FUUS RAHH DOOHH!!!!

[@matthewthomas5460]

Cubase

[@MadeUlookXD]

FUS RO DA!!!!!!

[@nagol1000]

Can I work with you?

[@NonsensicalSpudz]

can we see bethesda bug team...oh...nvm

[@UpInFlam3z]

hahahaha omg he really does!!!

[@user-lg1hj6gk1o]

А

[@NeonRay]

hahahahaha

[@Strondvliegje]

Its cubase mate

[@me700gnomes]

Well. He recorded an African Swallow, which doesn't make sense because They're not migratory and wouldn't be found in the climate of the Euro-esque region of Skyrim like, say, the European swallow.

[@Jonrskittles]

He didn't do a good job at all, the sound mod on steam sounds alot better than the original. I can barely bring myself to go back.

[@Jonrskittles]

I go by quality. I'd be ashamed if I had to show my future employer that work. Plus it ruins the atmosphere. You can't go around slaying dragons and fighting people with that.

[@pauls1555]

***** they work with monitors, which purpose is to show the true sound and make sure it sounds decent on all sound systems - then if your sound system is crap, it's your problem. You don't know what you're talking about. Sorround has nothing to do with this; actually it does: get a surround system and see how good the sound design is. The man did a very good job but as his last comment indicates, at some point they run out of time and can't make things perfect. But rest assured on a good sound system it will sound amazing. Everything sounds like crap on average multimedia speakers...but they make that sound work also for people who care about sound and have good sound devices. That's where the sound of a movie or game shines.

[@pauls1555]

J Ramos look you don't get to be sound director at Bethesda if you're incompetent. He did an excellent job indeed.