Designing Sound For Animation – Kindle Edition

The well-regarded book ‘Designing Sound For Animation’ by Robin Beauchamp is now available as a Kindle or (Kindle For Mac – ie. for an iOS device) download. The book is described as:

“a nuts-and-bolts guide to sound design for animated films explains audio software, free downloads, how sound works, the power of sound when wielded by an animation filmmaker, and provides varieties of examples for how to use sound to enliven your films with professional sound.

Sound-savvy animators save precious resources (time and money) by using sound for effects they don’t necessarily have time to create. For example, the sound of a crow flying gives viewers a sense of the crow without the crow. Where there’s a macabre element or scene in an animated film, this book explains why you should choose a low frequency sound for it-low frequencies are scary, because the ear can’t decipher their origin or direction!”

Here’s a sample of the comments readers have left on the Amazon UK site:

“This book is fantastic! It provides a complete overview of sound for animation and is written in such an accessible way for someone at any level. I was new to animation sound when I bought this and it was so helpful. The CD at the back also has great examples too. I recommend this book to anyone, new or not to animation sound; it is full of helpful tips and information – a very good read indeed!”

“This is a very well written introduction to sound design for film. And while the book focuses on animation, it is also very relevant for traditional narrative film. The author has a real talent for getting to the basic essence of things. A very practical book!”

“As a professor of Motion Media Design, I have long sought a textbook that introduced the fundamentals of sound design in a way that was both thorough and free of jargon.
Beauchamp’s text is such a book.

Through the use of judicious case studies the author writes engaging chapters that highlight topics as wide ranging as character development through sound design, continuity and time perception, metaphoric sound and off-screen sound. Also valuable are some very practical chapters on arts law (licensing and copywriting), signal path and signal processing.

A huge asset to the learning process is the DVD that includes animation case studies, each with various mixes and options for sound, and an array of supplemental instructional materials. These qualities combined make this book a great text for students of sound design, film, motion graphics and anyone interested in solidifying their understanding of sound design.”

NOTE: the site and the comments keep mentioning a DVD. I’m guessing this is included with the hardback / paperback. Not sure how the extra content on the DVD is used / substituted on the Kindle edition. Maybe you can let us know?