Turning up the volume knob is like zooming in on sound

This is an interesting thought because it's coming from the perspective of the intended audience of the sound, and the volume control is usually one of the only controls they have over their sound. But from the perspective of the person producing a sound, automating volume is one way to make a sound appear closer or further away. Adding reflections (reverb) also helps to make a sound appear distant. Eqing out some of the high frequencies, such as using a low pass filter, is another good way to make a sound seem distant because how frequencies work, low frequencies are large enough to pass around objects while high frequencies are smaller and get absorbed and diffused by more objects. High frequencies also carry less energy. Did you know that we hear different frequencies at different levels? Humans are most sensitive at around 2-3k because those are the frequencies that help with clarity in the human voice. Two scientists, fletcher and Munson graphed this out visually, called the Fletcher-Munson curves, and they discovered that as the intensity increase, the line flattens and humans start to hear all the frequencies in the human range (about 20 Hz-20kHz) more equally. So if a sound designer wanted to trick the listener into thinking that a sound is far away but loud, instead of increasing volume, which might make the sound appear closer, they could perhaps boost the highs and lows and not so much the mid frequencies. To give the illusion that the sound is louder. Another technique that could be used to make a sound seem closers or farther away is using a slight delay, since sound has to travel over longer distances.

I could say more but I think I've rambled on enough. But yeah, moving the dial is kinda like zooming in and out.

/r/Showerthoughts Thread