AntiFool with Norman Chella

My name is Norman Chella, and I'm on a mission to create the antidote to foolishness, so we can understand the world and ourselves better.My role is simple: I play the fool, I ask the questions, you get the answers. We'll have conversations crafted for the curious, the vulnerable, the human. I interview authors, scientists, entrepreneurs, creators, movers all across the board. Those with a powerful message, and there are those who have gone through a number of struggles, trials and tribulations. My interests range far and wide - we can go from tech in one episode to philanthropy in another, topics spanning across nations to concepts and predictions about the future. All of the macro and micro topics you can think of.Join my conversations with amazing people, and become all the more wiser.

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AntiFool with Norman Chella

Audio Engineer Delvinder Singh talks Audio production for Film, Games, and chatting with Michael Bay

May 13, 2020 • Norman Chella • Season 1 • Episode 9

Delvinder Singh is the Maverick, the Audio Engineer, and the designer of sounds. He is the AntiFool.

Let's talk about audio. Living through society, we can't help but listen to a wide variety of sounds from the subtle creaking of doors to explosions from film. There is a profession that focuses on creating a narrative using these very sounds: audio engineers. Who better to find out more about this field than Delvinder Singh!

Del is the resident audio engineer at Maveriq studios with a wide variety of experiences under his belt. He assisted in the recording of different projects and films from Transformers: The Last Knight, Folklore by HBO, to The Ghost Bride on Netflix.

Music-wise he's experienced as well, assisting in the recording of Ed Sheeran's No. 6 collaborations project during his tour in KL. I was interested in Del's story because I wanted to know more about the principles of audio engineering, especially as someone who is doing podcasts right now.

We talked about:

How he got his start diving into audio engineering, by listening to local bands
Using audio as a narrative, his favorite sounds, and the principles of audio engineering
Differences between audio production for commercials, films, movies and more
Sounds we take for granted, and training our ears to understand the environment around us
Getting into a call with Michael Bay for Transformers The Last Knight

Enjoy!

Timestamps

04:06 How local bands encouraged him to dive into the audio world
05:46 A 20-page book compelled Delvinder to start learning audio engineering
08:04 Delvinder's favourite sounds, and why Sci-fi is the best sound to work with
09:14 Creating vehicle sounds for Prometheus
10:29 What does an audio engineer actually do? The 3 aspects
11:21 "I want to record an album. What's the process?"
12:56 "The less people you have the better it is" Delvinder on developing a relationship with the artist as a producer
14:32 How first-time artists can get overwhelmed by the production process
16:18 Making a Macho burger 'macho': Delvinder's process in producing audio for the new McDonald's Ad
17:49 The roars, screams and big impacts for making a burger manly
19:42 Sounds we take for granted: door creaking and more used in film
22:02 Transformers The Last Knight, and recording Gemma Chan of Crazy Rich Asians
24:21 Chatting with Michael Bay
26:31 Choosing the right takes for voiceover, and Kylo Ren
27:53 Anomaly, a horror game with sounds produced by Delvinder Singh
29:52 Delvinder deep dives into how he produces audio for the game
31:43 "The hardest sound to make was the one where I had to record my own reverb."
34:38 To work on games as a dream project, and Playstation in Malaysia
36:33 The advantages of audio engineering in podcasts
38:19 Improvement in technology leads to more appreciation for high quality sound design
40:53 How to train your ear to listen for professional sound design
43:14 Delvinder's Memento: The 10-Year Microphone
45:15 Walkaway Wisdom, mastery of the craft and to show up in person
48:15 Audio epitaph: The sound effect that represents Delvinder's life

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