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Sound Design ​

Recorded vocabulary snapshot. This page is generated from a saved database extract, not a live connection. Rebuilding the site does not refresh its measurements. Draft wording comes from review notes; check recorded decisions for approved meaning. Stored values alone do not prove current prompt or filter behavior.

part of Audio Production · recorded level: Craft · Audio · 64 pieces of work carry it · 4 entries in its comparison notes

The level names are Service → Discipline → Craft. This page uses the level recorded in the snapshot. Its definition and parent links still need individual review; the level name is not approval of either.

Recorded definition and use ​

Hired for cinematic brand films, product films, trailers, and interactive or experiential work where sonic texture carries the emotion — impact moments, product sounds, world-building ambience, and sonic polish that makes footage feel premium.

The craft of creating and placing non-musical audio: foley, sound effects, ambient beds, risers, hits, and processed sonic texture built and synchronized to picture. Rich audio layers and effects used to enhance mood, often in cinematic or experiential content. The designed (not captured, not composed) layer of the soundtrack.

Tag it when… ​

Tag when the audio track audibly contains crafted non-musical elements synchronized to picture — foley, whooshes, risers, impact hits, designed ambience, processed or exaggerated product/action sounds — beyond incidental location audio. Deliberate sound-to-picture sync on cuts, reveals, or motion is the checkable signal.

Never tag it when… ​

Never tag when the soundtrack is only music (that goes to Music Composition or Music Production), only spoken narration (Voiceover), or only raw captured location sound with no evident design. Never tag merely because the piece is polished — the designed non-musical layer must be audible. The balancing of existing elements is Audio Mixing & Mastering, not this leaf.

Comparison notes for 4 other entries ​

These recorded notes compare this entry with related services, disciplines, crafts or other descriptions. Their wording remains subject to review.

  • audio production music composition — Composition writes MUSIC (melody, harmony, score); Sound Design builds NON-MUSICAL audio (SFX, foley, ambience). A hybrid score-plus-design soundtrack tags both only when each is separately evidenced.
  • audio production audio mixing mastering — Sound Design CREATES the sonic elements; Mixing & Mastering BALANCES and finishes elements that already exist.
  • audio visual elements voiceover narration — Spoken narration is Voiceover; designed non-verbal sound is this leaf. A narrated film with designed SFX legitimately carries both.
  • disc sound design — This is the specific leaf; the L1 discipline tag is the fallback only when audio craft is evident but its type is uncertain (CM1).

At what size it applies ​

§3 acid test: asset tag when a buyer would say the whole piece IS a sound-design showcase — designed sound runs through and carries it end-to-end. Moment tag when the designed beat is one you'd clip and reference — a transition riser, a sonic logo reveal, one designed impact — inside otherwise plain audio.

Pieces that settle the definition ​

  • WINNING ISN’T FOR EVERYONE | WINNER | CINDY NGAMBA — Cinematic sports film whose designed impact sounds and ambience carry the drama (verified linked 2026-07-21)
  • WINNING ISN'T FOR EVERYONE | CHARLES-ANTOINE KOUAKOU | NIKE — Same Nike series — crafted sonic texture synchronized to athletic action (verified linked 2026-07-21)
  • 1,000 Grands Prix In The Making | McLaren Mastercard F1 Team — Engine and race sound built into a designed, layered soundtrack (verified linked 2026-07-21)

Where to look next ​

The BrandTrackers domain model. Source: git markdown, drift-checked against the live DB.