David Westbom is a full-time professional sound designer for Hexany Audio, an LA-based post-production studio which provides custom sound branding, original music, and audio programming for video games, virtual reality, and interactive media. David is also a notable artist-producer in his own right, releasing his own electronic music as Asteroids and Earthquakes, and he serves as a live show curator for Synaptik Events, hosting the successful culinary-audio event Bass Waffles -- a night that promises “free waffles and fat bass music.” David holds a bachelor’s degree in Electronic Production and Sound Design from Berklee College of Music.
For this masterclass, David will share his expertise in creative sound design for both electronic music and video games. He’ll explain how new kick and snare sounds can be easily manipulated and repurposed to serve as firing sounds for weapons within a video game context. He’ll discuss his new favorite microphones for capturing live audio and turning it into polished tones — even recording found sounds like tapping glass, clanking silverware, or smashing fruit to create rich new textures. He’ll open up project sessions and demonstrate how he mixes, treats, and effects recorded or sequenced audio to create highly original, experimental, innovative new sounds.
Attendees will get an expert explanation and demonstration of using sound design to successfully create a theme, feel, and atmosphere that completely elevates and amplifies the listener/user experience. Attendees will follow along as David shows his best practices for finding, creating, and adding the right sounds to a video game scenes or electronic compositions. The demonstrations will display how sound design is a limitless tool for story-telling, with endless possibilities for creativity. David will share his overall insight and expertise, touch on his role at Hexany Audio, provide tips for anyone looking to "turn pro" as a sound designer, and answer questions from participants.