UPDATE:
I used contact mics for this challenge. I decided to simply record myself tapping out a heartbeat sound on different objects. On each of them I added some compression and also took out high frequencies. Here are the results!

Sponsor: Randy Wilson
Twitter: @perform_life

Here goes!

UPDATE:
I thought I would be able to find a close, quiet outdoor area early this morning. Nope. It appears that being within a mile of two highways makes street noise hard to evade.

I ended up in an empty parking lot with one recorder set up on a cement block. The other recorder was strapped to my bicycle handles.

I attempted to simply ride as if I was the bicycle rider in the challenge and the first recorder was the person standing in the middle of the hills.

Upon import I quickly found that there was absolutely too much noise in the background to make the first recording usable. The audio I finally used to make the sound effect was a short clip from the recorder on the bike handle. I had to try and fake all the movement with volume, pan, and reverb send automation.

When I layered more than one track, the clicking sound of the cards started sounding especially unnatural.

But yet, I completed the challenge, so here is the result of my attempt. Measured against what I first imagined in my head, it doesn’t match the result. But experimenting with the pan automation was fun!

And here are the pictures from the recording session.

UPDATE:
I recorded several sounds to try to get the layers that might fake a helicopter jetpack. The sound I came up with seems best suited to the jet’s steady engine burst. I haven’t been able to figure out yet how to get the sound of helicopter blades. One of the things I tried was recording a small fan and then playing it at half speed. It didn’t work.

The other thing I would like to experiment more with is getting the acceleration part of it down. Right now the sound is more of a full on/off kind of a jet pack. I imagine it as the kind of thing where you would need to give several bursts in order to vary the speed of the helicopter jetpack.

I’ll gladly revisit this sound again in the future. One thing to try will be putting it into a sampler instrument and then playing with LFO settings. Hmm. Sounds like fun!

Challenge: Capture the sound of a baby laughing.

UPDATE:
I caught a little more than just laughing. Here’s to the joy of children.

Challenge: Create the sound of excitement and anticipation.

UPDATE:
I had a few different ideas of which direction this could go. I chose the simplest, most direct way. And I’m sorry if the sound is a bit cheesy. Can you tell that I’m influenced by my young children?

I’m realizing that a hurdle that I face in many projects is simply the fear of failure – the fear of looking stupid, being awkward, missing the mark. With this sound effect I’m one step toward getting past that. Because it really is a bit silly.

Also, on a technical note…

If you ever need to record something in a closet, my advice would be to record it in the largest closet that you have that also has the highest ratio of clothes to wall space. The resonance of sound bouncing off the walls in a small closet is very pronounced when it’s recorded.

Challenge: Create the sound of a soaring eagle’s cry as it flies over a gently flowing creek in the woods (yes, our retreat home!).

UPDATE:
I have attempted to make this sound and tried a few different approaches. I couldn’t get it to sound like what I was hearing in my head, so I have gone ahead and posted this version that should more aptly be called “creek with bird composite attempt.” Because that is what it is. I could also add “attempted in an urban environment.”

In this challenge, especially, I have come to face the difficulty of field recordings in noisy environments: You might be able to find the sound you are looking for, but the problem becomes having several other unwanted sounds also in the mix.

To remedy this, I actually tried simulating a creek in my kitchen sink, but it never sounded natural. I recorded several bird sounds, some of which might have actually passed for a bird of prey. But most were muddied with cars passing or the highway in the background.

For my own creative habit I have also had to face the fear of releasing something that didn’t match what I intended. And in this, I’m reminded of the way that you improve in almost any practice: by actually completing projects.

Regarding the Rivendell Retreat Home (sponsor), I have actually stayed there and it is one of the most relaxing places I have been. If you ever decide to holiday in the Ozarks, I recommend looking into it.

Challenge: Create relaxing sounds you would hear as you as you slip into your subconcious, starting with the sound of a calm beach, warm sea, golden sun, exotic birds slowy sinking into a cloudy, white, peaceful place, that is warm, comfortable and safe. 5 minutes?

UPDATE:
This is a 5 minute journey toward a calm place. It starts with the ocean and moves through the sounds of birds, varying rain, an underwater jacuzzi, a heartbeat, and the ever relaxing fan.

The jacuzzi was recorded with and without jets using a stereo hydrophone going into a pocket recorder. The ocean, 1 type of rain and the heartbeat were sampled from a baby’s noise machine. 2 other rains, the birds and the fan were recorded with pocket recorders built-in mics (Zoom H1 & Zoom H2).

I wasn’t trying to be realistic with the sounds but only convey a feeling (and trying to use as many of the sounds as I could). I ended up playing with a few modulators, delays and reverbs to try and get the ambience more smooth and gentle.

Thanks for the challenge, Chris!

Challenge: Capture or create the sound of a purring kitten or cat.

UPDATE:

Ok. Here is my attempt at creating the sound of a purring cat. I was going to try to actually record a cat (and I still hope to do it someday), but it didn’t work out this time. For this sound effect, I recorded myself making a purring sound with my tongue. I couldn’t do it for more than about 2 seconds, so this sound is 5 different attempts made into one.

I removed high and low frequencies to try to get it closer to an actual cat sound.

Daily Challenge Sponsor: Knivy
Twitter: @knivy

Challenge (in Knivy’s words): “When I was a kid living in an apartment where no pets were allowed, I wanted to have a pet robot. I imagined my robot would not only play games with me at home or at the park, but it would also take me to the store to buy candy, walk with me to the arcade and even help me if I ever got into any trouble. My challenge of the day for you is to make a sound my robot would’ve made while doing any of the things I mentioned.”

UPDATE:
I had a few versions of this, but this is my favorite. I imagine the robot coming to the rescue in a tricky situation and deploying some kind of low-frequency-oscillating-wind-propelling device. As the inventor in the movie mystery men described his weapons: “100% safe, 100% effective.” The robot would be able to transport the perpetrators away by 30 to 50 feet.

Challenge: The feeling of being unable to stop checking Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr/MetaFilter/Google Reader/e-mail and go to sleep.

Again, one day to complete this challenge!

UPDATE:
Confession time. It took me much longer than a day to post this update, but I’m glad to be posting it now!

I found sounds from clicking various buttons, phone beeping, vibrating notifications, an iPad cover closing, and rhythmic keyboard typing.