There are "equal loudness contours" that you can look at.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal-loudness_contour This is a graph that
shows how the healthy human ear actually is tuned, hearing some frequencies
more easily than other frequencies. The graph also shows how as you
increase amplitude (dB) that the shape of this curve changes. Meaning that
if you playback recorded sounds, like a small stream or trickle of water at
louder than original levels, the lower frequencies are heard more easily
than you heard them with your naked ear, making your small higher-pitch
water concert sound have more base. I use a sound level meter at the end o=
f
a recording that I feel I might use in the future-then on the recording
itself I announce verbally the dBA reading. This allows me later to use
this sound in a production at original levels. I use the B&K 2225 Sound
Level Meter, the last one I purchased at $500 from an consulting firm that
had finished a project and were dumping gear.
But using a sound recording at intended levels isn't a solution in itself.
I find that if my track goes quickly to an louder sonic event (before the
first minute has elapsed) the consumer will then adjust to taste (usually
whatever level that they also listen to music) and then I can move them
towards quieter events and gently guide them away from a hurried life and
towards a quiet audio experience that will benefit them. At the end of an
album I bring on the slow, rhythmic pulses of life. In my opinion it is no=
t
the foreground that works its magic but the far and distant background-the
'everything' of a place. So when I am setting up on location to make a
sound portrait, I set my gain to a standard level with plenty of headroom,
listen to the background first (then reposition if the background is not
seductive) and if the background passes the test then I move to middle
ground, repeat the evaluation, and finally to some flowering bush or other
attractant for the feature foreground opportunity-then it is time settle
down and record for a long time. I try to achieve the entire composition a=
t
the time of recording. Very time consuming and requires hard to find place=
s
but the search is worth it.
--Gordon
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