Sound FX Question

[jgiannis]

I am working on a sound fx project.

In it, a magical creature emerges from a pit. Behind the creature, there are several rays of light. Each ray of light is flickering/oscillating quickly (with each frame, the size and opacity of the rays go up, down, up, down, etc).

I want to add a little something to accent the flickering.

Does anyone know of good techniques using ProTools Plugins (or audio principles) for such a sound? Maybe something that is typically used in TV for things like this (I'm sure someone has run into this situation before).

I am working with a sound library. I've searched terms like magical, flutter, sparkle, shimmer, light, etc. There's cool stuff, but nothing that fits the bill for this specific thing.

I tried find some constant sounds (i.e., sounds that don't fluctuate in tone), and then apply some volume automation with the pencil tool (the one that creates a sawtooth shape), but that just sounds like a helicopter.

I also tried doing some pitch bending (up, down, up, down, etc), which seems like there might be some potential there, but I don't see a good pitch bending plugin in ProTools. Can someone recommend one? I am looking for a pitch shifting plugin that will allow me to apply automation in many shapes. For example, I'd like to apply a sawtooth pattern to the pitch, so that it bends up, down, up, down, etc. The best I found was the one within iZotope RX, but that one is very manual and very limited.

I also played with some Sci Fi Plugins, but those results, for the most part, sounded like computers in Star Trek, or another helicopter.

Thanks!

[Grey]

izotope Trash maybe

may be a bit off topic, but this song came to mind

Billy Thorpe" Children of the Sun"
the intro, maybe you could sample it or find some inspiration at least

[EGS]

Originally Posted by jgiannis

...nothing that fits the bill for this ...

Sound design is indeed challenging. In this case I'd make my own - as opposed to using a library sfx. My 2 cents.

[antonis]

Waves SoundShifter can work as an insert and automate pitch.

Try and thing if there's an ideal sound in life that could do what you want and break down what it actually does. For example, chimes might work for what you describe. Or a sound with the same sonic characteristics i.e. High pitch, fast attack, atonal, random, etc.

Hear the ideal sound in your head, try and find something in real life that emulates it, break down its characteristics and emulate them with effects.