The surprisingly low-tech feature that sets professional libraries apart from the rest.
Key takeawaysMetadata Transforms Sound Libraries into Powerful Tools Faster Workflow Means More Creative Possibilities Our Metadata is Built for Precision and Ease |
While sound effects are our main export here at PSE, metadata is an inseparable, and equally important, part of our work. We believe that rich, descriptive, and highly organized metadata makes the difference between a collection of sounds and a true professional library, and that’s why our in-house editors diligently tag every audio file with all the information you need to find the perfect sound at a moment’s notice.
In this blog, we’ll explain what metadata is, how it can help you edit faster and boost inspiration, and give you a peek inside our unique approach to creating useful metadata for our libraries.
So, What is Metadata?
In simple terms, metadata refers to any extra data attached to a file, aside from the content of the file itself. Common types of metadata include time and location data embedded in digital photos; song information such as artist, album, and track number; and even file names themselves. Certain programs also use custom metadata for technical purposes, such as object positioning data attached to Dolby Atmos files.
In the sound effects world, metadata is a critical tool for identifying, classifying, and organizing individual sounds and entire libraries. When it comes to massive collections like the full PSE library of more than 1.2 million sound effects, metadata makes it possible to locate even the most specific sounds quickly and easily. Without metadata, there would be no way to tell what’s in a file without opening it and seeing for yourself — not a particularly efficient workflow.
Sound Effects Metadata
From detailed descriptions of sounds to technical specs and file formats, the metadata stored in an audio file can tell you almost everything you need to know at a glance. All of this information is searchable within our web app and SoundQ software, making it far more efficient than a normal file browser when it comes to finding specific sounds. Here are the top ten metadata fields we use in our libraries:
File Name
So ubiquitous you might not even think of them as metadata, file names are the first thing you see when you search through a sound effects library. All Pro Sound Effects files begin with a Universal Category System (UCS) prefix containing the Category and SubCategory abbreviations, followed by keywords describing the sound and additional information at the end.
Here’s a breakdown of a typical file name:
[Category and SubCategory]_[Name of Sound and Variation Number]_[PSE Library Identifier]
Description
This field provides a more thorough description of the sound written in plain language, making it more likely to appear in relevant searches.
Category
This field simply contains the unabbreviated UCS category to which the sound belongs. Sorting by Category is a great way to filter groups of sounds within a broad search.
SubCategory
The SubCategory field lists the full text of the UCS subcategory to which the sound belongs. This information is useful for narrowing search results as you zero in on the perfect sound effect.
Library
The name of the library that a given sound belongs to. When you find a great sound and want more like it, check the Library field to find more sound effects from the same collection!
Duration
This field tells you the length of an audio file in hours, minutes, seconds, and samples. Sorting by Duration is useful when you’re looking for long ambiences or short one-shots.
Sample Rate
The “resolution” of an audio file in samples per second (measured in Hertz). Minimum sample rates are typically 44,100 or 48,000 Hz, but many of our libraries include files with higher sample rates such as 96,000 to 192,000 Hz. If you want to pitch down or time-stretch sounds without artifacts, look for high sample rates.
Bit Depth
Bit depth describes the amount of data contained in each sample, which determines the amount of dynamic range that can be encoded. The majority of modern sound effects are 24-bit, but 32-bit floating point is becoming more common, and you can still find many 16-bit sound effects from older libraries.
Artist
The creator(s) of a given sound effect or library. This may include the field recordist who captured a nature recording or the sound designer who created a synthesized sound effect.
Channel Number
This field indicates the number of channels contained in an audio file. For example, mono sound effects have a Channel Number of one, stereo or binaural recordings contain two channels, first-order Ambisonic files have four, 5.1 surround files have six, and so on.
Other Metadata Fields
Certain libraries include additional metadata to document the location of field recordings, languages spoken in walla, microphones used on multi-perspective shoots, and more. You can even add miscellaneous information in the Notes and User Comments fields.
Why is Metadata Important?
Metadata has nothing to do with sound quality, but everything to do with workflow. You could have an infinite library full of the best sound effects in the world, but if you can’t find what you’re looking for, it would be utterly useless. While there are many great sound effects available on the internet, metadata is a crucial feature that sets professional libraries apart and makes them worth paying for.
The PSE Web App searches file names, descriptions, and categories to help you find tons of great sound effects with just a few keywords.
Think of metadata as a shortcut to inspiration or creative collaborator: rather than clicking through folders and manually auditioning audio files until you find something usable, metadata can guide you to the perfect sound effect quickly and help you discover new creative possibilities that wouldn’t have occurred to you otherwise.
Here’s an example: say you’re looking for a 5.0 surround recording of a rainstorm – start by searching “Rain,” then sort by Channel Number, scroll down to the fives, and start auditioning sounds. At this point, you might add the word “Heavy” or “Storm” to narrow down your options, or scroll across to the Library column to focus in on a specific collection such as Rain by Mark Mangini.
You could have an infinite library full of the best sound effects in the world, but if you can’t find what you’re looking for, it would be utterly useless.
Our Approach to Metadata
Metadata is an essential element of any professional sound effects library, but good metadata is what sets the best apart from the rest. That’s why we give metadata the same attention to detail that we give the sound effects themselves. Our editorial team takes the time to tag every single file with detailed, specific, and consistent metadata so that you can easily find anything you need in just a few clicks.
SoundQ's built-in thesaurus interprets your search queries and automatically brings up relevant results.
Industry-Standard Naming Conventions
As mentioned earlier, Pro Sound Effects uses the Universal Category System for classifying each sound effect (even for material released before UCS came out!) within a standardized Category and SubCategory. An open standard created by professional sound artists Tim Nielsen, Justin Drury, Kai Paquin, and others, UCS provides a common language that takes the guesswork out of organizing and searching sound effects.
A Human Touch
Categorization is just the beginning – after that, our sound editors take the time to write additional descriptions and keywords for every single sound effect. Because they’re already intimately familiar with the material, our editors are adept at describing complex sounds with the same natural vocabulary you use to search.
Take this recording from Cinematic Winds for example: in addition to literal descriptions like “heavy storm winds” and “steady blowing,” we’ve added evocative words like “shrill” and “ghostly” to ensure that it comes up even if you’re not searching specifically for winds.
Smarter Search Tools
Metadata becomes infinitely more useful when paired with a dedicated sound effects browser, and that’s why we developed our own. Totally free and compatible with macOS and Windows, SoundQ offers a simple and easy to use suite of tools to help you organize, manage, and search through your entire sound effects collection (including your own local files and our entire cloud library).
The SoundQ search bar is like a portal to explore infinite creative possibilities. The built-in thesaurus automatically brings up files that closely match your search terms, and the powerful translation feature makes it possible to search in more than 100 different languages. It even does partial word matching, so you can type abbreviations like “AMB” to find Ambiences or “FOL” to find Foley.
Customize SoundQ to show specific metadata fields in the search results list, use them to filter and sort your results, and view the full metadata for any file in the File Info window. You can even edit your personal library’s metadata to make your favorite sound effects easier to find. In the right hands, SoundQ can be an awesome force multiplier for your sound effects library.
Our editorial team takes the time to tag every single file with detailed, specific, and consistent metadata so that you can easily find anything you need in just a few clicks.
Become a Metadata Master
Now that you know the value of high-quality metadata, take advantage of it on your next project! Download SoundQ for free or head to the PSE Web App and see for yourself how easy it is to find the perfect sound effects with just a few keywords. Sort through search results to find files with the format and specs you need, then follow them to their source to discover your next favorite library or sound artist. When it comes to metadata, our attention to detail, consistency, and human touch can make a huge difference in your workflow.
Dante Fumo is a Minnesota-based freelance sound designer, editor, and mixer with more than a decade of experience working with sound. In addition to his audio work, Dante composes instrumental music that incorporates sound design and spatial audio.
