🎬 My First Sound Design Experience – A Journey by NSE EKEMINI

Hi! My name is Nse Ekemini, a proud student of the University of Abuja, Department of Film and Multimedia Studies. Let me take you on a wild, exciting, and totally unforgettable ride—my first time ever working on a sound design project. 🎧🔥

It was a humid Monday morning, and the studio lights were already heating up the editing room. I walked in, slightly nervous but full of excitement. We had been assigned a short film project in class, and guess who boldly volunteered to do sound design?

Me. Yes, me—NSE EKEMINI.

At first, I thought, "How hard could it be?" Just drag and drop some sounds, add some background music, and boom—it’s done. Right?

Wrong. 😅

As soon as I launched the software, Adobe Audition stared back at me like a boss level in a video game. Tracks, waveforms, mixers, decibels… it was like being dropped in an alien spaceship. But I wasn’t going to give up.

I started by recording some Foley sounds—you know, footsteps, door creaks, glass clinks. I used my phone mic, a spoon, my roommate’s slippers, and even my keys. At one point, my neighbor knocked and asked if I was okay because I kept slamming a door for "the perfect sound." 😂

Then came the dialogue editing. I had to cut out background noise, boost clarity, and sync it perfectly with the actor’s lips. I must have replayed that one line—"We need to run!"—like 59 times. Each time, it sounded like the actor was either whispering in a cave or shouting in a wind tunnel.

But here’s the twist: after hours of trial and error, YouTube tutorials, late-night snacks, and even a short power outage (Nigeria style 😩), I played back the final version… and something magical happened.

It felt real.

The sounds told a story. The silence had weight. The screams, the rain, the heartbeat—it all felt alive.

I had brought a film to life—not just with pictures, but with SOUND.

When I submitted it in class, my lecturer paused, smiled, and said, “Now that’s how you tell a story with your ears.”

Since then, I’ve been hooked. 🎙️🎬 Whether it's mixing audio, recording ambiance, or layering effects, sound design has become my new favorite part of filmmaking.

If you’ve ever worked with sound, or you’re just starting out like I did, never underestimate the power of audio. It’s not just what you see—it’s what you feel.

💬 Let me know in the comments: Have you ever tried sound design? What was your first creative project? 👇 I’d love to hear YOUR story too!

And hey, if you liked mine, feel free to drop a coin 💰 in my Blogshop tip jar to support more content from a passionate student creator like me.

🎧 #SoundDesign #FilmmakingJourney #StudentLife #UniversityOfAbuja #NseEkemini #SupportCreatives