Discover the best way to use Walker with UVI Sound Designer, Antoine Martin.
#1 Learning to Walk
- To use Walker, alternate between C2 and E2 keys, which are regular left and right footsteps.
- Between these two notes, the D2 plays a "Stop", which is when the foot rubs against the floor.
- B1 and F2 keys play "Scuff" which are less perfect footsteps
#2 Blend Heel and Toe
Footsteps are composed of two samples played successively, called "Heel" and "Toe". If you want to bring these two sounds closer together for more realism, try increasing the Sens knob until Heel and Toe almost overlap when you play, and then, on the Adv page, lower the gain of either the Heel or Toe sound.
#3 Distance
To match most of the scenes in movies, you will certainly have to turn the Distance more than half way. Footsteps will naturally sound less in your face, with smoother transients and less presence. Your MIDI Modwheel is automatically assigned to the Distance knob which is convenient to change it very quickly and to make automations while you are recording.
#4 Reverb
Concerning reverb, Walker uses a highly-optimized convolution-based reverb which will sound just right in most cases. You can tweak it in the Fx page. If you want to use another reverb in your DAW instead, unlink Distance and Reverb Send, and set the send value to zero.
#5 Tweak the Footsteps in a Few Clicks
Starting from any preset, if you want to quickly modify how your footsteps sound:
- Color: switch between the 3 microphones, change the pitch.
- Enveloppe: tweak the Resonance; shorter to have a little decay and a tight result, longer to be less chirurgical and more natural.
- Dynamic: the Compressor in the Fx page is simple but efficient, lower the Threshold and the dynamic is immediately contained.
#6 EQ is the Key
Don't hesitate to mess with the EQ in the Equalizer section, which is pre-reverb, and can drastically change your footsteps' sound. The second EQ, in the Reverb section, is post-reverb and it affects the feel of space.
#7 Advanced Page
The Adv page can bring you much further: by adjusting the Gain and Pitch of the Heel and Toe samples, you can match a wide range of steps in few clicks.
#8 Dynamic Range
If the character on-screen is thin or small, try to bring the Dyn Range slider to the left and increase the Pitch by a few semi-tones. On the contrary, if the character is more plump, bring the Dyn Range to the left and lower the Pitch.
#9 Manual Mode
If Manual button is clicked, C2 and E2 keys play the Heel samples, and C#2 and D#2 the Toe samples. It requires a little practice to master but thus you can have more control on the step and can achieve very precise speed variations.
#10 Stairs Mode
The Stairs Mode (available if Manual is off) simply inverts the Heel and Toe when you play, so that you hear the Toe then the Heel.
Discover more about Walker: www.uvi.net/walker