How Sound Libraries Are Made: Behind 'Animal Hyperrealism' With Mattia Cellotto - A Sound Effect Podcast 18

Creating Animal Sound Libraries - Animal Hyperrealism - A Sound Effect Podcast 18

Posted April 25, 2022 by Asbjoern Andersen in A Sound Effect, Sound community highlights

In this brand new episode of the A Sound Effect podcast, acclaimed sound library creator Mattia Cellotto shares insights, stories and surprises from the making of his extraordinary Animal Hyperrealism sound effects series:

Interview by Jennifer Walden, hosted by Asbjoern Andersen and Christian Hagelskjaer

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Here’s what’s in this episode (with starting times):

0:00 Introduction and new independent sound effects

03:12 Mattia Cellotto on creating his impressive Animal Hyperrealism sound effects library series. Learn much more about the making of the Animal Hyperrealism series here.

37:36 Find more great podcasts about sound from our friends in the Audio Podcast Alliance

Hear the episode below:

Sound effects libraries highlighted in this episode:

Nature & Countryside Ambiences Arabian Desert Play Track 67+ sounds included, 416 mins total
Rated 5.00 out of 5
From: $220

Arabian Desert is a collection of stereo and quad soundscapes recorded on the Arabian Peninsula in the Empty Quarter, the largest expanse of sand dunes on Earth. The recordings range from soft to medium and gusty/blustery wind, with variations including sand spray, vegetation movement and insects.

This collection of recordings will help portray the vast expanse of the Empty Quarter. Many of these soundscapes are not much more than soft wind. There’s also gusty and blustery wind, recorded with microphones at the top of dunes and underneath the sand surface. Wildlife is incredibly sparse in the Empty Quarter and is represented in this library by buzzing flies and other insects.

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Ship Sound Effects Boat Horns Play Track 250 sounds included, 264 mins total From: $89

Sound Tailor – Boat Horns

Imagine you had a real color palette when it comes to boat horn sounds. That is now possible with Sound Tailor Effects Library new release.

In the heart of Burgundy, in central France, we met with this passionate boat horn chaser and collector who has managed, through years of research, to acquire one of the largest boat horns collection in the world. In a quiet field, we captured these incredibly loud horns, from close to distant spots, with a variety of static and dynamic microphones.

This library includes 33 unique boat horns, organized in a chromatic scale, from A2 to F#5. We recorded 4 blasts of each horn, from short to long ones, for convenient editing. Each horn comes in 3 audio files, with 3 different microphone perspectives:

– 4 meters in LCR (a combination of Neuman TLM103 / Sennheiser SM57)

– 50 & 200 meters in a 5.0 surround mic array (Sennheiser MKH8020/8040)

They have the same length and can be easily combined for more sonic possibilities.

In addition, you get recordings of an air siren, custom made from a boat horn, and 5 edited loops of it, plus 3 different train steam whistles.

Boat Horns contains more than 22,41 GB / 252 Files.

WHAT’S INSIDE
All files are 24Bit/192kHz WAV Surround / LCR & 24Bit/48kHz Stereo Version files.
All meticulously embedded with Soundminer & UCS Metadata.

INCLUDED SOUNDS – KEYWORDS
AIR SIREN, BOAT, BOAT HORN, CUSTOM HORN, DISTANT SIREN, HARBOR, HARBOUR, OCEAN, SEA, SHIP, SIREN, STEAM WHISTLE, SURROUND, TRAIN

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Game Audio Packs - Game Sound Effects Libraries Clocks and Mechanics Play Track 2300+ sounds included, 276 mins total $99

TOOLBOX FOR MECHANICAL SOUND DESIGN
Clocks and Mechanics is the ultimate tool to design mechanical processes and tell stories with the ticking, chiming and ringing of clocks. Whether you have to create tiny mechanical movements, rattling gadgets or even large gear mechanisms like steampunk machines, this library will cover it all.

CLEAN AND DETAILED RECORDINGS
Clocks and Mechanics provides you with recordings of grandfather clocks, wall clocks, desk clocks, alarm clocks, pocket watches and many small mechanisms, all carefully edited and natural sounding. Included are various sounds of chimes, bells, loopable ticking at different speeds, detailed clockwork and gear mechanisms as well as rattling, snapping, clicking and handling of spare parts. All sounds were captured in mono and stereo using the LCR recording technique.

ONE OF THE LARGEST CLOCK SOUND LIBRARIES
Severeal recording sessions in the workshops of various clockmakers resulted in a library containing 440 soundfiles with more than 2300 individual sounds, making this collection one of the biggest clock libraries available on the market.

Artur Baryshev (Sound Designer)
“One of the most detailed library out there! It contains a huge amount of carefully recorded clock-related material, which can be used in a wide variety of situations: not only for clocks, but for small mechanical things, steampunk robots, UI, ambience, motion design and the list goes on. Also, this library contains the biggest amount of ticks I ever saw. Nice!”

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Instruments Strange Instruments Play Track 2021 sounds included $100

Strange instruments is collection of wild and unconventional instrument sound effects. Featuring 30 instruments; this collection covers a wide range sounds from a variety of unique props. From whirling and whooshing Bullroarers, Wind Wands, and Twittering Bamboo; to dramatic impacts and pitch bending from Gongs and Cymbals in water; to the strange calls and warbling of PVC Horns, Overtone Flutes, and Bamboo Swazzles,… the sonic scope of Strange Instruments is wide and varied.

While these props have their place in some forms of music, they were specially selected, performed, and recorded for rich sound design possibilities. Discover how this wild new source material can bring a fresh perspective to your design. Check out the previews of what this library contains at normal speed and what can be achieved with just simple pitch shifting!

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The 3 libraries in the Animal Hyperrealism series:

Animal Sound Effects Collections Animal Hyperrealism Vol I Play Track 290+ sounds included
Rated 5.00 out of 5
$180

Animal Hyperrealism Vol I is a library containing sounds themed animal vocalisations, from real to designed creatures totaling more than 1300 individual sounds in 290 files.

The sounds were partly recorded with animals trained for media production, partly recorded in zoos and wildlife centers. The asset list includes but is not limited to: african lions, bengal tigers, horses, donkeys, cows, exotic birds, owls, bobcats, pumas, dromedaries, wolves, dogs, geese, lemurs, gibbons and many more.

All the content has been recorded at 192KHz with a Sanken CO100K plus a Sennheiser 8050 for center image and a couple of Sennheiser MKH8040 for stereo image. All files are delivered as stereo bounce of these four mics, though in some instances an additional couple of CO100K was added to the sides.

The resulting ultrasonic spectrum is rich and allows for truly extreme manipulation of the content.

Bonus: Two extra libraries included for free: This library also includes two additional releases from Mattia Cellotto - for free: Crunch Mode delivers 230 crunchy sounds made with a variety of vegetables, fresh bread, pizza crust and a selection of frozen goods. The Borax Experiment gets you 158 squishy, gory, slimy and gooey sounds.

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Animal Sound Effects Collections Animal Hyperrealism Vol II Play Track 2000+ sounds included
Rated 5.00 out of 5
$180

Animal Hyperrealism Vol II is a library containing sounds themed animal vocalisations, from real to designed creatures totaling more than 2000 individual sounds in 283 files.

The sounds were partly recorded with animals trained for media production, partly recorded in zoos and wildlife centers. The asset list includes but is not limited to: amur leopards, bottlenose dolphins, californian sealions, pacific walruses, red ruffed lemurs, owls, parrots, dwarf little fruit bats, hamsters, guinea pigs and many more.

The content has been recorded at 192KHz with a Sanken CO100K plus a Sennheiser 8050 for center image and a couple of Sennheiser MKH8040 for stereo image.
A special section of the library features samples recorded at 384KHz. For these sounds an additional microphone was employed, specifically the CMPA by Avisoft-Bioacoustics which records up to 200 KHz. This microphone was actually used to record most of the library but the 384KHz format was preserved only where energy was found beyond 96KHz not to occupy unnecessary disk space.
All files are delivered as stereo bounce of these for mics, though in some instances an additional couple of CO100K was added to the sides.
The resulting ultrasonic spectrum is rich and allows for truly extreme manipulation of the content.

Bonus: Two extra libraries included for free: This library also includes two additional releases from Mattia Cellotto - for free: Crunch Mode delivers 230 crunchy sounds made with a variety of vegetables, fresh bread, pizza crust and a selection of frozen goods. The Borax Experiment gets you 158 squishy, gory, slimy and gooey sounds.

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Animal Sound Effects Animal Hyperrealism Vol III Play Track 1711 sounds included
Rated 5.00 out of 5
$180

Animal Hyperrealism Vol III is a library containing sounds themed animal vocalisations, from real to designed creatures totaling more than 1700 individual sounds in 279 files.

The sounds were recorded in zoos and wildlife centers. The asset list includes but is not limited to: european red deers, monkeys, reindeers, hornbills camels, crickets, tamarins, boars, frogs, red ruffed lemurs, parrots, and many more.

The content has been recorded at 192KHz with a Sanken CO100K plus a Sennheiser 8050 for center image and a couple of Sennheiser MKH8040 for stereo image.
Part of the cheats section of the library features samples recorded at 384KHz. For these sounds an additional microphone was employed, specifically the CMPA by Avisoft-Bioacoustics which records up to 200 KHz. This microphone was used to record most of the library but the 384KHz format was preserved only where energy was found beyond 96KHz not to occupy unnecessary disk space.
All files are delivered as stereo bounce of these for mics, though in some instances an additional couple of CO100K was added to the sides.
The resulting ultrasonic spectrum is rich and allows for truly extreme manipulation of the content.

Bonus: Two extra libraries included for free: This library also includes two additional releases from Mattia Cellotto - for free: Crunch Mode delivers 230 crunchy sounds made with a variety of vegetables, fresh bread, pizza crust and a selection of frozen goods. The Borax Experiment gets you 158 squishy, gory, slimy and gooey sounds.

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Check out the full list of Audio Podcast Alliance members below – click a podcast name to go directly to their latest episode:

AMPS Podcast • CAS In Conversation • Field & Foley • Immersive Audio Podcast • LA Post Production Sound Design • Level with Emily Reese • Location Sound Podcast • Sound Business • Soundbytes Podcast • SoundGirls Podcast • Soundtrack Show • Soundworks Collection • The A Sound Effect Podcast • The Dolby Institute Podcast • The Game Audio Journey • The Sound Architect Podcast • Tonebenders • Twenty Thousand Hertz

Hear more audio-related podcasts here

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THE WORLD’S EASIEST WAY TO GET INDEPENDENT SOUND EFFECTS:

A Sound Effect gives you easy access to an absolutely huge sound effects catalog from a myriad of independent sound creators, all covered by one license agreement - a few highlights:

Cinematic & Trailer Sound Effects Four Elements – Elemental Magic Play Track 3050 sounds included, 251 mins total $149
Master the Art of Bending the Elemental Forces

Unleash the raw power of fire, water, earth, and air with this comprehensive 9 GB sound library featuring 3050 high-quality sound effects across 630 files. Whether you’re designing cinematic soundscapes or enhancing video games Four Elements delivers the tools you need to harness the energy of the natural world.

Construction Kit – 2443 Sounds

A treasure trove of raw, organic, and processed sounds including seamless loops divided into Fire, Water, Air, Earth and Explosion categories. Customize every detail with an extensive selection of sound components.
- Organic Fire: Campfire sizzles, torch whooshes, and flame bursts.
- Processed Fire: Distorted impacts and unique crackles.
- Organic Earth: Rock crashes, gravel scrapes, and heavy stone hits.
- Processed Earth: Stylized rumbles and granular textures.
- Organic Water: Ocean waves, hydrophone bubbles, and fluid splashes.
- Processed Water: Underwater whooshes and stylized liquid smashes.
- Organic Air: Bamboo swishes, cloth movements, and pressure bursts.
- Processed Air: Filtered gusts and dynamic noise sweeps.
- Explosion: Firework detonations, Butane bursts, and cinematic impacts.
Building Blocks – 416 Sounds

Game-ready sound layers featuring Impacts, Whooshes, and Textures as seamless loops. Elevate transitions and enhance atmospheres with loops and pre-designed sound layers.
- Fire: Explosive bursts, blazing infernos, and warm embers.
- Earth: Ground-shaking impacts, crumbling terrain, and heavy collisions.
- Water: Cascading waves, serene rivers, and underwater ambiences.
- Air: Whispering breezes, stormy turbulence, and slicing gusts.
Design Kit – 192 Sounds

A collection of ready-to-use sound effects divided into Attack, Bend, and Explosion categories for quick integration into your projects. Perfect for high-energy scenes and immersive storytelling.
- Fire: Crackling flames, fiery bursts, and roaring infernos.
- Earth: Crushing impacts, shifting ground, and massive land eruptions.
- Water: Splashes, fluid manipulations, and crashing tidal waves.
- Air: Slicing winds, swirling currents, and thunderous gusts.
Four Elements gives you complete creative control, blending organic recordings with processed sound layers to meet the demands of any project. Master the forces of nature with Four Elements. Let your creativity ignite.

Keywords:

Elements, Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Wave, Water, Liquid, Rock, Cast, Stone, Pebble, Torch, Gas, Flame, Campfire, Sizzle, Burst, Scrape, Whoosh, Impact, Texture, Attack, Bend, Bending, Explosion, Processed, Surge, Quake, Hit, Flow, Burn, Ignite, Drop, Smack, Destruction, Rumble, Hiss, Blow, Wind, Cloth, Movement, Underwater, Bubble, Ocean, River, Lake, Firework, Firecracker, Bang, Blast, Detonation, Magic, Fantasy, Forces, Fire Magic, Water Magic, Earth Magic, Fire Air, Fire Effect, Fire Whoosh, Water Whoosh, Seamless Loop, Loop, Fire Cast, Water Cast, Earth Cast, Air Cast
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Animal Sound Effects Collections Animal Hyperrealism Vol IV Play Track 2096 sounds included, 78 mins total $153

⏰ For a very limited time:
Add this library to the cart and enter ah4launch in the cart coupon field – to sprinkle an extra launch discount, on top of the current discount!

Animal Hyperrealism Vol IV is a sound library containing animal vocalisations, from real to designed creatures totaling more than 2000 individual sounds in 294 files. The sounds were recorded in zoos, and wildlife centers.

The asset list includes but is not limited to: hippos, hyenas, vultures, dwarf mongooses, elephants, African cranes, parrots, tigers, pigmy hippos, rhea ostriches, brown bears, pheasants, wildebeests, African wild dogs and many more. The content has been recorded at 192KHz with a Sanken CO100K, an Avisoft CMPA and a Sennheiser 8050 for center plus two Sennheiser MKH8040 for stereo image.

The resulting ultrasonic spectrum is rich and allows for truly extreme manipulation of the content.

15 %

OFF

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Bundles Audiohero – The Prodigy Play Track 300000 sounds included
Rated 4.00 out of 5
$5

Download 50 Sound Effects for $9.99 within a month from a library of more than 300,000 tracks. We give you Access to a wide variety of collections from Sound Ideas and the Hollywood Edge, including categories such as ambiance, animals, comedy, cartoon, crashes, designed sounds, foley, feature film, guns, sci-fi, production elements, sports, surround sound, transportation, and the list goes on! Instead of purchasing a boutique library, choose from an extensive library ala carte. We provide you with the massive audio library without the large cost.

The sound effects are all recorded in 24bit 96khz down to 16bit 44.1khz. These sound effects have been used in many productions such as feature films, video games and all types of broadcast.

What you get:

Purchasing this offer gets you a special code that lets you download 50 sound effects from Audiohero.com within a month. The sounds you get with this purchase are covered under the Audiohero EULA.

50 %

OFF

Ends 1767135600

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Explore the full, unique collection here

Latest sound effects libraries:

Hand Combat Sound Effects Violent Combat Play Track 4213 sounds included ~~From: $135~~ From: $108

THE RAW SOUND OF CINEMATIC FIGHTING

VIOLENT COMBAT is a professional sound effects library built for fight scenes that demand impact. Packed with punch sound effects, fight sound effects, and powerful combat sound effects, it delivers everything from raw realism to over-the-top cinematic action. With improved fidelity and greater variation than its predecessor CLOSE COMBAT, this collection gives sound designers production-ready audio for film, TV, and games.

From Realism to Cinematic Exaggeration

Dial in the tone you need with dedicated categories: Martial Arts, Grounded, Over The Top, and Gory. Whether it’s kung fu sound effects, karate sounds, or exaggerated wrestling hits, you can shift seamlessly from authentic to stylised.

Successor to Close Combat

VIOLENT COMBAT builds on the legacy of CLOSE COMBAT with higher fidelity recordings, better-organised categories, and more variation. It’s the ideal companion, giving you the flexibility to cover every style of fight scene.

Sounds That Land With Force

Recorded with a wide range of props and techniques, each fighting sound effect has real weight. Where needed, selective pre-processing boosts impact, avoiding the flat results of real fight recordings.

Production-Ready and Versatile

Equally at home in film, TV drama, high-end game audio, or immersive theatre. From knockout sound effects to stylised fight sequences, Violent Combat is ready to drop straight into your mix.

Included Sounds – KEYWORDS
AIR, BODYFALL, CLOTH, CRUNCH, FINISHER, FURNITURE, GORE, GRAB, GRAPPLE, IMPACT, KICK, LEATHER, MARTIAL ARTS, METAL, MOVEMENT, PLASTIC, PUNCH, SLAP, SWISH, SWOOSH, THROW, WHOOSH

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Animal Sound Effects Collections Animal Hyperrealism Vol IV Play Track 2096 sounds included, 78 mins total $153

⏰ For a very limited time:
Add this library to the cart and enter ah4launch in the cart coupon field – to sprinkle an extra launch discount, on top of the current discount!

Animal Hyperrealism Vol IV is a sound library containing animal vocalisations, from real to designed creatures totaling more than 2000 individual sounds in 294 files. The sounds were recorded in zoos, and wildlife centers.

The asset list includes but is not limited to: hippos, hyenas, vultures, dwarf mongooses, elephants, African cranes, parrots, tigers, pigmy hippos, rhea ostriches, brown bears, pheasants, wildebeests, African wild dogs and many more. The content has been recorded at 192KHz with a Sanken CO100K, an Avisoft CMPA and a Sennheiser 8050 for center plus two Sennheiser MKH8040 for stereo image.

The resulting ultrasonic spectrum is rich and allows for truly extreme manipulation of the content.

15 %

OFF

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Weather Sound Effects Hyper Thunder Play Track 800+ sounds included $49.50
Hyper Thunder is a colossal collection of thunder and lightning, 100% crafted from the ground up using innovative synthesized technics and props recordings. Not a single real life thunder recording was used. using synthesis and props manipulation crafted to deliver impact far beyond natural recordings. Built entirely from innovative synthesis and props recordings, this library pushes the boundaries of weather sound design—perfect for when you need the raw energy of a storm dialed up to cinematic extremes.

Featuring over 800 files, Hyper Thunder spans everything from subtle distant rumbles and rolling thunder to razor-sharp lightning strikes and earth-shaking impacts. With both designed hits and source layers, you have full control—drop in ready-to-use power or sculpt your own stormscapes using the source recordings.

Created in collaboration with Bruits.Studio’s Vincent Fliniaux and Tibo Csuko—longtime SoundMorph contributors to acclaimed libraries like Robotic Lifeforms 2 and WATER— Hyper Thunder blends technical mastery with bold creativity.

Key Features
- 800+ files of synthesized thunder and lightning
- Both designed hits and source layers for full creative control
- Covers subtle distant rumbles through to massive cinematic impacts
- Crafted 100% from synthesis for a unique, larger-than-life sound
- Perfect for film, games, trailers, and any project needing storm power
- Created in collaboration with Bruits.Studio’s Vincent Fliniaux and Tibo Csuko (Robotic Lifeforms 2, WATER)
From atmospheric detail to explosive drama, Hyper Thunder gives you thunder and lightning that are bigger, subtler, and more versatile than nature itself.
50 %

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Destruction & Impact Sounds The Arcane Fire Spells Play Track 638 sounds included $25

638 meticulously processed stereo fire spells sound effects recorded in 96 khz and 24 bits for high audio definition.

The collection comes with hundreds of variations, more than 1 hour of content and many different type of fire spells. It also includes source sounds for more flexibility for your projects.

This collection is perfect for any films, video games or trailers.

The library is fully focused on fire spells. You will find simple one shot magic firebolt, powerful high level fire spells, fire sword, berserker enchantments and so on. Spells such as fireball, firewall, rain of fire, meteor, fire nova, magma storm, pyroblast, sword of Avernus, etc. are included in this library.

38 %

OFF

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Ambisonic Sound Effects Ambisonic Sounds – Rain and Thunderstorm Vol.3 Play Track 19 sounds included, 55 mins total $20

Immerse yourself in an atmosphere of natural power and tranquility with the “Rain and Thunderstorm” sound collection, consisting of 4 Vol-s.
This collection features a variety of looped sounds: light rain, night rain with loud thunderclaps, and other effects that will help you create the perfect atmosphere – from a quiet, secluded night, long scenes, or endless atmospheric effects without abrupt transitions, to a dramatic thunderstorm on the horizon.
The recording was made by a Zoom H3-VR recorder in the Ambisonics A format (96 kHz 24 Bit) and then converted to the AmbiX and Stereo formats (96 kHz 24 Bit), which are located in different folders of this sound pack.

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