How Jeremy Rogers created Cinematic Gore – a brutal-sounding gore SFX library:

A small example of what Cinematic Gore sounds like

Hi Jeremy, how did you come up with the idea for a gore SFX library? And what were some essential gory sounds you wanted to have in there?

I’ve wanted to do a gore recording session for a long time. I’m a big horror movie fan and I love adding in a bit of blood and guts to my projects at work. What I have noticed with most gore sound effects libraries, is that they don’t have a lot of designed sounds. I find they are mostly raw recordings.

What I have noticed with most gore sound effects libraries, is that they don’t have a lot of designed sounds.

I wanted those huge knife and sword stabs. I wanted really crispy bone breaks (bone breaks were a huge focus for me because I find most bone breaks aren’t really snappy, and I wanted to make them brutal)! I wanted really disgusting guts splashes and impacts. Also, I wanted some long blood drips and some punches with neck breaks. Those were the main ticket items.
 

Your gore sounds are extremely brutal. How did you accomplish this?

As always, I do a lot of research before I even start a recording session. I wanted to find out what is used normally for gore sounds in foley sessions. I had a good base knowledge of what elements to use for blood spurts and bone breaks, etc.
I’m lucky in that I have been on multiple foley recording sessions for past projects with the best in the business for film and tv.

Then, I critically listened to a long collection of TV and movies to see what style and sound is currently being implemented. After that, I then could get creative and experiment with new techniques and materials to record. I think it’s the variety of elements I used in combination with lots of experimentation that achieved some of the more brutal sounds.
 

What was a typical recording session like? And what were some of the objects and tools you used?

Typically, I have a master list of all the sounds I need and the materials that go with it. I then find a room that has the optimal acoustics and noise floor to record. With the gore sessions, I recorded in a few different locations. The gore recordings were really messy, so I had to buy a plastic tarp and lots of shammy’s to soak up all the gore.

I was also really trying to get a new and different bone break sound. So, I bought some lamb rib bones and I bought a whole chicken.

Most gore sounds are made up of a variety of fruits and vegetables. So, I went and bought all the fruit and veggies I could find. I was also really trying to get a new and different bone break sound. So, I bought some lamb rib bones and I bought a whole chicken. I wanted to hear what actually bone breaks sound like. I used my Sennheiser MKH8040 stereo rig to record with. You need a microphone that is extremely sensitive to pick up all the details on these gore sounds since they are normally very quiet sounds.
 

There are a number of designed sounds in there too – what was your approach for these?

This was the fun stuff! All the designed sounds were sounds I have always wanted to have in my library but could never find. Each designed sound fits a different purpose. For instance, the bone breaks in all my libraries and in a lot of tv and film don’t always have the clean snap and break sound that I want to hear.

All the designed sounds were sounds I have always wanted to have in my library but could never find.

I went to work to make a large variety of bone breaks that are extremely snappy and crisp (and brutal, haha).

Also, for the knife and sword stabs I wanted really gushy and impactful stabs that are hard to find in SFX libraries. I basically just came up with a list of designed sounds I wish I had in a gore library.

Any favorite sounds in the library?

My favorite sound is one of the designed bone breaks. The bone break starts out sounding like the bone is cracking and slowly giving way with stress. Then, at the end the bone breaks and gushes out with blood. When I played that for a friend, they made a face of disgust and said, “That’s so gross!” Success!
 

They made a face of disgust and said, “That’s so gross!” Success!

In your book, what’s the key to powerful gore sounds? And from a recording and sound design perspective, what’s your advice for others who are looking to do gory sounds?

I think the key to powerful gore sounds is layering. I find that you need a good amount of layers to create a really powerful gore sound. Also, you need to add in some character. When you can get a cool sounding blood spurt that makes an interesting squeeze sound, adding that onto an impact can really make the difference. My advice is to experiment and try new things! The best gore sounds I came up with were from experimenting and playing around. You will be hard pressed to find a sound designer that won’t encourage you to try something crazy. Those crazy ideas are usually the best ideas!

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