Asbjoern Andersen


The quality of game cinematics has gone up a lot in recent years, but once in a while, something comes along that just knocks it out of the park. The cinematic trailer for gaming giant Blizzard’s upcoming Overwatch game is one of those things: It looks – and sounds – absolutely spectacular.

I was keen to find out more about the sound for the trailer, and was lucky to get the chance to talk with Paul Menichini, the supervising sound designer at Blizzard’s award-winning cinematics department.

Read on for the exclusive A Sound Effect story on how Paul and his team created the sound for this most-impressive cinematic trailer:

Haven’t seen the trailer yet? Check it out below:



Overwatch Cinematic Trailer


 

Hi Paul, please introduce yourself, the Overwatch project – and your role on it:

My name is Paul Menichini and I am the Supervising Sound Designer for Blizzard Entertainment’s cinematics department.

I’ve been doing sound design for Blizzard’s cinematics since Warcraft III: Frozen Throne back in 2002 as a subcontractor, and I came on-board as a Blizzard employee about seven years ago. It’s a privilege to work on the amazing pieces that Blizzard’s cinematic team creates. It’s very inspiring to create content for projects that are always cutting edge and visually stunning.

Supervising Sound Designer Paul Menichini

Supervising Sound Designer Paul Menichini

The cinematic sound team at Blizzard is very small, consisting of my producer Caroline Hernandez, who also contributes some of the sound design; Alex Ephraim, sound editor, engineer, and overall nice guy; and me. We also recently added a fourth member to our team, Isaac Hammons, who also assists in editing, mixing, etc. We have our own dub stage at Blizzard where we have mixed many past projects, but in the case of Overwatch we decided to mix at Skywalker Sound in Dolby ATMOS.

Our cinematic for Overwatch is a short story of two brothers, Brian and Timmy, who are visiting a museum dedicated to a colorful team of heroes called Overwatch, which had disbanded some time ago. As you’d expect, all hell breaks loose in the museum as Winston and Tracer, two “good guys” end up fighting Reaper and Widowmaker, two “bad guys.”

Starting at around the two-minute mark, the action kicks into overdrive and the number of sound effects- per-square inch gets pretty crazy.
 

How big was the sound team for this? And what was the workflow / creative process like?

In the past, for most of Blizzard’s pre-rendered cinematics, David Farmer would help out with the sound design. Dave and I both started at a place called EFX many years ago and he is a brilliant sound designer. When we were ready to begin working on Overwatch, Dave was busy in New Zealand on a tiny little film called The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, so I leaned on another colleague, Tim Nielsen, to help with some of the design and editorial.
Tim did an outstanding job and was a real asset to our team. We had many other projects going on at the same time and wouldn’t have gotten through them without his help. As scenes would get finished on the visual side, we would dig in. I worked with Tim much the same as I would with Dave. We would each have our own tasks to tackle and we would also cover some of the same things as well. Some of his sounds would end up sweetening my stuff and vice-versa. There were weekly reviews with the cinematic’s director, Jeff Chamberlain, and the process went fairly smoothly.

Foley duties were handled by Gregg Barbanell and Darin Mann. They always do a superb job. Juan Peralta and Gary Rizzo mixed the piece up at Skywalker. Juan and Gary are both also alumni of EFX (as is Gregg) but aside from that, their filmography speaks for itself. They each have a stellar array of movie credits; in fact Gary and Juan were the mixing team on Oblivion, a movie that I loved for both the sound and the mixing. Andrea Toyias is our VO director at Blizzard and was responsible for all the VO in the piece. Derek Duke was the main composer, along with Neal Acree, Chris Velasco, and Sam Cardon.
 

Sounds like a LOT of care went into the sound design work for the trailer – it sounds spectacular. Can you tell us a bit about how you did it?

Thank you! This cinematic was an enormous amount of fun to work on. It was such a departure from anything Blizzard has done in the past, and probably packed more action into a short space than anything Blizzard had done before.
As is usually the case at Blizzard on the big pre-rendered cinematics, they afforded me enough time to work on the design and iterate over the course of a couple of months, although we had many, many other projects going on at the same time. I worked closely with the director, Jeff Chamberlain, and as the picture became more complete so did the sound.

It was such a departure from anything Blizzard has done in the past, and probably packed more action into a short space than anything Blizzard had done before.

One of the perks of supervising is that I get to keep a lot of the fun stuff for myself to do. These included the grappling hook into the wall, Winston falling through the glass ceiling and making a huge impact as he lands on the ground, and the various guns including Reaper’s, Tracer’s, and Widowmaker’s, as well as Reaper’s Death Blossom ability.

For the guns we started with the in-game sounds and then heavily sweetened them or replaced them. The sound of Tracer’s Blink (her teleportation) was created by Scott Lawlor on the game team, and is a very cool effect. Alex Ephraim did the VO processing of Winston’s voice. I’m pretty sure it sounds exactly like an ape would sound like if one could actually talk. One of the elements in Reaper’s Death Blossom bullet-bys was a series of processed pig dopplers that Charles Deenen had created some time ago and graciously gave us to use.

We paid an extremely high level of attention to detail on the foley. From the sound of Winston’s suit movement—which took several attempts to get just right—to the extremely subtle and appropriate sound of the metal gauntlet at the end – to the squeaks of the two boys’ sneakers as well as Tracer’s feet — to the sound of Timmy’s hands on the glass case and the leather stretch of Tracer’s jacket during the quiet moments, it all contributed to a soundtrack that is totally believable and lots of fun to listen to.
 

Did you do a lot of custom recording for the project?

The only custom recording we did was on the foley stage. Most of that was synced foley, but we also recorded a lot of wild tracks to use as source in the cinematic, including things like bullet debris, impacts, Winston’s armor, etc.
 

The trailer’s available in Dolby Atmos. What was it like working with this format?

Atmos is SO MUCH FUN. We specifically cut the FX for this cinematic knowing that we would be mixing it in Atmos native, which we took advantage of in certain scenes such as right before Winston crashes through the glass ceiling. The camera POV is facing down from the ceiling and we hear the entire frame of the building rattle overhead. Also, when Widowmaker is swinging around from her grappling hook and firing her machine gun, the bullet impacts and ricos hit all around us depending on where she is aiming her gun. The same sort of thing happens with the Reaper character and his Death Blossom ability. He has a special ability where he can teleport/cloak into a location and start firing a crazy amount of gunshots at once—which necessitated Tim and I cutting hundreds of ricos, bullet hits, bullet bys, and debris in all directions all at once for quite a while.

The Reaper character, going about his daily business

The Reaper character, going about his daily business

In several scenes the camera would spin around the room and highlight different characters for a few seconds. This allowed us to really have fun placing their sounds and spinning them all around the room. There is a scene where Widowmaker is perched on a ledge with a sniper rifle, firing at Winston. Our POV has us looking at Winston while Widowmaker is firing from behind us. Normally, in 5.1, we would just put that behind us in the surrounds but in ATMOS you can hear that she is behind and above us. It was fun, nerdy little things like this moment that I loved about the Atmos mix.
Another benefit of Atmos is that, since you can be so specific with placement, it is easier to provide clarity between music, FX, and VO. We have some other pieces that we’ve mixed in Atmos as well, but the fun stuff comes into play when the camera POV happens to support (sometimes inadvertently) dramatic placement of sound.
 

What was the biggest challenge making the sound for the trailer?

Some of the biggest challenges weren’t necessarily the biggest sounds. Getting the sound of the bullets impacting Winston’s armor took a bit of trial and error and a bit of processing to get it to sound just like the sound of a bullet impacting into thick, heavy, bulletproof, stormtrooper-like plastic.

Some of the biggest challenges weren’t necessarily the biggest sounds.

Reaper’s Death Blossom ability, where he fires a ridiculous amount of shots with twin shotguns, took a little bit of playing around with to get the timing and rhythm right.
It was like trying to get the speed of a machine gun but with the randomness of manual gunfire. And Tim came up with the perfect sound for the frame of the building rattling over our heads.


Popular on A Sound Effect right now - article continues below:


Trending right now:

  • Seismic Core is a modern sound effects library crafted to give your sound design its defining foundation. Every element in this collection is built for layering. Designed not to dominate, but to enhance, shape, and energize your creations. Whether you’re working on cinematic hits, trailers, motion design, game audio, or abstract sonic branding, Seismic Core delivers the essential low-end weight, transient snap, and textured grit that bring your designs to life.

    These sounds are meticulously processed and polished, yet intentionally left with enough space to sit perfectly under your own layers. They’re bold enough to add instant character, but subtle enough to leave room for further creativity. This makes Seismic Core not just a toolkit, but a true starting point for powerful, flexible, and unique sound design.

    This collection of Building Blocks contains following categories:

    • IMPACT *
    • BREAK *
    • WHOOSH *
    • SUSTAIN *
    • TRANSIENT (high and low)

     

    * Also including HEAVY & SUB variants

    Build with it. Layer on top of it. Drop the anchor. Feel the quake. Design from the core.

    25 %
    OFF
  • The Heart Beat library is a small collection of real heart beat recordings captured using stethoscope. Featuring BPMs from 50 to 120, this library covers a range of emotional states—from calm and resting to tense and elevated.

  • 100+ Toys, 1500+ Designed Sounds – From Childhood Playthings to Cinematic Gold. TOYED has it all.

    Think You Don’t Need a Library of Toys? Think Again.

    This release might just change your mind—and blow your mind at the same time! TOYED is an exclusive sound library from the Founder of SoundMorph, Jason Cushing. With a 25-year career spanning AAA games, anime, cartoons, and film, Jason has designed for Electronic Arts, BioWare, and Epic Games, contributing to titles like the Mass Effect Trilogy, Skate Trilogy, and Unreal Engine’s weapon sound design. His deep expertise in cinematic sound design, UI creation, ambient textures, and weapons makes TOYED a versatile, high-end collection of professionally crafted sounds.
    Jason’s meticulous approach to field recording and sound selection ensures that this library isn’t just about capturing toy sounds—it’s about unlocking rich, unique sonic textures that are ideal for games, film, animation, and futuristic sound design. With contributions from longtime SoundMorph sound designers Andrew Pals, Tibo Csuko, and Vincent Fliniaux (GORE 2, WATER, Robotic Lifeforms 2), TOYED is built to deliver exceptional quality and usability across multiple production styles.

    88 %
    OFF
  • Step into a world of spells, mysticism, and creative power with Spells Variations Vol. 2, the follow-up to our acclaimed magical sound collection. This time, we’ve expanded the elemental and thematic range, offering 405 professionally crafted sound effects that are fully categorized and ready to use.
    Inside, you’ll find a wide variety of magical types:
    🔥 Fire
    💧 Water
    🌪️ Air
    🌍 Earth
    Electricity
    ❄️ Ice
    ☠️ Poison, Mud, Rocks
    ✨ As well as Arcane, Dark, Monstrous, and other mystical spell types.

    Each category is organized into individual folders, with multiple variations for every spell, giving you complete flexibility to choose the perfect sound for each moment, All this makes a total of 44 different spells.
    Just like in Volume 1, every sound in this collection was recorded, edited, and mastered at 192 kHz / 24-bit, ensuring top-tier quality and adaptability—perfect for professional sound designers or anyone looking for drag-and-drop magical effects for games, trailers, animations, or any audio-visual production.

    More about the pack
    – Intuitive file naming
    – All you’ll ever need regarding magical sounds [Use them again & again
    – Use the sound effects over and over, in any of your projects or productions, forever without any additional fees or royalties. Use the SFX in your game, in your trailer, in a Kickstarter campaign, wherever you need to, as much as you want to.
    – Totally mono compatibility
    – All sounds have several variations.
    – Use your imagination and feel free to use any sound for a creature other than the one described, remember that the world of sound is totally subjective.
    – For any questions or problems: khronstudio@gmail.com

    Features
    – 405 spell sounds
    – Format: 192KHz / 24 bits
    – Win/Mac: Yes
    – Minutes of audio provided: 22:26

    45 %
    OFF
    Ends 1754776800

Latest releases:

  • EXCITED OBJECTS is a sound library of rather abrasive metal textures recorded using metal objects and a surface transducer, recorded with contact microphone and guitar pickup.



    Excited Objects – a sound object library by Marc Hasselbalch


     

    Synthetic sources such as sinewaves and noisy, stochastic waveforms were routed to the transducer and is exciting objects such as long springs, pieces of scrap metal, a prepared mini-guitar and a cheese grater.
    Some seperately, some in combination.

    The library is provided in 96kHz/24bit with UCS filenames and relevant metadata.

    25 %
    OFF
  • Destruction & Impact Sounds METAL CANS Play Track 200+ sounds included, 15 mins total $7

    A large range of METAL SODA CAN Impacts, Friction, Hand Pats, Movement Foley, Crushing Sounds and much more…
    Recorded and processed at 192khz using MKE600, EM272 and Zoom F3 32-bit Float. 

    • Over 350 sounds! 
    • All assets have been processed including noise reduction
    • Over 15 minutes of content 
    • Universal Category System (UCS) Compliant 
    • Deliverables of 192khz, 24 bit, Stereo WAV files
    • Royalty-Free for Commercial Use 
    • Full Embedded Metadata 
    13 %
    OFF
  • This sound library presents a rich collection of natural recordings from a mixed European forest in spring. Captured across several locations and times of day, it ranges from vibrant morning bird choruses to the gentle rustling of leaves and subtle nocturnal ambiences.

    The library includes distinct ambiences from early morning, morning, evening, late evening, and midnight hours — each with its own tonal character and wildlife activity.

    All sounds are provided in stereo format.

  • Ethno Instruments Urban Gongs Play Track 128 sounds included, 68 mins total $10.20

    Urban Gongs is a field recording collection of 128 sounds of metal and glass objects struck with a variety of mallets and hands and recorded with top end contact microphones and geophones.

    The results are rich and resonant gong like tones perfect for sound design, ambient compositions, cinematic soundscapes or adding unique character to your creative projects.

     

    Recorder : Sound Devices Mix Pre 10II and Zoom F3

    Microphones : LOM Geofon, Stille and Klang, Organic Audio Cjossul

    Microphone Perspective : Magnet and Contact

    Source Files – WAV Mono

    Grouped Files for Easy Reference Included

    Documentation Included : Copyright, EULA, Images, Metadata (exported in multiple formats)

    Metadata : Files are stamped with detailed UCS compliant metadata in Soundminer, including pictorial references.

    Urban Gongs Sound Library
    15 %
    OFF
  • The Urban Gun Acoustics sound effects library features gunshots from 3 weapons in 6 different industrial spaces.

Need specific sound effects? Try a search below:


What’s your favorite part, soundwise?

There are a lot of moments in the piece that I really like because of the sound, but they’re not all necessarily because of any huge sound effects or sound build. One spot I love is where the action is just out-of-control and then all of a sudden it cuts to the security guard playing Hearthstone. To me that was a great moment because all the chaos came to a screeching halt, with only the sound of the music coming from his iPad, and you can see the wall of monitors behind him with all the action still going on silently. Then you get slammed with the sound when it picks right back up again. If you listen closely you can hear the squeak of the guard’s foot tapping along with the Hearthstone music.

I also really love the whole sequence from the point where the building shakes and you know something is about to happen up to where Tracer blinks up alongside Widowmaker. In those 20 seconds or so all hell breaks loose and that was a lot of fun to put together.
It was also a really cool contrast going from the almost church-like quiet of the museum into this absolute deluge of sounds, which also comes into play at the end when all the action ends and it’s just the two boys and Tracer talking.

In the case of the Overwatch cinematic it was such a cool opportunity to be able to highlight that story but also have moments of intense sound.

It seems that a lot of trailers and cinematics start out by hitting you over the head and then spend the next few minutes trying to top that. Blizzard has always put the story first and honored that with the stunning visuals. In the case of the Overwatch cinematic it was such a cool opportunity to be able to highlight that story but also have moments of intense sound.
The scene where Reaper does his Death Blossom ability is a fun moment to watch as well. Hearing all the ricos, bullet impacts, bullet bys, and debris continue to go on around us during quieter moments like when Tracer is hunched down reassuring the two boys, make all the difference to me when wanting to be entertained by the sound.
 

Now that the trailer’s out, what’s the reception been like so far?

The reception has been overwhelming. Many fans conjectured that Pixar had been hired to work on the piece, but the fact is that Blizzard has a large and extremely talented cinematics team, and the work stands on its own. During BlizzCon 2014 in Anaheim, where the cinematic debuted, the wonderful people at Dolby built us a 600+ seat Dolby Atmos theater where we played this piece, a couple others, and also a teaser for the upcoming Warcraft movie.

We played those pieces every twenty-two minutes or so and I estimate we ushered somewhere between twelve- and seventeen-thousand people through the many showings across those two days. It was pretty thrilling to see and hear many of the responses.

A big thanks to Paul Menichini for sharing his insights on the making of the Overwatch cinematic trailer sound! Find out more about the game – and sign up for the beta – here.
 

Please share this:


 



 
 
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:

  • Seismic Core is a modern sound effects library crafted to give your sound design its defining foundation. Every element in this collection is built for layering. Designed not to dominate, but to enhance, shape, and energize your creations. Whether you’re working on cinematic hits, trailers, motion design, game audio, or abstract sonic branding, Seismic Core delivers the essential low-end weight, transient snap, and textured grit that bring your designs to life.

    These sounds are meticulously processed and polished, yet intentionally left with enough space to sit perfectly under your own layers. They’re bold enough to add instant character, but subtle enough to leave room for further creativity. This makes Seismic Core not just a toolkit, but a true starting point for powerful, flexible, and unique sound design.

    This collection of Building Blocks contains following categories:

    • IMPACT *
    • BREAK *
    • WHOOSH *
    • SUSTAIN *
    • TRANSIENT (high and low)

     

    * Also including HEAVY & SUB variants

    Build with it. Layer on top of it. Drop the anchor. Feel the quake. Design from the core.

    25 %
    OFF
  • Step into a world of spells, mysticism, and creative power with Spells Variations Vol. 2, the follow-up to our acclaimed magical sound collection. This time, we’ve expanded the elemental and thematic range, offering 405 professionally crafted sound effects that are fully categorized and ready to use.
    Inside, you’ll find a wide variety of magical types:
    🔥 Fire
    💧 Water
    🌪️ Air
    🌍 Earth
    Electricity
    ❄️ Ice
    ☠️ Poison, Mud, Rocks
    ✨ As well as Arcane, Dark, Monstrous, and other mystical spell types.

    Each category is organized into individual folders, with multiple variations for every spell, giving you complete flexibility to choose the perfect sound for each moment, All this makes a total of 44 different spells.
    Just like in Volume 1, every sound in this collection was recorded, edited, and mastered at 192 kHz / 24-bit, ensuring top-tier quality and adaptability—perfect for professional sound designers or anyone looking for drag-and-drop magical effects for games, trailers, animations, or any audio-visual production.

    More about the pack
    – Intuitive file naming
    – All you’ll ever need regarding magical sounds [Use them again & again
    – Use the sound effects over and over, in any of your projects or productions, forever without any additional fees or royalties. Use the SFX in your game, in your trailer, in a Kickstarter campaign, wherever you need to, as much as you want to.
    – Totally mono compatibility
    – All sounds have several variations.
    – Use your imagination and feel free to use any sound for a creature other than the one described, remember that the world of sound is totally subjective.
    – For any questions or problems: khronstudio@gmail.com

    Features
    – 405 spell sounds
    – Format: 192KHz / 24 bits
    – Win/Mac: Yes
    – Minutes of audio provided: 22:26

    45 %
    OFF
    Ends 1754776800
  • Charge up on magical energy with our Spells Variations Vol 1 sound library! We’ve designed this collection to give you a wide range of magical effects, allowing your project to shine with an extraordinary variety of sounds. With 361 fully categorized and carefully named magic sounds, you’ll have everything you need to create an immersive and magical atmosphere.

    Explore categories such as arcane magic, water magic, electric magic, zaps, whooshes, celestial magic, dark magic, summons, and much more. Each effect has been meticulously recorded,edited and distributed at 192 kHz and 24-bit, ensuring exceptional sound quality. Whether you’re a professional sound designer or just looking for magic effects to drag and drop into your projects, you’ll find what you need here.

    Our files have been named to reflect the essence of each magic, making it easy to intuitively find the perfect sounds for your creation.

    More about the pack
    – Intuitive file naming
    – All you’ll ever need regarding magical elemental sounds [Use them again & again
    Use the sound effects over and over, in any of your projects or productions, forever without any additional fees or royalties. Use the SFX in your game, in your trailer, in a Kickstarter campaign, wherever you need to, as much as you want to.
    – Totally mono compatibility
    – All sounds have several variations.
    – Use your imagination and feel free to use any sound for a creature other than the one described, remember that the world of sound is totally subjective.
    – For any questions or problems: khronstudio@gmail.com

    Features
    – 361 spell sounds
    – Number of Audio Waves: 361
    – Format: 192KHz / 24 bits
    – Do Sound FX loop yes
    – Minutes of audio provided: 12 minutes and 31 seconds

    45 %
    OFF
    Ends 1754776800
Explore the full, unique collection here

Latest sound effects libraries:
 
  • EXCITED OBJECTS is a sound library of rather abrasive metal textures recorded using metal objects and a surface transducer, recorded with contact microphone and guitar pickup.



    Excited Objects – a sound object library by Marc Hasselbalch


     

    Synthetic sources such as sinewaves and noisy, stochastic waveforms were routed to the transducer and is exciting objects such as long springs, pieces of scrap metal, a prepared mini-guitar and a cheese grater.
    Some seperately, some in combination.

    The library is provided in 96kHz/24bit with UCS filenames and relevant metadata.

    25 %
    OFF
  • Destruction & Impact Sounds METAL CANS Play Track 200+ sounds included, 15 mins total $7

    A large range of METAL SODA CAN Impacts, Friction, Hand Pats, Movement Foley, Crushing Sounds and much more…
    Recorded and processed at 192khz using MKE600, EM272 and Zoom F3 32-bit Float. 

    • Over 350 sounds! 
    • All assets have been processed including noise reduction
    • Over 15 minutes of content 
    • Universal Category System (UCS) Compliant 
    • Deliverables of 192khz, 24 bit, Stereo WAV files
    • Royalty-Free for Commercial Use 
    • Full Embedded Metadata 
    13 %
    OFF
  • This sound library presents a rich collection of natural recordings from a mixed European forest in spring. Captured across several locations and times of day, it ranges from vibrant morning bird choruses to the gentle rustling of leaves and subtle nocturnal ambiences.

    The library includes distinct ambiences from early morning, morning, evening, late evening, and midnight hours — each with its own tonal character and wildlife activity.

    All sounds are provided in stereo format.

  • Ethno Instruments Urban Gongs Play Track 128 sounds included, 68 mins total $10.20

    Urban Gongs is a field recording collection of 128 sounds of metal and glass objects struck with a variety of mallets and hands and recorded with top end contact microphones and geophones.

    The results are rich and resonant gong like tones perfect for sound design, ambient compositions, cinematic soundscapes or adding unique character to your creative projects.

     

    Recorder : Sound Devices Mix Pre 10II and Zoom F3

    Microphones : LOM Geofon, Stille and Klang, Organic Audio Cjossul

    Microphone Perspective : Magnet and Contact

    Source Files – WAV Mono

    Grouped Files for Easy Reference Included

    Documentation Included : Copyright, EULA, Images, Metadata (exported in multiple formats)

    Metadata : Files are stamped with detailed UCS compliant metadata in Soundminer, including pictorial references.

    Urban Gongs Sound Library
    15 %
    OFF
  • The Urban Gun Acoustics sound effects library features gunshots from 3 weapons in 6 different industrial spaces.


   

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

HTML tags are not allowed.