Hundreds of street lights are aligned in an unnatural fashion. Asbjoern Andersen

Posted by Asbjoern Andersen in Film sound, Sound community highlights


A short but insightful observation from film sound legend Randy Thom, on why sound matters. This originally appeared on his blog, and has been republished here with his kind permission.
Written by Randy Thom
Please share:

Very often when I’m complaining about the lowly position of sound in the film universe someone will agree by saying something like “Absolutely……. what would they do without sound? Try looking at the movie without any sound and see how you like it… ”

When I hear that sort of comment I always agree, of course, but I also think… Man, the bar is pretty damn low. It’s like saying to a cinematographer “Visuals are important in a film because without visuals you wouldn’t see anything.”

Yes, it’s important to “have sound,” but that is rarely an issue. Even skinflint producers understand the importance of “having sound.” The real question is WHAT sound there will be, and even more important: Will sound ideas and themes be allowed to influence creative decisions in the other crafts as full collaborators?

Certain combinations of sound and visuals can evoke what neither can do alone.

Sound is important because it can tell us about character, place, and time. It’s important because it informs us and moves us in ways visuals can’t, and because certain combinations of sound and visuals can evoke what neither can do alone. It’s also potentially important because it can help to determine what we see. But why be shy?…. Visuals are sometimes important because they help to determine what we HEAR.

 

A big thanks to Randy Thom for letting us share this insightful post from his blog here on A Sound Effect!

 

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:
 
 
  • Game Audio Packs & Bundles WW Audio SFX Sampler Pack, Vol 2 – Crowds & Ambiences Play Track 70 sounds included, 239 mins total $10

    The second in a series of WW Audio SFX Sample Packs. This is Volume 2 – Crowds & Ambiences and contains 70 high quality, professional random, sometimes eclectic sound effects for your theatre or film projects.

    Recordings include;
    Marrakech skyline – calling for prayers, fireworks let off on a Spanish beach, the Church of the Nativity Bethlehem – the birthplace of Jesus, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre Jerusalem – the holy crucifixion site, Benidorm Old Town, Go Karting, The Cheesecake Factory – Las Vegas, The Ramblas – Barcelona, Dam Square – Amsterdam, Italian harbour, Leadenhall Market – London, Munich beer hall, London Aquatic Centre, The Old Town Square – Prague, British National Museum, Mersey ferry ambience, Ducks on a canal and much more.

    ​All files include Soundminer, ID3v2.3.0 and Riff Info metadata embedded into the files to make for easy searching in your database of choice.

    Add to cart
  • Foley Angry Door 192 Play Track 1400+ sounds included, 103 mins total $42 $33.60

    The doors are very kind, but don’t make them angry. They could lose their temper resulting in a very noisy bang.

    This library enriches the sfx world with new door and gate objects, both source and designed, with variety of expressive actions and perspectives. The everyday usual noises along with fantasy stimulating sounds – e.g. deep “dungeon” metal door, high pitch squeaking wire-netting gate, heavy church gate and so on. To make the slams and smashes even more hard, heavy and dirty, wildly designed “Angry” versions have been added.

    Library highlight:
    • 18 door and gate objects, recorded in old, gloomy houses and a church
    • 6.29 GB, 645 files, several takes for each action
    • “Close-Up”, “Near”, “Middle” and “Behind” perspectives in selected cases, plus mix of them
    • 192khz/24 bit including ultrasonic information- the greatest resolution for next design processes
    • Sound Devices MixPre6, Sanken CO100K, Sennheiser MKH30, DPA 4007, DPA 4060, Schertler Dyn Uni P48
    • Photo reference for each object

    20 %
    OFF
    Ends 1553986800
    Add to cart
  • Destruction & Impact Just Impacts – Processed Play Track 321 sounds included $35 $17.50

    Just Impacts – Processed gets you 300+ sound effects of huge, dry impacts – layered and heavily processed for maximum weight.

    This will come in handy whenever you need the sound of something huge hitting something even larger. Giant door slams, large hits, huge robot fights, heavy metal drops – oh yes, you got it:

    50 %
    OFF
    Add to cart
 
Explore the full, unique collection here
Latest sound effects libraries:
 
  • Foley Angry Door 192 Play Track 1400+ sounds included, 103 mins total $42 $33.60

    The doors are very kind, but don’t make them angry. They could lose their temper resulting in a very noisy bang.

    This library enriches the sfx world with new door and gate objects, both source and designed, with variety of expressive actions and perspectives. The everyday usual noises along with fantasy stimulating sounds – e.g. deep “dungeon” metal door, high pitch squeaking wire-netting gate, heavy church gate and so on. To make the slams and smashes even more hard, heavy and dirty, wildly designed “Angry” versions have been added.

    Library highlight:
    • 18 door and gate objects, recorded in old, gloomy houses and a church
    • 6.29 GB, 645 files, several takes for each action
    • “Close-Up”, “Near”, “Middle” and “Behind” perspectives in selected cases, plus mix of them
    • 192khz/24 bit including ultrasonic information- the greatest resolution for next design processes
    • Sound Devices MixPre6, Sanken CO100K, Sennheiser MKH30, DPA 4007, DPA 4060, Schertler Dyn Uni P48
    • Photo reference for each object

    20 %
    OFF
    Ends 1553986800
  • Industrial Motor Fan Play Track 76+ sounds included $58 $40.60

    MOTOR FAN household edition features both Internal & External mechanical sound from household items.
    Motors and compressors found in the kitchen, ACs & outdoor units + heaters and compressors and more.

    Features motor, fan & compressor sounds from sources like:

    Refrigerators, microwaves, toasters, juicers, fans, AC / hvac, washing machines, boilers, compressors, vents, heaters, chain saws & more
    30 %
    OFF
    Ends 1553986800
  • Igniter Vehicle Sound Design Tool
    Igniter Vehicle Sound Design Tool
    Vehicles Igniter Full Tank 1943 sounds included $999

    Igniter is the new industry standard for creating any real-world or sci-fi vehicle and engine sound effects with ease and at unbeatable value. Whether you work in audio post or game audio, Igniter enables you to design, perform and automate any complex vehicle behaviour directly in your DAW – from sports cars, motorbikes, planes, helicopters, spacecraft and other engine sounds to moving ambiences, textures, Foley or whatever sparks your imagination.

    Video Thumbnail

    Igniter is the only solution of its kind to come jam-packed with over 20 performable vehicles and 1,943 audio assets from vehicles including Aston Martin, Ferrari, Porsche, Tesla, Harley Davidson, Huey UH-1H, Agusta Westland 119x, CH-47D Chinook, Bombardier Challenger, Cessna 560XL, skids, sweeteners and much more. Recordings come from Watson Wu, The Recordist, Sounding Sweet, George Vlad, Echo Peak and Flysound.

    For vehicle fanatics, Igniter Full Tank comes with 75GB of additional library content including onboard recordings, ramps & static rev bands, Foley sounds, skids, slides and much more!

  • Igniter Vehicle Sound Design Tool
    Igniter Vehicle Sound Design Tool
    Vehicles Igniter 614 sounds included $599

    Igniter is the new industry standard for creating any real-world or sci-fi vehicle and engine sound effects with ease. Whether you work in audio post or game audio, Igniter enables you to design, perform and automate any complex vehicle behaviour directly in your DAW – from sports cars, motorbikes, planes, helicopters, spacecraft and other engine sounds to moving ambiences, textures, Foley or whatever sparks your imagination.

    Video Thumbnail

    Igniter is the only solution of its kind to come jam-packed with over 20 performable vehicles and 614 audio assets from vehicles including Aston Martin, Ferrari, Porsche, Tesla, Harley Davidson, Huey UH-1H, Agusta Westland 119x, CH-47D Chinook, Bombardier Challenger, Cessna 560XL, skids, sweeteners and much more. Recordings come from Watson Wu, The Recordist, Sounding Sweet, George Vlad, Echo Peak and Flysound.

  • Aircraft - Jet/Propeller Planes F16 Maneuvers Play Track 70 sounds included, 45 mins total $39 $27

    The F16 Maneuvers library features 36 recordings of F16 Fighter jets, captured at three different locations from the ground perspective. In addition to those, we included :

    – 22 flight formation sounds (up to six aircrafts), designed using Sound Particles 3D software.

    – 8 recordings captured using contact microphones, attached in a nearby parked vehicle, leading up to some low tones and rumbles, that could be useful as sweeteners in aircraft or other complex sounds.

    – 4 mixing sessions, combining ambient and contact mic recordings.

    The product includes a total of 45 minutes of HQ material (24bit/96kHZ) and a total of 70 sounds, including 17 Soundminer metadata fields, such as description, keywords, category/sub-category, microphones and more.

    31 %
    OFF
    Ends 1553814000
 
FOLLOW OR SUBSCRIBE FOR THE LATEST IN FANTASTIC SOUND:
 
                              
 
GET THE MUCH-LOVED A SOUND EFFECT NEWSLETTER:
 
The A Sound Effect newsletter gets you a wealth of exclusive stories and insights
+ free sounds with every issue:
 
Subscribe here for free SFX with every issue

Leave a Reply

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