Sound effects

Happy Birthday to the Wilhelm Scream, Hollywood’s Most Important Sound

The original recording for the scream heard across hundreds of movies, shows, and games has been found just as it hits its 70s.

Movies Justin Carter Jul 11

Why Boba Fett’s Sound Was a Mystery for Almost 20 Years

If I say “Bad Guy in Helmet from Star Wars” first you think of Darth Vader and then you think of Boba Fett. However, while everyone knows what Darth Vader sounds like when he walks around, what about Boba Fett? Going into Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, the plan was for the new character…

io9 Germain Lussier Jul 6

Remixed Star Wars Sound Effects Create the Catchiest Song of the Summer

The Star Wars franchise has some of the most iconic and recognizable sound effects, from the whoosh of a lightsaber to the bleeps and bloops of R2-D2. So it’s no surprise that musician Eclectic Method has returned to this wonderful pool of sonic samples to create yet another catchy track you’ll be playing on repeat…

io9 Andrew Liszewski Jul 25

The Weird Sounds That Helped Bring K-2SO and Rogue One to Life

To help bring a film like Rogue One—which takes place in far-off worlds with ships and creatures we’ve never seen before—to life, sound designers will often use unexpected sound effects that are warped and manipulated, until you can’t imagine a droid like K-2So sounding any other way. Sound On Sound magazine visited Skywalker Sound and…

Movies Andrew Liszewski Apr 3

Artificial Sound Effects Have Now Entered the Uncanny Valley

Using machine learning, researchers from MIT have developed a system that produces sound effects that are so realistic they even fool human listeners. The new algorithm, developed by researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, can predict the precise acoustical qualities of a sound, and then simulate it in an extremely realistic way.…

Artificial Intelligence George Dvorsky Jun 13

10 Movies That Used the Same Exact Sound Effects As Other Movies

Avatar and Jurassic Park. Lord of the Rings and Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Star Trek and The Jetsons. What do those films have in common with each other? They used the same exact sound effects in their movies. Obviously some of those sound effects are done as an homage for movies that came before…

Sploid Casey Chan Dec 29

Proof that all movie trailers use the same new damn sound

Before it was that Inception horn. You know the one, that BRAAAAM sound that strategically tingled your spine because you know something action packed yet suspenseful is going to happen. And now there’s a new favorite sound for movie trailers: it sounds a lot like pulling the power on something and hearing the noise get…

Sploid Casey Chan May 29

Video: The sound effects of Star Wars

If you see a light saber, you can hear the glowing sound it makes. If you see C-3P0 or R2-D2 or Chewie, you can automatically hear them even if they’re not talking. Vader? Yeah, you hear the breathing. And that goes for X-Wings and Tie Fighters and everything else, the sounds of Star Wars are…

Sploid Casey Chan May 12

The Surprising Objects Used To Make Gruesome Sounds On The Walking Dead

Tucked into a fascinating article about veteran Foley artist Gregg Barbanell, highly skilled in creating realistic (yet not distracting) ambient sounds for films, TV shows, and video games, is a rundown of how he achieves The Walking Dead’s most bone-rattling noises. The “tools” he uses are shockingly unshocking. They’re also items you just might have…

io9 Cheryl Eddy Apr 2

Listen To Some Of The Most Commonly Used Sound-Effects In Cinema

Have you ever heard a scream or sound effect in a movie that sounded strangely familiar? There’s a good chance you weren’t imagining things. Here are some of cinema’s most iconic sounds – and where they originated. The Tarzan yell, which first appeared in Tarzan the Ape Man (1932), was later used for animated series…

io9 Vincze Miklós Mar 23

The London Times Is Blasting Reporters With Typewriter Sound Effects

Rupert Murdoch must be feeling nostalgic: Reporters in The Times UK’s newsroom are working under a constant soundtrack of (artificial) typewriter clatter. It’s an experiment to “increase energy levels,” and for a generation of reporters who grew up on word processors, it’s probably torture. Yes, as The Independent tells us, Times journalists walked into the…

Tech News Bob Sorokanich Aug 26

How The TARDIS Got Its Famous Dematerialization Sound

The sound of the TARDIS arriving is an unmistakable — and distinctive — sign that the Doctor is near. But, while the sound may be alien, it turns out that its origins are decidedly earthbound. After looking at the series of keys that have opened up the famous blue box throughout the years, commenter simon-on-the-river3…

io9 Ria Misra May 14

What If Star Wars‘s Sound Effects Sucked?

Star Wars fans should count themselves lucky that George Lucas found talented sound designer Ben Burtt to bring the audible portion of his scifi universe to life. Because as this video proves, Star Wars would have been a much different movie with a less talented foley artist in charge. [Via Laughing Squid]

io9 Rob Bricken Apr 23

Pure Auditory Nostalgia: Over 40 Minutes of Cartoon Sound Effects

Here now for your aural pleasure are 42 minutes and 29 seconds of sound effects from vintage Warner Bros. cartoons. This is highly concentrated auditory nostalgia, delivered right to your ear-holes. It’s surprising how many of the screeches, bleats, booms, bangs, clatters, whooshes, whizzes and instrumental clangs in this SFX reel are instantly recognizable. Like…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Apr 20

Watching music videos without the music is pretty damn funny

This is genius. Mario Wienerroither replaces the music from popular music videos with imagined sound effects and noises of what’s actually happening in the music video. If you see someone jumping around, you’ll hear jumping around and not the song. The result? An awkwardly funny mashup of artists dancing by themselves to no tunes, making…

Sploid Casey Chan Jan 28

Jurassic Park’s Dinosaur Sound Effects Were Actually Animal Sex Sounds

So, uh, this is an uncomfortable one. You know the dinosaur sounds from Jurassic Park that framed the way you imagined every dinosaur ever? They were actually recordings of animals boning, or just about to bone. The velociraptor raspy bark, a basic means of communication for the dinosaurs in the film, were actually cut from…

Tech News Kyle Wagner Apr 10

The Sounds in Lincoln Are the Same Ones Honest Abe Heard

If you need any other proof that the filmmakers behind Lincoln went above and beyond the call of duty to make the film as authentic as possible, sound designer Ben Burtt tracked down one of Lincoln’s original pocket watches and recorded its actual ticking sound. That’s dedication. The film’s sound team also visited the White…

Movies Andrew Liszewski Nov 21

How the Muppets Sound as Captivating as They Look

The magic of the Muppets is the uncanny suspension of disbelief, which itself is a function of their being actual physical entities. A CGI Kermit would be a joke; the one we grew up with, though, we can see, and touch, and hear. And that last part is sorely underrated. This look at how the…

Tech News Brian Barrett Nov 30

Darth Vader will lose a little more of his dignity in Star Wars original trilogy Blu-rays. Listen for yourself!

George Lucas is not satisfied with turning the puppet Yoda in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace into a CG creation. Or just fixing some of the wonky lightsabre effects in the original trilogy. He’s going a bit further. Lucas had promised that fans would have a few new details here and there to notice in…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Aug 30

The Magic Behind Disneyland’s Sound

Part of what makes Disneyland such an immersive experience is the sophisticated sound design found throughout the park. Across dozens of narrative worlds, hundreds of sound cues must be deployed at just the right moment to keep the visitors suspended in disbelief. Here’s a look at the extraordinarily talented Imagineers who make it happen (though…

Tech News Kyle VanHemert Feb 24

Sound effects

Happy Birthday to the Wilhelm Scream, Hollywood’s Most Important Sound

Why Boba Fett’s Sound Was a Mystery for Almost 20 Years

Remixed Star Wars Sound Effects Create the Catchiest Song of the Summer

The Weird Sounds That Helped Bring K-2SO and Rogue One to Life

Artificial Sound Effects Have Now Entered the Uncanny Valley

10 Movies That Used the Same Exact Sound Effects As Other Movies

Proof that all movie trailers use the same new damn sound

Video: The sound effects of Star Wars

The Surprising Objects Used To Make Gruesome Sounds On The Walking Dead

Listen To Some Of The Most Commonly Used Sound-Effects In Cinema

The London Times Is Blasting Reporters With Typewriter Sound Effects

How The TARDIS Got Its Famous Dematerialization Sound

What If Star Wars‘s Sound Effects Sucked?

Pure Auditory Nostalgia: Over 40 Minutes of Cartoon Sound Effects

Watching music videos without the music is pretty damn funny

Jurassic Park’s Dinosaur Sound Effects Were Actually Animal Sex Sounds

The Sounds in Lincoln Are the Same Ones Honest Abe Heard

How the Muppets Sound as Captivating as They Look

Darth Vader will lose a little more of his dignity in Star Wars original trilogy Blu-rays. Listen for yourself!

The Magic Behind Disneyland’s Sound

Ozempic Shreds Bones? How a Small Study Turned Into a Big Health Myth

Anker’s Soundcore Translation Earbuds Are Now Nearly 7x Cheaper Than AirPods Pro 3 After a Sudden Price Drop on Amazon

Volkswagen Shuts Down Tennessee Plant’s EV Production at the Worst Possible Time

Using Emojis at Work? You’re Not Going to Like This Study 😮

A Terrifying Invasion Feels Eerily Familiar in This Short Horror Story

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Tubi Manages to Turn People Against Recommendations With Bad AI Branding

Gizmodo’s Favorite Photos From NASA’s Artemis 2 Mission

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HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

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