Have you ever wondered what the Star Wars movies would be like without lightsaber sound effects?
Or what would a Jurassic Park movie be without the eerie scream of Tyrannosaurus Rex?
What about the sound effects of the monsters and the battles that took place in the Lord of the Rings trilogy?
You will have been able to notice just in these few examples how important sound is in a production, right?!
Cinema aside, smaller, web-oriented productions, for example, also benefit from sound quality.
sound capture and they are fundamental in the final result of a successful video for the internet. In this article, we are going to understand a little more about it. Notice!
First of all, what are sound effects?
Sound effects are a technique of artificial reconstitution of acoustic effects that accompany a certain action.
It basically consists of creating natural sounds through objects and materials, in order to produce effects similar to those of animals, action movements (walking or jumping), manipulation of objects (weapons, for example), elements of nature ( water, earth, wind or fire), among others. This practice, in the world of cinema, is known as Foley.
A good way to see how this works, in practice, is offered by Foley Artist (aka Sound Engineer) Gary Hecker.
In the video below. Hecker, who has already participated in great films such as Star Wars and Terminator, demonstrates how the creative process of sound effects is, from common materials and that, at least in theory, are not related to the sounds we hear :
The sound reinforcement system is made by a program that produces these artificially created effects in order to simulate, in the studio, the real object to be represented. The sound must be believable and the professional of said competition is called soundman or sound manager.
What does a soundman do?
A sound engineer is the plastic artist of sound. His field of action is radio stations, television, production companies or any place that requires the presence of this professional in support of production or direction.
Currently, most sounds need to be created in the studio by this professional. There are ready databases with thousands of sound effects created and catalogued. Such as: sounds of the common environment, of offices, kitchen items, animals, vehicles, explosions, nature, sounds of spells, among others.
However, good professionals create their own arsenal of effects. What sets him apart from other experts due to his creative and innovative responsibility.
To better understand what the profession of a sound engineer is, watch the video below, with Warner Bros. sound engineers talking about the creation process, which involves the profession:
Why are sound effects so important?
akira kurasawa
The sound of the cinema is never simply an accompaniment, never simply what the recorder captured when the scene was filmed. The real sound not only adds to the image, but multiplies it.
The above quote helps to clearly define the fundamental importance of sound effects, as a complement to the video.
One way to understand the soul that sound effects give to video is to see what director Steven Spielberg (winner of two Oscars) talks about John Williams, famous for the soundtrack of iconic films like Star Wars, Jaws, ET , Indiana Jones, Superman, among others:
Take a look, in points, why sound effects are essential for the content:
Brings content to life
Sound effects are vital to give suspense to a scene.
To watch a film without sound effects, for example, would be to forfeit the audience’s attention, not only because of a technological bias – after all, even in the days of silent movies there were live sounds to help the story – but because of the question of drama itself.
We can, for example, notice the emotional state of a person who closed a door because of the noise the door made. Or having a good understanding of the height from which a particular object fell to the ground, just from its noise.
Aligns the narrative in relation to what the viewer should feel
In the musical world, for example, the sound manager also plays a key role. Not in the composition of the songs, but in the way they are integrated into the action and, mainly, in the reaction of the public.
The professional understands the content and thus manages to capture which moments of the music need softer effects, and which times the effects need to be stronger. Bringing to light certain feelings and emotions of your audience.
And with the cinema it is not different. It is thought, in each scene, how the image and sound will be – the latter always complementing the content of the image.
Helps retain audience attention
Like lights, sounds are also responsible for manipulating our emotions, directing them to what the sound engineer is looking for.
Be aware that some comedy shows add laughter or clapping sound effects in order to entice the audience to laugh at their jokes.
Also, realize that our ears guide our eyes. None of us were born with 360º vision, but keep in mind that we can hear in all directions.
The secret to retain the public’s attention, in this sense, is mainly in your audition.
Thus, to keep the attention of their audience, directors and sound engineers define how to use their sounds creatively to better present their stories, amplifying the experience of their audience due to the image and sounds developed.
How to define the soundtrack of my video?
The soundtrack of the video content, as you have seen throughout this article, is a key aspect to increase the participation and interest of the public.
The but that are not well complemented by good sound effects, end up losing much of the potential they would have, to engage and attract the interest of the public.
Similarly, a rich and well-crafted soundtrack, which is not involved with the content presented, makes no sense.
For this reason, sound effects and content are complementary and equally important elements when producing content that excites, involves and increases the reach of your company or channel.
With this in mind, you can’t help but take a look at
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