Stock sound effect

Last updated January 13, 2025

Audio sample of the Wilhelm Scream

A stock sound effect is a prerecorded sound effect intended to be reused with an entertainment product, as opposed to creating a new and unique sound effect. It is intended to work within a sound effect library.

History

As far back as Ancient Greece, sound effects have been used in entertainment productions. Sound effects (also known as sound FX, SFX, or simply FX) are used to enhance theatre, radio, film, television, video games, and online media.

Sound effects were originally added to productions by creating the sounds needed in real-time. Various devices and props were utilized to approximate the actual sounds, including coconut shells for horse hooves, and a sheet of metal for thunder. With the advent of radio and specifically radio dramas, the role of sound effects became more important. When cinema went from silent to "talkies", sound effects became a large part of this new medium, too.

Audio recording technology continued to evolve, making it easier to record and replay sound. As this happened, the more commonly used and harder-to-replicate sound effects were pre-recorded to make them more accessible. Prerecording also allowed the same sound effect to be used many times.

Both producers' and listeners' sensibilities began evolving with the technology, and the need for more realistic sound effects or for using the "real" sound increased. Therefore, a more urgent need developed for prerecorded sound effects.

Over time, the quality of audio recording and playback increased, as did the demand for a wider variety of highly specific sounds. For example, rather than use a generic gunshot, a producer might request a gunshot from a specific type of gun, shot under precise conditions. Access to "real" sound effects became increasingly important to producers.

These collections of prerecorded sound effects, both real and artificial, began to be referred to as stock sound effects and were organized into libraries. As their usage increased, stock sound effects libraries became the valuable assets of sound design artists and production companies. Some stock sound effects have been reused so many times that they have become easily recognizable and even cliché. Examples of these include the scream of a red-tailed hawk, castle thunder, or the Wilhelm and Howie screams.

Many of the original sound effects libraries originated in the mid to late 1950s from film and television studios that employed the artists who created them, such as Warner Bros. and Hanna-Barbera. Audio Fidelity Records was one of the first record labels to join in releasing compilations from the late 1950s to the early 1970s,^[1] notably Elektra alongside Jac Holzman's released Authentic Sound Effects in 1964 as a 13 volume series.^[2] Over time, independent companies such as Sound Ideas and Hollywood Edge became involved, both distributing the major studios' libraries as well as making their own available to the public.

The internet ushered in a new generation of technology, entertainment media, and sound effects libraries. Sounddogs became the first to distribute sound effects libraries over the internet and Soundrangers became the first to create an all-new sound effects library for internet-based entertainment. Dozens of other websites now provide stock sounds for movies, video games, and software. Others such as Freesound aim to provide free sound effects under the public domain.

Over the years, with the evolution of sound recording technology and new formats, the format used for sound effects libraries also evolved. Sound libraries are now available on many types of media, including vinyl records, reel-to-reel tape, cassette tapes, compact discs, hard drives, and via the internet. Sound effects libraries now include more complex, layered, and mixed sounds along with a wider variety of incidental real-world sounds.

Often-used examples

Wilhelm scream — a man screaming, first used in a 1951 Western and used as a running joke by sound designers in many films and television shows

Universal stock roar — the second-largest stock sound in The Land Unknown ; louder than the Tarzan yell

Sharptooth roar — a stock roar in The Land Before Time

Spider Mastermind alert sound — (titled DSSPISIT within Doom's WAD files, also known as Animal, Creature - Large Animal Death Scream) — stock sound effect of an ear-piercing screeching roar, transcribed as "Woo-roooo!", frequently used in television and video games. Belonging in the same Sound Ideas library as the Sharptooth roar, this sound effect was compiled for Doom by music composer Bobby Prince, which would become the alert sound for the game's final boss the Spider Mastermind whenever Doomguy enters its line of sight or engages in combat.

"The Howie Long Scream"

Howie scream — (also known as the Howie Long scream or Screams 3; Man, Gut-Wrenching Scream and Fall into Distance) is a frequently used film, television, and video game stock sound effect for a scream. Often compared to the Wilhelm scream, its prominence in a number of movies has launched a few nicknames such as Howie Long Scream, in reference to Howie Long's character's death scene in the 1996 film Broken Arrow .^[3] It appears to have originated from a fight scene in the 1980 film The Ninth Configuration .^[4]

Click Plink — (also known as the Clicker Plinker or Plink, Cartoon - Sour Plink) a common Hanna-Barbera poking or plucking sound in cartoons

"WBs Slide String 1"

WB's Slide string — a slide string 1/7 short / long / shuttered
Tarzan yell — distinctive, ululating yell of the character Tarzan as portrayed by actor Johnny Weissmuller in the films based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs starting with Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)

Goofy holler — the cry that the Disney character Goofy makes when falling or being launched into the air, that can be transcribed as "Yaa-hoo-hoo-hoo-hooey!"

Universal telephone ring — a ringing telephone, used in the opening credits of The Rockford Files designed by Ben Burtt ^[5]

Red-tailed hawk call

Red-tailed hawk calls — the piercing scream of the red-tailed hawk is widely used for birds of prey, especially bald eagles, as well as shots of nature, including deserts and mountains

The Dolphin Chirp Stock Sound Effect — debuted in the 1960s film "Flipper" and is ubiquitous, now being heard in hundreds of media. It is also used as a reference to the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Sailor Mouth" due to SpongeBob using it out of context.

Common Loon Tremolo Call

Common loon calls — the wailing call of the loon is widely used in film and television to evoke wilderness and suspense

Castle thunder — a loud thunderclap during a rainstorm, originally recorded for the 1931 Universal Pictures film Frankenstein

Diddy laugh — (also known as Two Children Giggling or Two Young Kids Giggle) a sound of two children giggling acquired by The Hollywood Edge on August 13, 1990, originally recorded in 1978 for the 1990 TriStar Pictures film Air America and colloquially named for its use in the 1997 video game Diddy Kong Racing .^[6]

Related Research Articles

A sound effect is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soundtrack</span> Recorded sound accompanying a production such as a film

A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film, video, or television presentation; or the physical area of a film that contains the synchronised recorded sound.

Audio mixing is the process by which multiple sounds are combined into one or more audio channels. In the process, a source's volume level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated or enhanced. This practical, aesthetic, or otherwise creative treatment is done in order to produce a finished version that is appealing to listeners.

Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments.

The Wilhelm scream is an iconic stock sound effect that has been used in countless films, TV series, and other media, first originating from the 1951 movie Distant Drums. The scream is usually used in many scenarios when someone is shot, falls from a great height, or is thrown from an explosion. The scream is named after Private Wilhelm, a character in The Charge at Feather River, a 1953 Western in which the character gets shot in the thigh with an arrow. This was its first use following its inclusion in the Warner Bros. stock sound library, although The Charge at Feather River was the third film to use the effect. The scream is thought to be voiced by actor Sheb Wooley. It was featured in all of the original Star Wars films.

A sound editor is a creative professional responsible for selecting and assembling sound recordings in preparation for the final sound mixing or mastering of a television program, motion picture, video game, or any production involving recorded or synthetic sound. The sound editor works with the supervising sound editor. The supervising sound editor often assigns scenes and reels the sound editor based on the editor's strengths and area of expertise. Sound editing developed out of the need to fix the incomplete, undramatic, or technically inferior sound recordings of early talkies, and over the decades has become a respected filmmaking craft, with sound editors implementing the aesthetic goals of motion picture sound design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Cat</span> Fictional American cat

Thomas JasperCat Sr. is a character and one of the two titular main protagonists in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's series of Tom and Jerry theatrical animated short films. Created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, he is a blue-grey and white anthropomorphic domestic short haired tuxedo British cat who first appeared in the 1940 MGM animated short Puss Gets the Boot. The cat was known as "Jasper" during his debut in the short; however, beginning with his next appearance in The Midnight Snack he was known as "Tom" or "Thomas".

VidFIRE is a technology intended to restore the video-like motion of footage originally shot with television cameras that have been converted to formats with telerecording as their basis. The word is both a noun and a verb; in a sense, it is the opposite of filmizing, which makes video look like film.

Benjamin Burtt Jr. is an American sound designer, film director, film editor, screenwriter, and voice actor. As a sound designer, his credits include the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film series, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), WALL-E (2008), and Star Trek (2009).

Castle thunder is a sound effect that consists of the sound of a loud thunderclap during a rainstorm. It was originally recorded for the 1931 film Frankenstein, and has since been used in dozens of films, television programs, and commercials.

The Tarzan yell or Tarzan's jungle call is the distinctive, ululating yell of the character Tarzan as portrayed by actor Johnny Weissmuller in the films based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs starting with Tarzan the Ape Man (1932). The yell was a creation of the movies based on what Burroughs described in his books as simply "the victory cry of the bull ape."

A scream is a loud/hard vocalization in which air is passed through the vocal cords with greater force than is used in regular or close-distance vocalisation. This can be performed by any creature possessing lungs, including humans.

Leo the Lion is the mascot for the Hollywood film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and one of its predecessors, Goldwyn Pictures. The logo was created by artist Lionel S. Reiss, who served as art director at Paramount Pictures.

In filmmaking, Foley is the reproduction of everyday sound effects that are added to films, videos, and other media in post-production to enhance audio quality. It is named after sound-effects artist Jack Foley. Foley sounds are used to enhance the auditory experience of a movie. They can be anything from the swishing of clothing and footsteps to squeaky doors and breaking glass. Foley can also be used to cover up unwanted sounds captured on the set of a movie during filming, such as overflying airplanes or passing traffic.

Twister...Ride It Out was an indoor special effects attraction based on the 1996 film Twister, located in the New York themed area at Universal Studios Florida. It replaced Ghostbusters Spooktacular and opened to the general public on May 4, 1998. Hosts Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt, stars from the original film, were featured in recorded video footage and audio narrations throughout the attraction. Guests experienced a life-like encounter with a simulated tornado in the main show area which included water, fire, and the movement of objects across the stage among other audio and visual effects. Declining popularity due to a lack of long-term cultural significance led to the attraction's permanent closure on November 2, 2015. Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon opened in its place two years later in 2017.

A videocassette recorder (VCR) or video recorder is an electromechanical device that records analog audio and analog video from broadcast television or other AV sources and can play back the recording after rewinding. The use of a VCR to record a television program to play back at a more convenient time is commonly referred to as time shifting. VCRs can also play back prerecorded tapes, which were widely available for purchase and rental starting in the 80s and 90s, most popularly in the VHS videocassette format. Blank tapes were sold to make recordings.

Sound Ideas is a Canadian audio company and the archive of one of the largest commercially available sound effects libraries in the world. It has accumulated the sound effects, which it releases in collections by download or on CD and hard drive, through acquisition, exclusive arrangement with movie studios, and in-house production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebel yell</span> Battle cry used by Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War

The rebel yell was a battle cry used by Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War. Confederate soldiers used the yell when charging to intimidate the enemy and boost their own morale, although the yell had many other uses. There are audio clips and film footage of veterans performing the yell many years later at Civil War veterans' reunions. The origin of the yell is uncertain.

Lon Ethan Bender is an American supervising sound editor, business executive and inventor. Bender won the Academy Award for Best Sound Effects Editing for his work on Braveheart (1995). He has been recognized for numerous other industry awards as well, including Oscar nominations for The Revenant (2015), Drive (2011) and Blood Diamond (2006). Bender is the co-founder of post production sound services company Soundelux.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sound follower</span> Device for the recording and playback of film sound

A sound follower, also referred to as separate magnetic, sepmag, magnetic film recorder, or mag dubber, is a device for the recording and playback of film sound that is recorded on magnetic film. This device is locked or synchronized with the motion picture film containing the picture. It operates like an analog reel-to-reel audio tape recording, but using film, not magnetic tape. The unit can be switched from manual control to sync control, where it will follow the film with picture.

References

↑ "Audio Fidelity Recordings Discography". Syracuse University Libraries. Retrieved 2022-09-16.
↑ Ingham, Tim (2020-10-12). "Five Crucial Lessons From Jac Holzman, Who Founded Elektra Records and Signed The Doors". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
↑ "Top 10 Movie Sound Effects We All Recognize". listverse.com. September 25, 2009. Archived from the original on 21 January 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
↑ "A tribute site to one of Hollywood's best sound effects!". Archived from the original on July 19, 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
↑ Lee, Steve (2004). The Universal Telephone Ring. Archived from the original on 2008-07-02.{{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)HollywoodLostandFound.net.
↑ Desta, Yohana (July 3, 2017). "Your Guide to the "Diddy Laugh," a Sound Effect That's Been Driving People Crazy for Decades". Vanity Fair . Retrieved February 27, 2024.

External links

"Variety of Noises in Sound Effects Library". The New York Times. July 3, 1932.
Universal Studios SFX Monster Roars , retrieved 2023-06-26
Universal Stock Roars Compilation , retrieved 2023-06-26
The Land Before Time Sharptooth Sound Effects , retrieved 2023-06-26

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[Syracuse_University_Libraries-1] "Audio Fidelity Recordings Discography". Syracuse University Libraries. Retrieved 2022-09-16.

[Ingham_Holzman_2020-2] Ingham, Tim (2020-10-12). "Five Crucial Lessons From Jac Holzman, Who Founded Elektra Records and Signed The Doors". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-08-17.

[Howie_Long-3] "Top 10 Movie Sound Effects We All Recognize". listverse.com. September 25, 2009. Archived from the original on 21 January 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.

[Origin-4] "A tribute site to one of Hollywood's best sound effects!". Archived from the original on July 19, 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013.

[5] Lee, Steve (2004). The Universal Telephone Ring. Archived from the original on 2008-07-02.{{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)HollywoodLostandFound.net.

[6] Desta, Yohana (July 3, 2017). "Your Guide to the "Diddy Laugh," a Sound Effect That's Been Driving People Crazy for Decades". Vanity Fair . Retrieved February 27, 2024.

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