Sound effect
A sound effect is any sound that is not speech or music, specifically created for theatrical productions, broadcasts, or motion pictures. These effects enhance the audience's experience by adding realism and depth to performances. Historically, sound effects have been utilized in live theater for centuries, with early methods involving actors mimicking natural sounds or using musical instruments to represent various scenes. The evolution of sound effects gained momentum with the rise of radio, where technicians introduced sound effects to provide auditory cues and maintain audience engagement.
In film and modern theater, sound effects are often added during postproduction using advanced technology. This includes techniques such as Foley, where sound artists create effects that correspond to visual actions, like footsteps or environmental noises. Notable examples include creative sounds, like a whip sound made by slapping a steak, or the iconic roar in "King Kong," which was manipulated from a lion's roar. The use of digital editing tools allows for the layering and alteration of sounds, enabling sound designers to craft immersive auditory landscapes for contemporary media. Overall, sound effects play a crucial role in storytelling, enhancing the emotional and narrative impact of various productions.
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Sound effect
A sound effect is a sound other than speech or music that is artificially made for a production such as a stage performance, broadcast, or motion picture. Sound effects add realism to such productions, enhancing the audience's experience.
Sound effects have been used for centuries in live theater. With the advent of broadcasting and motion pictures, new methods were developed to enhance productions.
Overview
Before the development of microphones and speakers, conditions in theaters made it difficult for people in the back to see and hear what was happening. Sometimes actors imitated animal sounds such as dogs, or wails and shouts. Musical instruments were used to create some sounds, or represent places. Trumpets and drums could be played to sound like Hell or a battlefield. William Shakespeare's Globe Theatre had a cannon in the attic that was loaded with gunpowder and wadding (but no cannonballs) and fired. Other battle sounds could be created by lighting fireworks. To create the sounds of a thunderstorm, a cannon could be rolled across the floor or the crew could shake a sheet of metal.
The development of sound effects became important during the heyday of radio. While the world struggled through the Great Depression, many people who were unemployed could not afford entertainment. Stations began developing drama series to draw listeners. Early successes included Sherlock Holmes's adventures, thrillers, crime dramas, science fiction, and horror programs.
Silence on the radio is called dead air; dead air loses listeners, who may believe the signal has been lost. Early radio scriptwriters had included dialogue referring to things that were happening, such as, "I wonder who's at the door," but listeners did not hear knocks or doorbells. During the late 1920s, writers began calling for sound effects, such as a door slamming. Technicians had to devise ways to add the sounds that bring realism to shows.
Crowd noises, police sirens, and footsteps were common in radio dramas, and combined with the actors' voices to make the dramas believable. Timing was critical. Gunshots and running feet created excitement, but if a sound effect artist missed a cue or equipment failed, the scene was ruined. Even something as simple as walking required shoes that matched the actor and a variety of textured surfaces that simulated the environment, such as city streets or a gravel path.
Early films created in the Silent Age of Hollywood (1911-1927) lacked sound but maintained noise to create effects for audiences. In these early films, sound effects were often made by a single artist who used a variety of props to create the necessary sounds. Some artists would use an all-in-one machine called a photoplayer which could create all the most commonly used sound effects without an artist needing to pull multiple props.
While sound effects in early films were similar to those used in the theater and radio, modern effects are added in postproduction. Digital theater technology even allows sound designers to choose where in a theater a sound will originate. Sounds, which are added to one or more audio tracks, may be prerecorded or created in a Foley stage, which is named for Jack Foley of Universal Studios. These include pits with various surfaces to create walking sounds as well as the tools to make everyday sounds that are layered over vocal tracks.
Sound artists first analyze a sound and then consider ways to create it. The sound of a whip in the film Ben-Hur (1959) was not made using a whip. Sound artists recorded the sound of a thick steak being slapped against a person's leg. Other effects could be created by speeding up or slowing down a recording. The roar used in King Kong (1933) was a lion's roar played backward. Modern digital editing equipment can manipulate any sound, or layer several, to create something new. The twenty-first century saw the rise of digital sound editing, allowing sound editors to mix new sounds and create high-quality soundscapes for films. The possibilities for new sounds seem endless with the incorporation of new technologies.
Bibliography
Alchin, Linda. "Globe Theatre Special Effects." The Globe Theatre, June 2015, www.bardstage.org/globe-theatre-special-effects.htm. Accessed 4 Feb. 2025.
Ament, Vanessa Theme. The Foley Grail: The Art of Performing Sound for Film, Games, and Animation. CRC Press, 2014.
Brindle, Mark. The Digital Filmmaking Handbook: The Definitive Guide to Digital Filmmaking. Quercus, 2014.
Karim-Cooper, Farah, and Tiffany Stern. Shakespeare's Theatres and the Effects of Performance. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015.
Leonard, John A. Theatre Sound. Psychology Press, 2001.
Mott, Robert L. Sound Effects: Radio, Television and Film. McFarland, 2014.
Weis, Elisabeth. "Sync Tanks: The Art and Technique of Postproduction Sound." Film Sound, 1995, filmsound.org/synctanks/. Accessed 4 Feb. 2025.
Winter, David. "A Comprehensive Journey Through the Evolution of Cinema's Sound Effects." Lightwings, 9 Feb. 2024, lwks.com/blog/a-comprehensive-journey-through-the-evolution-of-cinemas-sound-effects. Accessed 4 Feb. 2025.