Overused movie sound effect

OP, is it the "Sauron having his finger chopped off" sound you mean?

Skip to 1:50


That's the first film I remember hearing/seeing it in.
 
Haggisman said:
OP, is it the "Sauron having his finger chopped off" sound you mean?

Skip to 1:50


That's the first film I remember hearing/seeing it in.
Click to expand...


That's it! That's the exact sound. Nice one. So what would that sound be called or described as? It's one of the most ubiquitous movie sounds depicting the awe and wonder of anything on a massive scale.
 
Merlin5 said:
That's it! That's the exact sound. Nice one. So what would that sound be called or described as? It's one of the most ubiquitous movie sounds depicting the awe and wonder of anything on a massive scale.
Click to expand...

Thats actually (a little) different to the one in the pacific rim trailer but both are dopler type sounds to key something in motion (or sometimes when changing the speed of time i.e. preceeding slowmo effects). The use in the trailer and in many movies is part of the effect of a helicopter (or often futuristic flying vehicles) flypast.
 
Last edited:
Merlin5 said:
That's it! That's the exact sound. Nice one. So what would that sound be called or described as? It's one of the most ubiquitous movie sounds depicting the awe and wonder of anything on a massive scale.
Click to expand...

Not sure what it would be called, and I'm hesitant to Google for "Isildur taking Sauron's ring with his weapon"... :p
 
I'm sure the Wilhelm scream is in Command and Conquer too, when a member of the infantry dies.

Also, standard canned dolphin sound. Same in every film with a dolphin.
 
The sound you're on about OP is a basic sinewave being swept in frequency downwards - usually in the 50Hz down region, sent to the LFE channel to give the subs a workout. It's a tactile kind of sound that's pretty much felt as much as heard, hence the use in films like Transformers (when Ratchet IIRC does a forward roll over a missile).
 
I watched Resident Evil 3 last night and it reminded me of this thread: the generic whoosh noise when something ominous has passed across the screen without anyone noticing.
 
Overused? Probably.

A more likely explanation is that you simply watch too many films. For the vast majority of people I'd argue they are a treat now and again :p.

Personally I love that sound effect.
 
Lots of noises from Doom, the door open noise, there's a 'clunk' noise from Doom used a lot too.

Door creek, heard one used way too many times recently, can't remember what it was in now.

And of course the wilhelm scream.

Besides the scream, I don't see what they don't make their own site effects. Using the wilhelm is a long running joke, love hearing it :D
 
Robosapien said:
Overused? Probably.

A more likely explanation is that you simply watch too many films. For the vast majority of people I'd argue they are a treat now and again :p.

Personally I love that sound effect.
Click to expand...

In all honesty, I really don't watch many movies at all, certainly not compared to many people. I haven't even seen dark knight rises yet or Ironman 2, to name only two blockbusters on my to see list. And yes, I think it's an awesome sound, but still overused. I cant imagine another sound in it's place though that would be as good.
 
My personal hate is the 'chuckling baby' effect.
It has been used on adverts for nappies, fabric conditioner, baby wipes and bubble bath.
The most recent, I think, was a Cow and Gate baby food ad- right at the end it cuts to a pudgy baby in a high chair, who does a 'he-he-he... Heh!' laugh.
This sample featured on the coverdisc of the very first edition of Future Music magazine, back in about '95, and struck both me and my musical friends immediately, for its sheer annoyance potential.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom