Have you ever noticed that whenever animals appear in a film sequence that they are making a lot of noise? What many people don’t realize is that the sound effects we hear in movies are usually added later and very often don’t signify reality, they signify our perception of reality. What people also often don’t know is that many movies and TV programs use the very same sounds. Some of these sounds have become so commonplace as to become cliches. This list looks at ten of those most recognizable film and television cliched sound effects.
We are starting with the Wilhelm scream because it appeared on another list recently. The Wilhelm scream is a frequently-used film and television stock sound effect first used in 1951 for the film Distant Drums. The effect gained new popularity (its use often becoming an in-joke) after it was used in Star Wars and many other blockbuster films as well as television programs and video games. The scream is often used when someone is falling to his death from great height. Enjoy the video above – it is a compilation of the Wilhelm scream from a variety of movies.
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 version of the horror film Frankenstein. It has been used in many movies from the 1940s to the 1980s, in Disney and Hanna-Barbera cartoons, and on TV series such as Gilligan’s Island. It has also been used as an element in other sounds, such as the Enterprise’s warp acceleration in “Star Trek – The Motion Picture,” and on the flash of a laser bolt in “Star Wars” as we follow the point-of-view of an X-Wing fighter into the Death Star’s trench. It was retired from regular film use around 1985, although it is still used in 1990s and 2000s animation shows. The sound effect has also appeared in TV commercials as well.
The universal telephone ring was commonly heard in the ’70s and’80s but it still makes appearances in film and TV today. It is frequently used in movies set in those two decades such as Anchorman. The effect shot to fame when it was heard in the opening of the Rockford Files – just before the answering phone kicks in. It went on to appear in TV shows such as the Six Million Dollar Man, the Bionic Woman, Magnum PI, and films like Close Encounters, Ghostbusters, and The Sting. At least one sound editor has said that people should stop using it due to the “wow” distortion heard in the original recording. That request has, however, fallen on deaf ears it would seem.
Next time you watch a movie with an owl in it, remember this list. Every time an owl is heard in a movie, it is the Great Horned Owl. For some reason it has become the ubiquitous “owl sound” to most movie goers. This is one of those ambient effects which very rarely occurs at the same time as an owl appears on the screen. When you hear this sound you know it is nighttime and you know that something spooky is happening or going to happen. The Great Horned Owl is not the only cliche in bird sounds in movies:
Imagine a camera panning across a landscape which finally ends in a high mountain. What sound will you hear? You will hear a hawk or a bald eagle screeching. This sound is also heard just before or just after a climactic part of an adventure movie set in the wilderness. This sound signifies the great outdoors. And everytime you hear it it is the same bird: a red tailed hawk. If you want to hear what a real bald eagle sounds like, click here.
The Tarzan yell 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 and the closest thing to it in the books is simply called “The victory cry of the bull ape.” The yell appears in many cartoons and other movies which use it for comic effect. The sound is actually made by Johnny Weissmuller – the actor in the clip above. He stared as Tarzan in the films based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs books starting with Tarzan the Ape Man (1932).
The cry of the common loon gets a lot of play in the movies. It is a sound mostly associated with wilderness—large, pristine lakes where humans rarely intrude. In the movies, however, you can hear a loon almost anywhere. The determining factor is fog. A suburban scene with close-cut lawns, water sprinklers, sidewalks and kids riding bicycles is not good loon habitat, but add some fog and Hollywood will have loons crying from every direction.
Every time a vehicle crashes, trash cans fall over, something blows up, or any chaos occurs off-screen, after the sounds of breaking glass and other Stock Sound Effects, the same poor cat gets caught in the crossfire and makes that same tortured screech. No exceptions. It pops up in areas and scenes where there’s no reason for a cat to be there at all. There is absolutely no doubt that everyone reading this list has heard the poor cat at some point. Its origins are unknown. In the clip above you have to watch until the very end (it only takes two minutes) to hear the sound effect when the Mask throws away his tommy gun.
Every time a full moon arises in a movie, we hear the lonesome call of a wolf. Film makers seem so determined to add this “spooky” sound effect that the wolf sounds even appear in many films set in locations where there are no wolves. The most popular wolf sound used by film makers is the timber wolf – whose call you can hear by clicking the link above. Now just add some loons and a great horned owl and you don’t even need a script to set the scene.
We started with a scream so let’s end with one. Unlike the Wilhelm Scream, this one doesn’t have an official name though it appears to been dubbed the Howie Scream because it is the sound Howie Long makes in Broken Arrow right before he gets killed. This and the Wilhelm scream are just the two most common of about 15 regularly used stock screams, most of which have yet to be named.
The sound effect for cops' radios are often reused. I first noticed the effect in GTA2 and I often hear it in movies where the police or swat are present.
I noticed that too, from the first GTA game to Dexter (the TV show).
They use it in just about every thing. The main part I hear sounds like the dispatcher saying “Mike-George-Teen” or “5-George-Teen”.
Howie scream rules.
Number 1 sound effect = coconut shell horse clipclop clipclop
Nice list; I own an EMI sound effects CD – what’s interesting about the CD is that several sound effects are recognisable as they were used on Beatle recordings; the jet noise at the start of Back in the USSR, blackbird song, audience noise (from Sgt Pepper)
hi
i’m not able to find the jet noise sound to download, as i play in a band and we play back in the ussr.
Can you help me?
roberto@tnet.it
What about the ubiquitous chirruping sound you get in Westerns, usually round the campfire at nightime in the desert – are they meant to be crickets or something?
awesome list!!
except i think you forgot the creaking door
Very fun list, thanks. For a while this site was getting a bit dull, it seemed that all interesting topics had been covered, but this list is great
Well I have an official name for number one. The “Who the F#^k recorded my orgasm when I was with Kiwiboy’s mum” ……………. Doooooooohhhhhhh….
Dolphins always make that same “dolphin chatter” sound when spinning, jumping, etc. Every time i hear that sound i laugh my head off.
So *that* is a Howie Scream! You have no idea how happy I am to finally learn this
for some reason I always thought a wilhelm scream was the one people make when they jump/fall off something in a movie… particularly associated with goofy. ya-hoo-hoo-hooey. Like that
Does that one have a name?
@Iain (4):
this one?
youtube.com/watch?v=HZLjJy0abf8
i like the howie scream more than the wilhelm scream. too bad the person with such screaming talent was lost in history…
nice list
there could’ve been more though
how about the howl of the wind? and lots of other howls of animals. is there a universal noise for a pistol / AK fire?
I could hear all these in my head as I read these. That poor cat.
i remember the howie scream from starcraft and had indeed noticed it was reused in other things. its awesome. Good to see it really is indeed a reused sound effect.
Whenever a movie has a swamp scene they always add the same frog chorus on the soundtrack. As a child I was always surprised that the frogs I heard didn’t make the same sound(the classic “ribbit”). I read somewhere that the “ribbit” is the sound of a particular species of frog that lives around the Hollywood Hills and was therefore convenient to record.
cool…
AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!! Real Monsters scream. Oh how I miss being a kid.
Thats kind of freaky
what about the Crickets?
I remember watching an early Marx Brothers film where they were using a large metal sheet and shaking it to simulate the sound of thunder. How far we’ve come…
Excellimento list
Could’ve used the ubiqitous ‘coyote howl/yelp’ heard in may westerns – and used to exceptional effect in the second ‘Temors’ movie (Tremors:Aftershocks):
Earl and his new sidekick, Grady Hoover are bedding down for the night:
[coyote howls]
Grady: Is that a coyote?
Earl: Yep!
Grady: Man! He better be quiet.
[coyote howls again; howl is suddenly cut off with a yelp when we hear the 'graboid' noise]
Earl: Yep!
Cool list, but I do have to correct your terminology. The people that create or record these kind of sounds are NOT foley artists. Foley is specifically the recording of sounds performed in time with a picture, so it’s usually limited to ‘people’ effects such as footsteps, cloth moves, claps, hits, handling objects, etc. You can record all kinds of other sounds in the foley studio too, that need to be edited or treated before using in the soundtrack, but Foley has nothing to do with going out and recording bird calls.
And yes, I do this for a job, so I’m pretty used to people not really understanding what it is we do.
BTW, there’s several ‘door’ sounds which you hear all the time which could almost make a list like this. Most people probably don’t notice them, but I’m always distracted when I hear one of the stock ‘Hollywood’ doors in a show.
nice. you could add that almost any time a video game sound is heard its from donkey kong!
Or PacMan.
Cool list. I like the screams. The creaking door and crickets could be added for a bonus. Also gun shots. They are always louder in the movies.
cool 25, i feel honored.
I know what you mean about the owl sound effects – We have a European Eagle owl (call Louis) and he sounds nothing like those which you hear on movies. The same can be said for our barn Owl (Jessie). In fact, I’ve never personally come across an owl as they sound in the movies, though there are quite a few wild breeds around our home.
Two that I find very recognizable are the sound of a pump shotgun being primed *chunkchunk* or the sound of some wickedly sharp metal object being pulled from a scabbard *shhiing* Both of these sounds signal brown trouser time for someone. Can you tell I watch a lot of violent movies?
No lightsaber sound effects?
One I think worthy of inclusion is the bird that lives in every movie jungle on the planet, the one that goes, “oo-oo-oo-oo, AH! AH! AH!” I think it’s the kookaburra as heard here: http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/nature/daceloNovaguineae.mp3
Thanks to Crow for pointing this out on MST3K.
Wilhelm is the best! Makes me laugh evry time!!
There’s a particular sound I’ve heard in various video games since Doom, and reused in other TV productions. I think it was originally recorded from a camel but I hear it pop up from time to time.
I remember the howie scream from the old crash bandicoot games. I didn’t know they had a name for that scream, i’ve heard it so many times!
@enoooo (17): Man, I loved that show as a teen… too bad it didn’t stay on the air longer. Oh, and do you remember that headmaster/mistress monster?
Three additional sounds I find ubiquitous:
1. The sound of screeching tires as a car slides around a turn or peels off.
2. A peacock’s call anytime a scene takes place in a jungle.
3. When a fist hits someone’s face.
what about the sound of something like glass shattering, the effect they spoof in wet hot american summer? anyone know what I’m talking about
@Darren (29): I always thought that was a monkey, not a bird…
Just by reading the descriptions you can actually hear these sounds in your head. Fun list!
How about the motorcycle engine roar? It doesn’t matter if the bike is a street bike or an off-roader, two- or four-stroke, all movie/tv motorcycles have the same sound. Same for computer keyboards, they all sound the same. But in my 21 years of keyboards, I have never heard a keyboard that makes that distinct clicking-of-chicklets sound.
I thought for sure the sound of a shotgun being pumped would make the list.
Awooooooo! Nice list
Two very cheesy ones: when someone moves a gun around or passes it to someone it always makes a chinking sound like its continuously being cocked.
And same with a sword or knife; just picking it up from a wooden table etc. always produces a ‘shing!’ noise.
The sound of Indianna Jones punching someone is very distinctive and recognizable.
@flagfool (2): Number 1 sound effect = coconut shell horse clipclop clipclop
Lol that reminds me of the horseback riding scenes in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
I don’t know if it’s used in any movies but just about every trailer for a comedy uses the same crowd gasp whenever something wacky happens. Anybody know the origins of that one? I’m guessing there’s not much of a story behind it.
YES YES YES! Thank you very much for this list. I recognize all of these all the time! It’s like the same set of stock sounds that they have kept using again and again in movies and TV. I even recognize the same recycled stock sounds in new movie trailers and whatnot. People always talk about the Wilhelm sound, but there are many other sounds that they use again and again that people definitely recognize.
Besides these, I notice that they always use the same sound loop for when kids are playing, when a baby is cooing, a creaking metallic door, when a truck passes by honking its horn, certain police radio calls… I could go on!
They always use these loops as is; I don’t understand why they don’t even bother changing the pitch a little or whatever, that’s why I’m always able to recognize them.
Unfortunately I’ve had a really hard time finding the actual sound files from a stock sound package etc. on the Internet. All I’m able to find are generic or new sounds that aren’t the ones they use so much. I assume you (JFrater) had a hard time getting these sounds too, seeing as for some of these sounds (particularly the animal sounds) you found the real-life nature source, but not the actual stock sound byte itself. I guess only people “in the business” are able to get their hands on this set of stock sounds that they use so much.
I would love to get my hands on that particular set one day, it would be lots of fun for me.
BTW, here’s a compilation of scenes that use #1, enjoy!
#22 Carlos is right. I was a sound assistant and editor for 12 years. To add to what Carlos said. The dialogue that you hear in a movie is mostly from the filming of the movie. In addition, there are lines that are replaced/added with ADR. Almost everything else is added during the sound editing process. We had a big library of sounds to choose from and they do get used over and over. If we did not have a sound then we would buy it or record it ourselves. If there is a foley artist who reads this: an interesting list for you to make is how you make some of these sounds using other items.
#8
“At least one sound editor has said that people should using it due to the “wow” distortion heard in the original recording.”
People should what? reach for an invisible rotary phone?
#6
The entire downfall of the American release of “Planet Earth” for me was the Red-tailed hawk scream during an episode where there was astonishing footage of a canyon…ruined the entire damn series. That & redubbing the narrative with Sigourney Weaver instead of Sir David Attenborough.
@berzerkeleyan (34): a peacock’s call? we have peacocks everywhere in Fort Lauderdale… they sound like screaming cats!
what about the canned laughter that was so prevalent in 80′d sitcoms? as if lacking a live studio audience, it was necessary for the sitcom producers to alert us when a bit was funny…
augh! i can never remember how to imbed videos here…damn!
last try…
rtr
You also missed the same creaky hinge sound effect. It’s everywhere!
For anyone that is a fan of the Half Life game series:
I’ve always called the last one the “Aaagh! Real Monsters!” scream.
I always wondered what that last one was called. It’s used so much.
@Wade (52): Me too! I loved that show..
Screeching airplane tires hitting the runway on landing. A sound effect we always hear for a sound most of us have never heard.
I’m tired of coming on this site. I remember when its lists were actually worth reading. i’m done, youve obviously ran out of creativity and so has your website
We'll really, really, really miss your keen insights and thought-provoking commentary.
One sound effect that I love is the page that is overheard in almost every hospital in movies or tv.
Paging Dr. Davis
Used alot during the 80′s
thats all it tokk to rid ourselves of unit six?….seriously tho…these are awesome….wilhelm scream i hear in halo many times..nice to know it has a name
wow, #57 McKrakenfield beat me to the “dr. davis” voice sample. You can literally hear it daily via movies and TV. The band Phish even uses it on an album track.
lol, number 1 is the scream from starcraft when you click on the academy
@IndigoMoth (10): That is called the “goofy holler”