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.
I really think this site needs more film and audio related lists, they always seem to be the best ones.
I read about the Weihelm scream in an Uncle Johns bathroom reader.
You left out the Sound Ideas Jail Cell Door. It’s on every commercial and PSA about crime. Sometimes they play it all the way out to the little clink at the end, mostly the first clang is used alone. It’s from the Sound Ideas SFX library out of Canada.
BTW, the “Dr. Davis” hospital PA announcement is also from Sound Ideas. The same cut has Dr. Bruce as well, but Dr. Davis gets all the play.
Was that Howie Scream SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS one that Landa uses at the end of Inglourious Basterds SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
Engines. They’re not all the same but they’re usually wrong. I grew up in the family automotive business and learned to identify engine size by sound. Now if they’re standing in front of a chevy and I hear a 5.4L running it bugs the hell out of me. Also, brakes, does nobody in hollywood maintain their vehicles?
whats the name does anyone for that sound where something flammable is ignited or sometimes when people summon fire in movies called? Its like a hissing that goes “ssswwwwweeeepwehhhh” ?
Howie Scream sounds like an X Wing from the original Star Wars Trilogy
Wow the cat screech often actually happens at scenes with things thrown at windows accidentaly and the sound of a cat comes from outside. I always knew that! XD Great list too.
#7 (Movie Owl) totally cracked me up because I just finished watching an old movie that showed a barn owl and played the Movie Owl (Great Horned) call. Barn owls make a very soft, high-pitched screech, they don’t “hoot.”
I am a birder, so I always notice it when there is a scene in the American west and they play the tapes of eastern birds that live nowhere near there.
I love watching the old Monty Python’s Flying Circus, because not only do they keep using the same audience applause sound, they show the same footage every time of a bunch of older women (in old-fashioned hats and coats) clapping. I laugh out loud every time they do it.
And where there is a movie with a horse it always makes a sound like “Clop clop clop” even walking on soft ground and even my uncle’s horse don’t do that!
I love it when they add sounds to things that don’t even make a lot of noise in real life
like, eating, especially chips…breathing (a lot of that)
The ubiquitous cat screech can be quite annoying, or comical, depending on the situation. I remember watching one Xena episode (“The Play’s the Thing”, to be exact), which had no less than three or four cat screeches for no particular reason.
Oh, and how can we forget the ubiquitous record player scratch? That’s a sound that should be retired if they ever come up with a good substitute, since barely anyone under 25 knows what a record or record player is anymore.
Ah, I remember another frequently recycled sound effect: the police scanner (the device cops always have alerting them to crimes in progress). I’ve heard the same exact recording used in several instances in TV and movies.
I am a media major, and pretty much every noise that isn’t voice in a movie is reproduced using something called “the Foley effect”.
Wife left me no joke
76 Nicolelodeon – see comments 22 & 46. There are 5 different elements to sound design: dialogue, ADR, Foley, Hard FX and Backgrounds. Not everything is foley.
By the way, even voices are reproduce by ADR. My company worked on a movie where it was filmed completely on a running submarine. Every single word was rerecorded on an ADR stage. Some shows have a lot of ADR and some have very little.
The best owl sound I’ve ever heard in movies was from “My Cousin Vinny.” They used a screech owl (don’t know if that’s the scientific term, but it’s what we’ve always called them) – watching Joe Pesci come out to “blam” up the woods was as funny as a pig with a purse.
Hey, has anyone else ever noticed that when two people are talking on the phone on screen, when the other hangs up unexpectedly, a dial tone sounds? That’s ridiculous! Whenever you hang up, there’s silence, unless you keep the phone off the hook, then there’s that horrible buzzing …
I always wondered if there was an official name for those effects because I’ve heard them so damn much. Especially #1.
i thought this list will be about the soundtracks we all recognize. like Vangelis – chariots of fire, theme from the star wars, etc. anyways that would be a nice list to read
Good list but what about that special sound effect of cartoon characters running on the spot? You know, like The Flintstones, where they run on the spot for a while whilst they explain to us about gettin’ outta here! It’s like some kind of musical instrument. Does anyone know this? It’s buggin’ me already!
Hey! Got it!
http://mattsbits.com/hanbar04.wav
From here!
http://www.findsounds.com/
aw, jfrater…the ‘howie scream’ is EXACTLY the one i meant when i commented the last list that mentioned the wilhelm scream. now i have peace of mind
I think this list should have been reversed, with Castle Thunder and Wilhelm at #2 and #1.
How about this:
or this:
A while back I took a marketing class. The teacher was very clear about something – “Perception is reality.” And Hollywood knows this fact very well and produces stuff people wanna see rather than what’s closer to reality! What’s more amazing is that a lot of people actually get their facts from Hollywood movies.
WAAAAAAAZZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA !!!
76 John- I know that there are five different types, I didn’t say everything was reproduced by foley effect, I said most. Thanks.
In the wilhelm scream compilation you forgot the blades of glory film of which the costume was lit on fire in the first skating scene
Is that what you’re looking for?
There’s also the pig sound from Warcraft 2. I wanted to extract it as well but I can’t find my game CD
I want to know the name of the female scream that is WAY over-used. I first heard it as part of the background sounds in the game Diablo, but I’ve heard it on commercials, tv shows and movies. It was used as in a commercial for Heroes the first season when Claire was being stalked by Sylar at the high school.
There is also a woman’s scream and childrens’ laughter that I’ve heard several times in different shows.
Can anybody track those down?
Let’s open this up to contain a wider variety of cliches. A jet airplane flying right to left to indicate a trip to the West coast. A beautiful woman’s entrance beginning with a pan up her legs. A guy taking the nerdy woman’s glasses off – revealing a beauty. And on, and on….
Oh, that makes sense
thanks jfrater!
They used the Wilhelm scream in American Dad last night.
Most people don’t realize that Tarzan’s yell is actually a YODEL
I enjoyed this list very much.
This list was totally ENJOYABLE!
Thanks!
Kind of off the subject, but I almost fell out of my chair laughing several years ago during an episode of “Alias” (which I totally loved) when Sydney and one of the guys were rushing to defuse some new, scary kind of bomb. It was an Apple AirPort Base Station painted gray. Those are plastic and weigh less than a pound. They were handling the bomb as if it weighed 50 pounds or so. They turned it over and took the bottom cover off, and they guy laid the cover on the concrete. It made a sound like a manhole cover hitting a street.
Yeah, know all those sound effects, NOT.
Thank you! You often write very interesting articles. You improved my mood.
The BBC produced a massive sound effects library
http://www.sound-ideas.com/bbc.html
off-topic but homaged by semi-punk band “The Jam”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_Affects
my 4 year old granddaughter can’t get enough of the tarzan yell!
They should have used barn owl screech instead.. Owls are cool.
all good things
Where is the happy children laughter and background police chatter?
Great list! Here’s an even more exhaustive list, including recycled video game sounds:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StockSoundEffects
Also, this sound design podcast episode is worth a listen. Has another example (at 8:45) of a recycled sound – an elevator lift sound used in everything from the 1996 Marathon video game to Wall-E
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?i=47478963&id=273880447
Here is the link for the Wilhelm scream, amoung other special effects.
Wilhelm scream find: Kung-Fu panda – when Tai Lung is escaping, the last guy he throws down when he jumps up on the bridge (before they collapse it with the falling rocks) gives a Wilhelm scream.
OK, I created a master list at wikipedia, let’s update it:
List of TV, Movies and Games that employ the Wilhelm Scream
Are you a professional journalist? You write very well.
what about the laughing children? cuz i always hear them in certain movies and commercials.. like the end of children of men .. i think
theres a girl’s voice going like heheheheh heheha and another one going ha haahahahehea
Interesting and informative. But will you write about this one more?
Okay, what about the sound of a man screaming like he’s on fire or something? “Hoooooaaaah! Hoo-hooooah!”. By the way, there’s an over-used “door squeak” sound in the PC game The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, whenever you open a cave door. Used in many films. Also, gotta love the Peanuts cartoon/Bruce Lee film “Oof!” fall. Don’t hear that one as much any more.
that clip from the mask made me wee myself laughing. probably not the effect you were going for…
If you’ve seen Avatar, I think there is a case of the Wilhelm Scream when the guy in the walker gets pummeled by the rhino thing at the ending battle.
I’m surprised that the Explosion sound effect that seems to be in every movie isn’t listed. It is so over used that it actually annoys me when I hear it. The most recent use of it I can remember is in the Legion trailer you’ll hear it at exactly 4:10 in this preview, just after he says, “they just want the child”
It’s characterized by the high pitched squeal or pressure release sound just before the explosion. I’ve heard it in a LOT of movies.