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io9Why Boba Fett’s Sound Was a Mystery for Almost 20 Years
If I say “Bad Guy in Helmet from Star Wars” first you think of Darth Vader and then you think of Boba Fett. However, while everyone knows what Darth Vader sounds like when he walks around, what about Boba Fett? Going into Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, the plan was for the new character … Continued
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io9Remixed Star Wars Sound Effects Create the Catchiest Song of the Summer
The Star Wars franchise has some of the most iconic and recognizable sound effects, from the whoosh of a lightsaber to the bleeps and bloops of R2-D2. So it’s no surprise that musician Eclectic Method has returned to this wonderful pool of sonic samples to create yet another catchy track you’ll be playing on repeat … Continued
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io9MoviesThe Weird Sounds That Helped Bring K-2SO and Rogue One to Life
To help bring a film like Rogue One—which takes place in far-off worlds with ships and creatures we’ve never seen before—to life, sound designers will often use unexpected sound effects that are warped and manipulated, until you can’t imagine a droid like K-2So sounding any other way. Sound On Sound magazine visited Skywalker Sound and … Continued
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Tech NewsArtificial IntelligenceArtificial Sound Effects Have Now Entered the Uncanny Valley
Using machine learning, researchers from MIT have developed a system that produces sound effects that are so realistic they even fool human listeners. The new algorithm, developed by researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, can predict the precise acoustical qualities of a sound, and then simulate it in an extremely realistic way. … Continued
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Tech NewsSploid10 Movies That Used the Same Exact Sound Effects As Other Movies
Avatar and Jurassic Park. Lord of the Rings and Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Star Trek and The Jetsons. What do those films have in common with each other? They used the same exact sound effects in their movies. Obviously some of those sound effects are done as an homage for movies that came before … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech NewsSploidProof that all movie trailers use the same new damn sound
Before it was that Inception horn. You know the one, that BRAAAAM sound that strategically tingled your spine because you know something action packed yet suspenseful is going to happen. And now there’s a new favorite sound for movie trailers: it sounds a lot like pulling the power on something and hearing the noise get … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech NewsSploidVideo: The sound effects of Star Wars
If you see a light saber, you can hear the glowing sound it makes. If you see C-3P0 or R2-D2 or Chewie, you can automatically hear them even if they’re not talking. Vader? Yeah, you hear the breathing. And that goes for X-Wings and Tie Fighters and everything else, the sounds of Star Wars are … Continued
By Casey Chan -
io9The Surprising Objects Used To Make Gruesome Sounds On The Walking Dead
Tucked into a fascinating article about veteran Foley artist Gregg Barbanell, highly skilled in creating realistic (yet not distracting) ambient sounds for films, TV shows, and video games, is a rundown of how he achieves The Walking Dead’s most bone-rattling noises. The “tools” he uses are shockingly unshocking. They’re also items you just might have … Continued
By Cheryl Eddy -
io9Listen To Some Of The Most Commonly Used Sound-Effects In Cinema
Have you ever heard a scream or sound effect in a movie that sounded strangely familiar? There’s a good chance you weren’t imagining things. Here are some of cinema’s most iconic sounds – and where they originated. The Tarzan yell, which first appeared in Tarzan the Ape Man (1932), was later used for animated series … Continued
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Tech News
The London Times Is Blasting Reporters With Typewriter Sound Effects
Rupert Murdoch must be feeling nostalgic: Reporters in The Times UK’s newsroom are working under a constant soundtrack of (artificial) typewriter clatter. It’s an experiment to “increase energy levels,” and for a generation of reporters who grew up on word processors, it’s probably torture. Yes, as The Independent tells us, Times journalists walked into the … Continued
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io9
How The TARDIS Got Its Famous Dematerialization Sound
The sound of the TARDIS arriving is an unmistakable — and distinctive — sign that the Doctor is near. But, while the sound may be alien, it turns out that its origins are decidedly earthbound. After looking at the series of keys that have opened up the famous blue box throughout the years, commenter simon-on-the-river3 … Continued
By Ria Misra -
io9What If Star Wars‘s Sound Effects Sucked?
Star Wars fans should count themselves lucky that George Lucas found talented sound designer Ben Burtt to bring the audible portion of his scifi universe to life. Because as this video proves, Star Wars would have been a much different movie with a less talented foley artist in charge. [Via Laughing Squid]
By Rob Bricken -
io9Pure Auditory Nostalgia: Over 40 Minutes of Cartoon Sound Effects
Here now for your aural pleasure are 42 minutes and 29 seconds of sound effects from vintage Warner Bros. cartoons. This is highly concentrated auditory nostalgia, delivered right to your ear-holes. It’s surprising how many of the screeches, bleats, booms, bangs, clatters, whooshes, whizzes and instrumental clangs in this SFX reel are instantly recognizable. Like … Continued
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Tech NewsSploidWatching music videos without the music is pretty damn funny
This is genius. Mario Wienerroither replaces the music from popular music videos with imagined sound effects and noises of what’s actually happening in the music video. If you see someone jumping around, you’ll hear jumping around and not the song. The result? An awkwardly funny mashup of artists dancing by themselves to no tunes, making … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech NewsJurassic Park’s Dinosaur Sound Effects Were Actually Animal Sex Sounds
So, uh, this is an uncomfortable one. You know the dinosaur sounds from Jurassic Park that framed the way you imagined every dinosaur ever? They were actually recordings of animals boning, or just about to bone. The velociraptor raspy bark, a basic means of communication for the dinosaurs in the film, were actually cut from … Continued
By Kyle Wagner -
io9MoviesThe Sounds in Lincoln Are the Same Ones Honest Abe Heard
If you need any other proof that the filmmakers behind Lincoln went above and beyond the call of duty to make the film as authentic as possible, sound designer Ben Burtt tracked down one of Lincoln’s original pocket watches and recorded its actual ticking sound. That’s dedication. The film’s sound team also visited the White … Continued
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Tech NewsHow the Muppets Sound as Captivating as They Look
The magic of the Muppets is the uncanny suspension of disbelief, which itself is a function of their being actual physical entities. A CGI Kermit would be a joke; the one we grew up with, though, we can see, and touch, and hear. And that last part is sorely underrated. This look at how the … Continued
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io9Darth Vader will lose a little more of his dignity in Star Wars original trilogy Blu-rays. Listen for yourself!
George Lucas is not satisfied with turning the puppet Yoda in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace into a CG creation. Or just fixing some of the wonky lightsabre effects in the original trilogy. He’s going a bit further. Lucas had promised that fans would have a few new details here and there to notice in … Continued
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Tech NewsThe Magic Behind Disneyland’s Sound
Part of what makes Disneyland such an immersive experience is the sophisticated sound design found throughout the park. Across dozens of narrative worlds, hundreds of sound cues must be deployed at just the right moment to keep the visitors suspended in disbelief. Here’s a look at the extraordinarily talented Imagineers who make it happen (though … Continued
