Easy Sound Effects (That Sound Good)

As you may or may not know, I have been slaving (okay, maybe more like working) on the sound effects for iSundae II. In the course of creating sounds, I have discovered a few interesting items which create some unexpected sounds.

Force-Fields

I don’t know what a force-field sounds like. Do you? Since this was a fantasy sound, I went for the fantastic. In order to get just the right sound, I ended up taking a balloon and thwaping it. Then I lowered the pitch a bit, and ended up with a neat “Boiinnng” noise.

Giant Slugs

For this sound I wanted something akin to the caterpillar in A Bug’s Life. The slurpy, bloppy sound that his movement triggers seemed to fit a giant slug. Enter hot water bottle. I filled one about half-full and sloshed it around for awhile, and I’m expecting it to work rather well.

Never Underestimate a Wall

I have to chuckle when I think of all the sound that I’ve created for iSundae II using my hands and my computer desk, chair, or a nearby wall. For when a small character climbed up a chair, I recorded myself drumming my fingers on a wall. Sounds great, and it took me all of thirty seconds to do. If you remember that the object from which you obtain the sound does not have to be the object in the film, you’ll find that you turn to household objects for sound effects more often.

Crazy Things Are Sometimes Necessary

Creating a walking sound for one of our characters had me stumped for awhile. Since he is a stuffed puppet, he never really walked, but instead seemed to shuffle along. Plus, he had to drag a sword sheath, creating more problems. After I tried slapping my hands on a table with poor results, I turned to the crazy. I got a broom, put on a pair of slippers, stood on an office floor mat, and shuffled around while dragging the broom handle. The result not only produced the needed sound, but also made my siblings laugh.