Tdhtdhtdhtdhtdh: Sound Effects! | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

Welcome to Stuff You Should Know, a. production of iHeart Radio. >> Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm. Josh and there's Chuck and Jerry's here, too. And this is Stuff You Should Know. I've got nothing. >> Hey, that was a sound effect in and of. itself. >> I guess I don't know if it really. qualifies, but I appreciate the support, Chuck. It was uh it was Josh introing.

the show as he falls off of a cliff. >> No, it was Josh in space. >> Yeah, that too. >> Yeah, the cliff works, too. I think it. just. >> I like you in space better than dying. >> Thank you. I appreciate that. But I. think that really goes to illustrate. just how versatile sound effects can be. >> Yeah, I'm excited about this one. >> I am too. This was a Dave joint. He. helped us with this. That's right. And. um I knew nothing about this stuff. I. mean, I knew that the people who make.

this are often called Foley artists when. they do a specific kind of thing. Um but. just like the little details and. everything and it was all new to me and. it was all super interesting. So I'm. psyched about this one, too. >> Yeah, me too. Uh so what we're talking. about is sound effects. uh if you. haven't gathered that by now and you. know I never assume what people know. about movie making uh because I I worked. in that field for a little while and and. you and I did a TV show like you know. some stuff about it uh but I never. assume that people know things or not.

So we should say right out of the gate. uh when you're watching a movie you're. watching a TV show or something like. that and also this stuff is for. animation and video games and all that. stuff but we're mainly talking about you. know live action stuff. when you see a a. car drive down the road, uh, or a. person, a couple sitting in a restaurant. having a conversation and you hear all. the people in the background, you hear. that car drive down the road or or. anything you hear, a door shut, footsteps, all of that stuff is created. in post-prouction either by a a person.

doing it, a Foley artist, which we're. going to talk a lot about, >> or it might be from a a sound catalog. like where you have all kinds of. recordings you can pull from, >> right? >> Like Car Door Shut, stuff like that. or. sometimes, you know, that stuff now. obviously is created through the. wizardry of of computing. >> Yeah. But there's a surprising. craft that's still left that has not. been pushed out by computers yet that. seems like this would have happened. years ago, but the the work that the.

Foley artists do is so intricate and so. well done that computers just can't. replicate it yet. like yeah they have. there's a car door sound sounds good but. it just doesn't quite work and the. reason why from what I I saw all the. explanations I saw basically said fully. artists are they're sound actors so. they're acting along with the actors on. screen to make the sounds that that you. know and love and actually don't even. notice but you would notice them if they.

weren't there or they were off. >> Yeah, for sure. Uh, and two more quick. points for me. Um, sound is often. overlooked, I think, by the general. public in in a movie or TV show. >> For sure. >> And even as you've seen, my friend, on. on actual sets, um, it's it's half the. thing is what you're hearing, the other. half is what you're seeing, but the. sound department, every sound department. I've ever worked with is always like. just they're shoved to the side and you. know, you know, they make room for the.

camera and everything, the lighting, and. there's a boom person that's like, "Oh, don't worry about me." like I also have. to stand in this room. >> Yeah, Brian. >> And do do like half the sound. >> Uh they're always, you know, just shoved. off to the side, which is incredible. that it's still sort of like that. >> Um and also, you know, getting back to. what I said before about how every sound. you hear basically that is not dialogue. or or music like soundtrack stuff or. unless it's diagetic. Um sound actually. screws things up on recording out in the. world. Like that's why they try to shoot.

as much as they can on a stage because. if you're out on the street, you often. hear the term hold for sound because. there's a lawnmower and they may add a. lawnmower later to make something more. real, but they don't want the lawnmower. that's actually there or the plane. flying over. They could add all of that. stuff, the birds chirping, they add all. that stuff later to to make it real, but. you you can't have any of that on the. day while you're shooting. So, you're. always holding for sound, waiting for. the car or the train or the leaf blower. Uh, and that's why they shoot like. restaurant scenes like completely.

silent. Everybody is mimming. >> Mhm. >> Talking in the background. And it's. really weird when you see like a clip of. it. >> Uh, oh, it's definitely weird. It's also. weird to be like in the middle of it. trying to act when everybody around you. in the restaurant is silently miming. >> Yeah. And it's also hard. I I did an. extra thing or two. It's that's hard to. do. >> Yeah, for sure. I'm sure those are two. sides of the same coin. >> Yeah. >> So, two those were two great quick. points. Um, seven quick points from me. >> That's about how it goes.

>> A So, you said a word back there um a. minute ago, diagetic. And that stood out. to me like what? And the reason why I. didn't stop you and say, "What are you. talking about, Chuck?" It's because I. already know what it means. So, I feel. like I should explain it. Diagetic sound. is the sound inside the movie's world. So, if you were one of the characters or. the extras or anybody in that movie, >> you would hear these sounds like that. lawn mower, that car driving by, the. machine gun,

you know, >> from from the car driving by. That's my. best one. >> Yeah. I mean, a lot of times you hear it. in terms of music, like when they're. they're playing something in the car. that they're hearing. >> Sure. >> And then a very common sort of thing to. do is then that becomes the the the. soundtrack. It like kind of changes the. tone a little bit, you know? >> Yeah. >> It's always great. But so so that would. be diioetic music, but the like the. score that's just going along with it, that would be non diioetic because the. characters aren't hearing that. Same. with narration.

>> Yeah. Unless it's like a naked gun kind. of thing and then they might like the. strings will swell and somebody will be. like, "Did you hear that? >> Has Ruby taken you to the new Naked. Gun?". >> Uh, I took myself Scotty and I went, >> "Oh, really? How was it?". >> It's very, very, very funny. >> Really? So, do you know Liam Niss and. Pamela Anderson are a couple now? >> I wondered about that because they're. they're both people at a certain stage. in life that are without their um. partners and for very different reasons, but I kind of was like, you know, I I.

kind of hoped they would get together. >> Well, they did, buddy. Your your wish. came true. >> She's very funny in it. You It's I don't. know if it's still out, but I highly. recommend seeing it in a theater with. laughing with a group of people. >> Okay, good to know. >> But it's probably too late for that. >> So, So, um, you talked about how you hold. for lawn mower and all that and that. that stuff's added on later. Uh, I think. something like 90% I've actually seen. higher than that of the sound you hear. in the film that's not dialogue or music. is added later on in post-prouction.

That's how important this stuff is. And. like you said though, it just it gets. treated like a secondass citizen despite. how hard they work. And I think if we. get across anything in this episode, it. should be how hard and creative the. people who make sound effects are. >> Yeah, for sure. Uh and again, we're. going to get into the Foley stuff and. and mention things like sound banks of. uh of of doors shutting and wind blowing. and all that stuff that you can pull. from. But a lot of times you have sound.

designers that go out and make their own. recordings of that stuff. They just they. don't want the the universal uh catalog. of cars uh car door shutting. They want. to get their own. Maybe it's a specific. car. In fact, that's that's what they. should be doing because car doors are. very specific the sound they make. Uh so. they'll go out in the field uh there was. a whole movie about that uh blowup or. I'm sorry, Blowout. >> with John Travolta where he played a guy. that captures the sound of a car crash. that ends up being very, you know, murderous. >> Yeah. Yeah. Uh, that was actually a.

pretty good movie. >> Great. >> It is a classic, right? Don't people. consider it a classic? >> Um, there's also, so in addition to. caror shutting, like the vehicles. themselves, the sounds they make. Um, those are often like from a sound. library. Uh, but I've also seen that. they'll be layered, they'll like add. certain details sometimes later on onto. the sound library file um called. sweetening. And that's a that seems to. be a pretty common thing. Even if you're. taking stuff that you're making out in.

the field yourself or you're making in. the studio uh as you're watching the the. clip, um you'll probably still layer all. that stuff together to get like the most. realistic, richest possible sound. >> Yeah, they get really into it. It's it's. a good nerdy sort of line of work. Um. >> you got to have a good ear, that's for. sure. uh you're because you're. recreating, you know, punches and slaps. and every gunshot that you hear in every. movie is not what you hear on set. obviously. Um and then of course, you.

know, this is all stuff done that's like. real sound effects. Um a lot of the. things that are created via computer. are, but not all of them are things that. don't exist, you know, like if if you're. going to do like a a movie set in outer. space, you're going to be making up a. lot of brand new sounds that have never. been made before. Yeah, they seem to. love that stuff because they have like. cart blanc to just go nuts and get. creative basically. >> It's awesome. >> Um, another one that gets left out that. sounds really boring, but apparently. it's really hard or footsteps.

>> Um, I'm sure there's tons of uh sound. effects of footsteps in in libraries, but those don't work from what I've. seen. I from from what I've read, they're essentially there because. somebody put them there. People don't. use them. You have to make this the. footsteps. based on the actor and how. they're moving and not just in sync with. them, but a good Foley artist uh will. take into account the weight, the. height, the gate, >> are they shuffling, are they high-.

stepping, are they goosestepping? Um. they're like they take all this stuff. into account to make a specific kind of. walk or footfall um for a particular. actor. >> Yeah. And a lot of times this stuff is. dictated by budget. Obviously, uh, Foley. artists don't come cheap. So, if you've. ever been watching a low-budget movie. and the footsteps sounded kind of corny, it's probably because they're pulling. from a library. >> Probably. They're trying their best. >> They're doing their best. They don't. have the kind of dough for that. So, you.

know, it all just depends. >> So, um, I say, do you want to go back to. the beginning of all this? >> Yeah. Which is surprisingly silent. movies, right? >> Yeah. Well, apparently it goes even. further back than that to vaudeville. before there were even movies. people. would play along on stage to make sound. effects with vaudeville act. So, it was. a pretty um brainless transition uh from. vaudeville stages to the stage. underneath a movie. And it was just. somebody playing along, I think, to.

start with like drums and like maybe. some clackers and a few different. things, but it very quickly took off uh. as like a a cottage industry to make um. props for people who did this live to. use. >> Yeah. props or. >> traps. >> Traps, baby. Uh, short for contraption. And a lot of times it was percussionist. even if they weren't literally playing. drums because percussionists are just. good at doing multiple things with the. hands and feet at the same time.

>> Yeah. So they had these contraptions or. traps and they started making them like. drum companies like uh Ludwig started. making uh traps to just simulate things. like the sounds and you know these are. early early talkies so it's not like. they were going for absolute realism. with like a barking dog sound or a train. whistle or a snore or a cash register. >> but they would make these traps that. were close enough that people hearing. this stuff for the first time in a movie. were like oh my god.

>> right I ever knew a dog actually sounded. like that? >> Yeah. >> Um, there is this video of a guy named. Nick White and he is a master of this. He has a bunch of like vintage traps and. he does live sound effects along with. like black and white talkie movies, silent movies, sorry. Um, and there's a. video of his called Vintage Sound effect. artist for vintage films. And it's. amazing to watch him do this in real. time because like you said, he's doing. stuff with his feet, he's doing stuff. with his hands, and then he's also.

probably got some sort of weird whistle. in his mouth at the same time, too. >> Yeah. The um And it's funny, Dave. mentioned him later in the article, but. I was going to bring him up anyway. This. guy Josh Harmon. >> is a very fun Instagram account to. follow because he does it to old. cartoons. >> Yeah. >> And he has really blown up. He's like. got four and a close to five million. Instagram uh people now. >> Wow. and uh has had like some famouses. on there that take part. And the delight. of Josh Harmon's stuff is um not only.

watching him squeeze a balloon to make. it sound like somebody like Porky Pig is. trying to get through a door, uh but the. delight he gets at the end of the clip, he just always lights up with this. wonderful smile. And uh like one of my. life goals is to to sit in and and do a. thing, a sesh with Armen. Nice. >> Oh man, I've asked. Oh, have you asked? >> Well, just on Instagram like, "Hey, I. know I'm not Nick Jonas, but like I got. a few people who listen to me. Can I get. in there?" And and a bunch of stuff you.

should know. People are like, "Yeah, get. Chuck. Get Chuck." But he, you know, it. didn't get through. >> Oh, well, keep trying, Chuck. >> I'm gonna Maybe this will get to him. >> It could. Attention Josh Harmon. Do. this. >> What about slapstick, though? I didn't. know that even. >> Uh, yeah. The term is actually, you. know, slapstick is like physical silly. comedy made up with Pratt falls. And the. reason it's called slapstick is because. there was a trap um that people used to. use that was a slapstick. I think I can. imagine it. It's like um two wooden duck.

bills that you smack together. >> Okay. >> As a clacker. >> Yeah. >> And they use that when somebody had a. prat fall, like when they tumbled and. fell or something like that, they would. use this slapstick. Um, that's where the. name came from. So, now you can go forth. and tell everyone you ever meet where. the origin of the term slapstick is. from. >> I love it. Uh, maybe Yeah. Here, let's. finish up with the jazz singer and then. take a break. What do you say? >> Mhm. >> Well, the jazz singer, as we've. mentioned in other episodes, was the.

first sort of widely released uh. successful talkie, >> right? >> Uh, and I know we've talked about the. vitophone before. So, did we do one on. silent movies or was it just the birth. of the movies or something like that? I. don't know. I don't I don't know. I. don't know. >> Well, Warner Brothers had developed. something called the Vitaone, and that. was a a separate machine that would sync. the audio along to the projector while. they're while they're playing it. And it. was it was basically like a record. They. recorded it on shellac discs like an LP.

And once the Jazz Singer came out, a. whole new industry was born from silent. movies, >> right? Like throwing a light switch. like silent movies were out and talkies. were in. Like this was an enormous. innovation for sure. >> Um so yeah, I say that's a great setup. for where we are in history with sound. effects. >> All right, so we're just going to walk. away. Clip clop clip clop. >> Wait, wait. >> Oh no.

We'll be right back. You do a great uh machine gun and I have. to say you and Scott Aerman both do.

great machine gun sounds with your. mouth. That is from. years and years of playing with fake. M16s in the woods. >> What is that horrible instinct that. little boys have? >> I I don't know. It's weird. I'm glad it. it usually gets it gets left behind or. shed as you get older typically. But. >> let's pick up that stick and go. >> Yeah. >> See, that was terrible. >> No, it was pretty good. That was a that. was a modified M16. >> All right. How about this? Bullet.

Bullet. bullet. >> Is that good? >> Did I ever tell you about the time um I. was playing laser tag and we didn't it. was like at like 10:30 in the morning on. a Tuesday for some reason and um we. didn't have enough of us in a group to. make it like even teams. >> Yeah. >> So the guy the guy who worked there, this other kid, he played with us and he. caught me in a corner and got me and. then he just stood there and shot me. like every time like my my piece would.

reset. >> He kept just shooting me and killing me. And finally, I shouted at him like, "Stop." And he just laughed and walked. away, >> but he killed me probably like 10 times. and in just, you know, however long it. took to reset. >> Oh, since you mentioned that and we're. doing this today, I had my very first. laser tag at Ruby's birthday party this. summer. >> Nice. >> I had never done it before and I was the. only adult in there with all the kids. I. was on the boys team and um I was like,

"Listen guys, >> they're going to be running around and. screaming and shooting." I was like, "Everyone find a position and stay. there, >> preferably higher ground.". >> And I feel kind of bad because we. dominated and I specifically dominated, >> right? >> I beat it was like I had like 10 times. the points as the next highest person. >> That's awesome against kids though. >> Yeah. So, I just I got in a in a high. spot and was just picking them off as. they came up. >> You're like Billy Madison playing. dodgeball in Billy Madison.

>> Oh, and not only did I not feel bad, I. got a lot of satisfaction out of it. >> Oh, bet, ma'am. >> Yeah, it was fun. >> I'll bet. Um, instead of bullet, did you. go laser laser laser? >> I did. >> Uh, well, that's our laser tag. anecdotes, everybody. >> All right, we got to talk about a legend. uh named Jack Foley. And this guy's. story is pretty great. He was there at. the beginning like where we left off. with the release of uh the jazz singer. in 1927.

>> Um so he was there at the transition to. talkies and I he was doing all sorts of. stuff. He wrote a a monthly column in. Universal Studios like essentially. company magazine. I guess. >> he did that for decades. He was a great. illustrator. He was a insert director. where like um if you showed one of the. three stooges like grabbing a paintbrush. out of a bucket and you just saw their. hand. >> that's an insert and then they would. edit that in later. The director who. directed the whole thing like the.

stooges probably didn't actually take. that or get that shot. Somebody like. Jack Foley did. >> and somehow someway he ended up becoming. uh a sound effects guy. I don't know how. he got his first chance. I think he was. just hired on as one of the people doing. it and he became so good at it and so. legendary that still today anything that. has to do with creating sound effects in. a studio is is called Foley. >> Yeah. His his name became an adjective,

a verb and a and an art form. >> and a department. >> Yeah. >> Which is I don't know many people that. can say that. So and I also think he got. hired because he was just around doing. all kinds of stuff. So, it was one of. those things like Jack Foley can. probably do it, >> right? >> Um, so after the Jinger, you know, everyone was like, "Oh my gosh, this is. the new thing. We have to have our. talkie and Universal had already gotten. the movie Showboat in the can as a. silent film, >> right?". >> And they said, "We want to change this.

into a talkie." So Jack Foley goes over. to stage 10 at Universal Studios with an. orchestra and started working his magic, which was, you know, fairly limited. stuff at first, like audiences cheering. and and water and the sounds of the. steamboat and stuff like that, but it, you know, he kind of saved the day. >> Yeah. And the thing is, so there's this. live orchestra playing along with this. and there's no retakes. you did this. whole movie in one take because it was. being recorded directly to that viophone.

record, right? So it it went out with. the film. Um like that was it. So this. orchestra is playing and he's making. these sound effects as it's happening on. screen. It's just mindboggling what he. was doing and he got really good at it. Apparently he could do a reel of film. >> which uh I saw 10 minutes. I think it. probably varies a little bit, but. somewhere around there, let's say 10. minutes of film, several scenes, he. could do the sound effects live in one.

take. >> Yeah, it's amazing. They he, you know, started assembling his props and stuff. and they got him a room and it became. known as Foley's room. Uh, and then. eventually that would just become the. Foley room like on every studio. I don't. know how quickly they adopted his name. as an adjective and a verb and all that. stuff, but I do know that it was. pre-redit because he was not even. getting a a a credit for this because. there was no such thing as a Foley. artist till after him. >> No, his his first movie like you said.

was Steamboat which I think came out in. 1928. and his last movie was Spartacus in. 1960. He did scores, probably hundreds. and hundreds of movies, and Yeah. never. once got an on-screen credit, which is. nuts. >> Yeah. Uh I mean, the the credit is named. after him. Like he invented a credit. >> Yeah, for sure. By the way, I I think it. was the early 60s and was the first. studio outside of Universal. um to call their Foley room a Foley.

room. >> Amazing. What year was that? >> Like 61 or something like that. So, kind. of right after he was done, he got the. honor. >> Yeah, I guess it was. Yeah, >> that Desi Ares, man, he really he was a. class actor. >> I I did a shoot on the the Lucy stage. one time. It was pretty cool. >> Oh, yeah. Is she buried there? >> No, no, no. It was just where they shot. it. >> Oh, okay. >> Like I I would always ask anytime you're. shooting at one of the old like. Paramount Lot or Universal, I would. always kind of ask the old-timers like, "Hey, what was what was here?" And you.

know, one time it was Happy Days, one. time it was Lucy. It was always kind of. neat, >> right? Hans moment goes I'm only 31. years old. Uh I a couple of books ago, I think. three books ago, I read a Stan a really. great Dent Stanley Kubrick book and he. um talked about this fact which was in. Spartacus. Uh he didn't like the audio. recording of the Roman army marching. So. he was trying to bring in a big fairly. expensive two-day shoot to redo that. And um Jack Foley was like, "No, no, no.

I think I've got this." and on the spot. went and got car keys and was able to. recreate the the sound of like the armor. kind of clanking such that even Stanley. Kubri approved of. >> Yeah. Which is really saying something. >> Yeah. >> But it went from potentially flying back. to Spain and rehiring thousands of. extras and re-shooting these two days. just for the sound to no check out these. keys. I just saved your movie so much. money. So just I mean that was his last.

one too. Um that was a great way to go. out I think. >> Oh absolutely great movie. Um there are. about a hundred Foley artists working. today in the United States. Uh which you. know that's not a lot. Uh I was sort of. surprised it was that high given sort of. the digital takeover of a lot of things. in Hollywood. >> But um you know they call them artists. because they are true artists. They have. they're they're obviously you know I. mentioned earlier they have great ears. Uh apparently Dave found that some of.

them have to wear earplugs in movies and. and uh concerts and things like that. because their ears are just so kind of. tuned in and sensitive, >> right? >> Uh and they have their own language, you. know, they don't say um well, they may. say clip-clop of a horse, but they they. definitely make words up as sounds like, you know, I need it to make a screechy. sound or it needs to sound poofy. And. they just sort of know what they mean. when they're talking to each other, >> right? Oh, they definitely do. There's. this really great profile in the New. Yorker where I think that hundred. working um Foley artists came from one.

that one of the Foley artists profiled. said there was probably a hundred but. they I mean just the different words. that they use for these sounds or like. they and they immediately know what the. other one is talking about and just even. more than that they can point to some. chain or block and tackle just hanging. in a junkyard and say that'd make the. the swaying sound or something. like that. >> And um they sure enough they could go up. to it and make it sound exactly like.

what they were just describing. So it's. like a a really niche group of people. who work in this really niche. >> art. It's like you said before, it's an. art form. Um and it's it's just. fascinating to read about, let alone. talk about. I'm fascinated right now if. you can't tell. Well, and just the uh the ability to. disassociate sound from object is key. and just like super impressive like you. mentioned like to to be able to look at.

a thing and not see the thing but see. the sound you know or hear the sound I. guess in your head. >> for sure. >> potentially. Um it's it's super cool. I. love it. Like I when I was a kid, I. remember seeing um videos of of Foley. artists at work with a split screen of. what's going on on screen and I was just. like wrapped. >> Yeah. So that's that's how they do this. So usually they work in pairs because. there's like in a given scene there's. probably uh frequently more going on. than one person could possibly handle. I.

know um Jack Foley pioneered using canes. with shoes attached to the bottom to. make multiple people walking at the same. time. It's a lot easier just have. another person in there. So you have. like a a Foley partner that you work. with. Uh and then there's the Foley. mixer and apparently they don't really. see what the Foley artists are doing. because they're keeping an ear out to. see if it matches what they think it. should on the screen. And they're making. a lot of the final decisions on how it.

gets like what sound gets made, how it. gets sweetened or tightened or like. tweaked or whatever. >> Yeah. And then if you step back and. watch like like you said, they're behind. this giant screen or even a TV sometimes. and they're just acting along with the. actor but making the sound with stuff. that you know you just would never say. like. >> Yes. This is obviously this celery is. obviously what you would use to to make. the sound when somebody falls down and. breaks a bone.

>> Yeah. >> But they use celery snap is pretty good. >> Yeah, it definitely works. It's a. industrywide vegetable. >> It is uh they they they start with a a. spotting session which is essentially. just sitting down with the director and. all the sound department and foley. department and just making a huge list. You go through the movie and you just. have a huge list of every single scene, every single sound you need to make. >> Um it's not the same thing as uh ADR, which is additional dialogue recording, which is a lot of times actors will have.

to come in. Uh we had to do this for our. own TV show a little bit. >> Yeah. >> And you have to restate your lines for. one reason or another and try and match. it up. And we're watching the screen. Uh. but they do use the same uh technique. called looping which is just playing the. thing on a loop over and over and over. to try and you know sync it as close as. you can. >> Yeah. And it's amazing that anybody can. do that because it's really hard. >> Yeah. What? ADR or Foley? >> ADR. Well, both. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. ADR always I.

felt kind of dumb when I had to do it. because it was you know you're trying to. even though we were bad actors like we. were trying to convey you're always. trying to convey some sort of emotion. with everything that you're saying even. if it's just normal or bored. >> That is true. >> And to to to do that in a room looking. at yourself like with no experience it. was it was tough for me. >> I blamed Brian for all of those. >> Oh no. >> So. um. >> he'll hear this by the way. So. >> Oh yeah, I know. I'm hoping he will.

>> Yeah. Yeah, I knew it. >> One of the other very classic things. you'll see in a foley studio is the. floor will basically have like a raised. section and it'll be divided into like. squares and one square will have like a. concrete pad, another square will have. pebbles, another square will have, you. know, parquet floor. Yeah. >> Leaves. Although I saw that they don't. usually use leaves. They use um like old. magnetic reeltore tape. >> Yeah. pull it out and crinkle it and. that makes a better leaf sound than a. leaf. Somebody figured that out along.

the way that leaf sounds don't really. make a good leaf sound. Isn't that. crazy? That's how manipulated we are. when we watch movies. >> Uh, true. But I have seen them go in the. field for like forest walks and stuff. So there there's a mix of everything. There's not like just one way to do. things, >> right? True. Um, and they all, you know, share stuff like whoever came up with. the celery is probably regarded as a as. a, you know, a genius in the field. >> for for sure. Yeah. I'm sure they're. >> they were using carrots before that, >> right? Right. I also saw um there was in.

that New Yorker profile, one of the. Foley artists talks about a Halloween. mask of the Tin Man that got handed down. from her former Foley partner when he. retired. And she was like, "Nothing will. ever make this sound. It's like a sh. like a It's described as a yawning ch. sound. I can't even wrap my mind around. that.". >> But what sound is it supposed to be? >> A yawning ch sound. I don't know. I. think it used It's. >> like What's it used for? >> I don't know. >> Okay.

>> If you wait a little bit, I can look her. up and call and ask. >> Oh, no, no, no. That's all right. I just. wondered if you were like, "And that's. the sound of a pot going on a stove.". >> How about this? Let's edit this in. uh. the sound of a pot going on the stove. >> Okay, perfect. >> But she was she was pointing out like I. think they even said like she ordered a. new one um online and it came and she. was like this doesn't sound anything. like it. It's made of different. materials. So like it's so nuanced. Um, I saw a quote from David Fincher, the.

director, who is like a huge fan um of. Foley art artists and he basically was. like it we're we're looking at like the. like a a scene of some people having a a. meeting in a lawyer's office and he's. like what is the what is the nogahide or. the leather on the sofa sound like? >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Like is it is it fake? Like is this a a. strip mall lawyer's office or is it like. a really well-healed lawyer's office so. it's real leather? Like that kind of.

attention to detail that hoy artists. make. >> like that's what what makes a movie like. engrossing or you know at the very least. extremely realistic like that level of. attention to detail. >> Yeah. or uh if if you're not paying. attention to detail like that, it makes. something stand out as and you may not. even recognize it, but subconsciously it. may just uh a sound may sit wrong if. they don't do it right. >> Yeah. Like if somebody sits on a leather. couch and it makes a yawning sh sound,

>> right? >> You're going to be like, "What was that? >> That was a tin helmet.". >> Right. You wouldn't believe them if they. told you. >> That's right. Uh so the, you know, the. Foley stage is amazing. They have that. floor. It's just riddled with props and. weird things that they all they don't. call it by the thing, you know, they. call it by the sound it makes. >> Um like you don't say, "Give me those. coconuts." You say, "Uh, give me the. hooves." Although they don't use. coconuts. It's a little bit of a Monty. Python reference there. >> Uh but yeah, it it's a fun looking room. Like I encourage everyone to go like see.

some like YouTube video of of a foli. artist in work in their little kind of. cool air conditioned dark room. There's. water like there's usually like a. bathtub. There's usually a working. toilet. Uh, and just all manner of of. props that people use. >> That's right. Uh, you want to take a. break and come back and talk a little. more about sound effects? >> Let's do it.

[Music]. Show me open my door. >> Yeah. >> Oh, that was good. >> And then look out Chuck. out again. All right. So, uh, Dave kind. of dug up some fun classic, uh, Foley. tricks from famous movies, and we're. going to talk about those and more, uh,

because we're going to get into Star. Wars as well, cuz everyone loves talking. about Star Wars. >> Well, the guy who who was the Foley. artist and I guess sound designer for. Star Wars, Ben Bert, just changed the. industry from what I could tell. He's a. really interesting, creative guy. >> Yeah, we talked about him before. He He. was the Wilhelm Scream guy. Yes. Yes. Did you see the Wilhelm scream thing I. sent? >> I did not. >> Oh, I got I know the story of the. Wilhelm scream. You want to hear it?

>> We did a whole episode on it, didn't we? >> No, we just mentioned it and then Jerry. put the wrong one in. >> Oh, I thought we I thought we did a. whole short stuff on it. >> on the Wilhelm scream. I don't think so. >> I thought we did. >> Well, >> either way, just go ahead. >> All right. If we have, then we'll edit. this part out. But essentially the. Wilhelm scream was a scream that they um. they think was recorded by a guy named. Cheb Woolly who is an actor and musician. who's known for the song um Purple.

People Eater. He's the guy who sang that. and it was in a movie called Distant. Drums. And uh I think we can play the. the um the Wilhelm Scream right here. Right. >> I mean I thought we could the first time. and it didn't work. >> Well, let's try again. So this is what. we're talking about. This is the very. famous Wilhelm scream. Okay. So, apparently Shub Woolly. recorded that for Distant Drums, but it. didn't become kind of uh I guess a thing. or iconic or well used in two until two.

years later. There was a movie called. The Charge at Feather River and a. character named Private Wilhelm gets. shot in the leg by an arrow and he. screams the Wilhelm scream. still wasn't. called the Wilhelm Scream until um Ben. Burke came along for Star Wars and he'd. seen just tons of westerns as a kid and. the Wilhelm scream showed up in almost. all of them. So he sought out that. scream and found it in the um charge at. Feather River Sound Library and used it.

The first time it shows up is when Luke. shoots a stormtrooper and the. stormtrooper falls off of something or. other. I can't remember where exactly. and he adopted it as a signature sound. and it just became kind of a iconic in. joke among among sound editors since. then. >> Yeah, I you know it may have been movie. crush. >> That makes sense. >> Where I covered that. Yeah, totally. makes sense. >> And I think it was all that's. interesting said it's been in over 400. films. >> Amazing. >> Yeah. >> Uh the ET sound they needed ET to to.

sound a certain way when ET walked. around. um because they needed him to. sound like an ET but also not be like. gross, >> right? >> Uh they wanted people to like ET. So. they used um like Jell-O wrapped in a. damp t-shirt and raw liver apparently. just for the sort of squishy walking. sounds. That's a pretty good one. >> Yikes. Uh what about Titanic? This is a. good one. >> No spoilers. I'm going to spoil the end. of Titanic. >> Oh, come on. So, you can dial out now if.

you want to, but at the end of Titanic, Kate Winslett is floating on a a door or. a piece of wood or something. I think. it's a door. And she's freezing cold. And they used apparently frozen lettuce. to recreate uh her the sound of her hair. moving. >> Yeah, which was perfect because I. remember that sound effect. I don't. think I was like that crispy hair sounds. crazy at the time, but when I read about. it, I remembered that it made some sort. of impact on me. >> Yeah. um to prevent anybody from. emailing in. Apparently, it's not a.

door. Everybody says it's a door, but. some people on Reddit found the piece of. the staircase that it was taken from. So, James Cameron's film was so accurate. that you could determine that she was. floating on a piece of staircase that is. shown earlier in the Titanic before it. sinks. >> I think it was a door. >> That's fine. I just wanted I knew. somebody was going to email in and I. wanted to burst their bubble. uh fight club. You know, if you've ever. heard of fist fight in real life, um a.

I'm sorry because that's a really dumb. thing to do is to punch somebody. Um but. a punch to somebody's face in real life. or to their body doesn't sound anything. like it sounds in the movies. Uh it's. it's a fairly boring sound. So, they. need to recreate that obviously. And uh. a lot of times they're punching, you. know, raw meat and things like that and. adding extra like bass and kind of tweak. it and post. But apparently in Fight. Club uh chicken carcasses were pounded. with baseball bats. Uh along with the.

sounds of cracking walnuts. >> Yes. >> Pretty good. >> Um there was this movie called Burberry. Sound Studio back in 2012. Did you see. it? >> I've never heard of it. >> It was a little artouse movie. Um the. what's the British actor? the the short. British actor with classes Toby um. somebody he played Capot Jim Capot. >> Oh yeah, Toby Jones maybe. >> Yes, you're right. So Toby Jones is in. it and he's a Foley artist who starts to. descend into madness and essentially the. entire movie takes place on a Foley. studio stage and there's parts where.

they're stabbing a melon to make the. sound of a the person on screen getting. stabbed. And the Foley artist who. actually worked on that movie said that. they had to use um wet cloth and wood to. make the sound of the Foley artist on. the screen stabbing the watermelon to. make the sound of the person on their. screen getting stabbed with a knife. >> I think I do remember that movie. I.

don't think I saw it, but I remember. that happening. >> It's worth seeing. It's a slow burn that. possibly, depending on your view, never. actually ignites. Okay. >> But it's a it's an interesting movie. He. does a good job. >> They should put that on the poster. Possibly never ignites. Josh Clark, right? Like this is the best we could. get. >> Uh melons are useful. Use a lot of. melons for a lot of things. A hand. inside a melon apparently was when that. first dinosaur egg hatches. Sorry, spoiler alert. Uh in Jurassic Park, uh.

it was a hand inside of a melon combined. with the cracking of an ice cream cone. >> Very nice. I also saw Raiders of the. Lost Arc, that famous boulder rolling at. Indie in the beginning of the movie. First movie. >> Yeah, it was a car with no motor being. rolled down a hill. >> Oh, okay. And that was also uh Ben Bert. >> Oh, was it? That makes sense. >> Yeah, he did all the Indiana Jones. movies. He did ET. He was clearly a. Spielberg Lucasy guy. >> Yeah, he was a He was good and probably. still is. Is he still working?

>> Uh, I I bet he is. He's in his midish7s, so I bet he's he's still out there. >> Okay, there we go. >> I like to think he is. Should we talk. about some of those Star Wars sounds, too, while we're here? >> Yeah, I think so. >> Uh, the blaster, Star Wars blaster. Very, very legendary film sci-fi sound. Um, he and you'll see a lot of sound. people that just like kind of always. carry around their recording device. Um, I don't know if they do that kind of. stuff on phones now just to say like, "Hey, this like just to pick up the. sound." But back then uh for Ben Bird it.

was a Niagara reeltore recorder. >> and he was on vac he was just collecting. sounds all over the place to potentially. use for Star Wars and that's kind of the. fun thing is. >> just looking around the world and like. >> uh just collecting noises and say you. know this might come in handy later you. never know. >> right. >> and they were in the Poconos uh and he. went to a he saw a radio tower with. those big tot um big. >> bundled wire support cables. >> and he was like I wonder what that. sounds like when I hit it. He hit it. with a rock and it made that sound. And.

then he did it at another tower, a radio. tower in the Mojave Desert, and combined. those, tweaked them a little bit, and. that's how you get that laser blast, which you two can make if you ever see. one of those really, really taut cables. If you hit that thing with something. metal, it'll go. Yeah, there's a bunch. of different laser blasts in Star Wars, but the the ones that were made with. that sound effect, you once you know. that, you can you can really clearly. hear it. It's perfect. Yeah, I think. it's the the blaster sound.

>> Well, you mean Han Solo's blaster? >> Uh, yeah. I mean, the the blaster is. just a type of gun. I mean, we're. probably going to get in big trouble. from Star Wars people, >> probably. >> But, uh, when Dave put laser sound, I. was like, I don't know, you can't say. that, dude. It's a blaster. >> Let's move on to the TIE fighters. How. about that? >> Let's do it. >> Those are actually So, the very famous. >> Hey, that's pretty good. >> Thanks. Uh those are African elephants. that are roaring layered over one. another and then distorted so that it.

doesn't sound like elephants. But when. you hear that and you go listen to the. tie fighter sound being made, you'll. say, "Yeah, that's an elephant." I think. >> you do a Chewbacca, too, don't you? >> No. >> I thought you used to do that. No, >> my Chewbacca sounds like this. >> It's like a nitrous. I could have sworn. it was you that did a pretty good. Chewbacca. Uh but maybe not. But. apparently Chewbacca was made by just. combining a bunch of different animals. and again layering them on top of one. another including a walrus, a badger,

and a bear at the very least. >> Mhm. Uh, and then we we got to mention. R2-D2 because that's where Ben Bert. brings in and you know, a big change in. the industry is when the synthesizer, especially the Moog was invented because. not only could you make all sorts of, um, like cool space AG music uh, for. soundtracks, you could also make just. bleeps and bloops, which is what he did. He had a Corg uh, synthesizer, a very. early Corg, and did these, you know, beeps and boops for R2-D2. And, you.

know, you think, all right, that's. great. Big deal. But the genius of it is. that he somehow creates emotion and. conveys emotion through these beeps and. boops from a little droid with a. synthesizer. >> Yeah, that's. >> it's it's magic. >> That's the reason Foley artists are. still around because you can't you just. can't do that with stock stuff from a. sound library. >> Yeah. Or you could tell when it's done. that way. >> For sure. There you go. So, um, one.

other thing we should probably touch on. real quick are nature documentaries. >> Yeah. Get ready to be disappointed. >> Yeah. They get a lot of guff for, um, basically fudging stuff. And they are. legendary for fudging stuff. Like, apparently they'll use. semi-domemesticated animals that they. rent to film, you know, chasing a a lamb. around or something like that. Mh. >> Um, but one of the things they're very. frequently criticized on is using sound. effects and really kind of going. overboard with them. But it by the.

nature of what they're making, they have. to use sound effects to begin with. >> Yeah. I mean, a lot of this stuff is. filmed on very long lenses from very far. away. If you're if you're filming a a a. lion tracking down a an antelope and. killing it, you're not like right up on. it, you know? So, you don't have the. sound to begin with. Maybe they bring. some people out there with those. long-distance mics to record some stuff. Uh but then there's just so much ambient. sound they probably can't use it. So. generally if you see like, you know, a.

Planet Earth Discovery um documentary, these the sound department is handed. kind of like a silent film almost. >> and they use, you know, it's not like. they they got to have to use like real. animal calls for the real animals. They're not just like, "Hey, let's make. this lion sound kind of like different,". right? So, they want accuracy there for. sure, but you know, when you see a a. mushroom growing in um a time lapse, they're they're just adding all those. sounds of like a mushroom stretching its. arms out. I guess mushroom doesn't have.

arms, it's head. >> Sure. I mean, lean in and put your ear. to a mushroom as it's growing and you're. not going to hear anything. >> Yeah. >> Doesn't make a sound. >> No. >> Another one they get accused of um is. making the northern lights make a sound. >> Yeah. >> Those don't make a sound. There's just. all sorts of like if you stop and think. about it like a close-up of a spider. walking on a leaf, it wouldn't make a. sound, but it would look weird to not. have a sound or at the very least it. looks better that makes the whole thing. better to add a sound. I don't really I.

mean nature documentaries are so fudged. to begin with that I don't really have a. problem with that the sound. >> Yeah, I don't have a problem. And I. think if if if someone like you said, if. you sat someone down and showed them. just the realistic thing with just the. realistic sound, it's it's probably not. nearly as compelling. >> They'd be like, "Can I leave now?". You got anything else? >> Yeah, one last thing just sort of on the. note of using things like ProTools. Um, I mentioned earlier that it was is kind.

of budget related and obviously big. movies can just afford to do whatever. they want in terms of that kind of. thing. But even then the the sound line. items are often just very a very small. part of the budget. You know, it kind of. depends. But, you know, when you budget. out a movie or a TV show or commercial. or anything, you kind of have a general. template to work for like we're going to. allocate this percentage for this, this. percentage for this. Camera department's. going to get probably something like. this. And sound is always like maybe 10%. or so. And a lot of times that can. include the the rights to play.

soundtrack stuff. And you know, it. depends on the movie. If it's like Dazed. and Confused or something like that. that's really music reliant, >> you you know, you're going to have to. spend a lot of money on that. So you may. you may look at the post-p production. sound and be like, I'm sorry, you have. very little to work with. >> So that's where you're going to get. stuff like pulled from libraries a. little more. Um, when you get these big. big movies, that's when they can afford. to bring in the Polley artists and the. whole teams and that's why the sound is. always really awesome and that's why. they highlight it at the Academy Awards.

>> Yes. Nice. Uh, yeah. So, go forth and. watch movies and listen out for sounds. and you'll probably be amazed here or. there. >> Yeah. But don't get so caught up in that. that like I wonder if Foley artists can. even watch movies. I know. And enjoy. them. I feel so bad for people who can't. watch movies, who can't enjoy food. because they're chefs or something like. that. >> Yeah. Yeah. Can't enjoy simple pleasures. in life because they know too much about. it, you know? Can't enjoy baloney or. sausage.

>> Yeah. I say, "Here's a new Stuff You. Should Know t-shirt." We have a new. t-shirt uh seller, right? >> Yeah. Um it's on Cotton Bureau, our new. uh merch merchant. >> Yeah. We've never put a lot of effort. into merch, but uh we always hear people. asking. So, Cotton Bureau, uh, stuff you. should know. You can find our merch now. And I think a new t-shirt should be stay. dumb, enjoy things. >> Oh, that's a good one. >> Yeah, >> that's a great one. All right. Well, let's have Aaron Cooper get on it. because I say I think twothirds of our. shirts in our merch store from Aaron.

Cooper because he's really good at it. >> Yeah. And Stadium Enjoy Things is. perfect to promote a show that's all. about trying to make people smarter. >> Precisely. >> Yeah. I wonder if we can get a shirt. that says, >> "How would you spell that?". >> I don't know. I'm going to leave that to. Aaron Cooper. >> Yeah. >> Well, since we said Aaron Cooper's name. at least two times, I think maybe three, we've unlocked listener mail. [Music]. >> You don't want to say it three times cuz. he'll be right behind you. Uh, all. right. Here we go. This is from.

Stephanie. Uh, and I feel bad about this. because I even knew this. Uh, hey guys. Thanks for the great episode about the. milit militarization of the police. I'm truly grateful for the decade of. learning uh since I've been listening. Um one of you commented, I think it was. me probably that you were surprised to. read about the police and teen Vogue. I. thought you might be interested to know. that Teen Vogue is pretty well known for. serious journalism and being an example. for taking young women and girls. seriously. Uh I I knew that and we have. even talked about this before and so I. don't know why I was like Dean B.

>> No, it was me. >> Was it? >> Yeah, it was 100% me. >> No, I thought it was me. Well, I'll I'll. throw myself in that grenade. That's. okay. >> Along with you. >> That's all right. >> Uh, but she says, uh, here's an article. from Jezebel, um, by Julian uh, Escabo. Shepard. If you're shocked, Teen Vogue. is great. You're not paying attention. U,, I imagine you may get other emails. like this, although I may be the first. since I was up crazy early and listened. right away. Thanks and have a great day. And that is from Stephanie. >> Thanks, Stephanie. Those are the. corrections that we love to get where.

it's very gentle but also like you you. guys come on. You know, if you can. balance those two things, you've come up. with a great correction email as far as. I'm concerned. >> Agreed. >> If you want to be like Stephanie and. send us a correction or just an email to. say hi or whatever, you can send it off. to stuffodcast at@ iheartradio.com. >> Stuff you should know is a production of. iheartradio. For more podcasts, iHeart. Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple.

Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your. favorite shows. [Music].