Stock sound effect

<h2 id="history">History</h2>
As far back as <a href="/facts/Ancient_Greece/PTVBrWXq">Ancient Greece</a>, sound effects have been used in entertainment productions. Sound effects (also known as sound FX, SFX, or simply FX) are used to enhance <a href="/facts/Theatre/Tq0mvBI8">theatre</a>, <a href="/facts/Radio/XFr909M2">radio</a>, <a href="/facts/Film/wM3b9Kk3">film</a>, <a href="/facts/Television/X4YG5nT1">television</a>, <a href="/facts/Video_game/vmTdNASJ">video games</a>, and <a href="/facts/Online_media/QLXzDrhL">online media</a>.
Sound effects were originally added to productions by creating the sounds needed in real-time. Various devices and props were utilized to approximate the actual sounds, including coconut shells for horse hooves, and a sheet of metal for thunder. With the advent of <a href="/facts/Radio/XFr909M2">radio</a> and specifically <a href="/facts/Radio_dramas/xXQeTQbA">radio dramas</a>, the role of sound effects became more important. When cinema went from silent to "<a href="/facts/Talkies/NtImVJ3R">talkies</a>", sound effects became a large part of this new medium, too.
<a href="/facts/Audio_recording/BMbpAWkE">Audio recording</a> technology continued to evolve, making it easier to record and replay sound. As this happened, the more commonly used and harder-to-replicate sound effects were pre-recorded to make them more accessible. Prerecording also allowed the same sound effect to be used many times.
Both producers' and listeners' sensibilities began evolving with the technology, and the need for more realistic sound effects or for using the "real" sound increased. Therefore, a more urgent need developed for prerecorded sound effects.
Over time, the quality of audio recording and playback increased, as did the demand for a wider variety of highly specific sounds. For example, rather than use a generic gunshot, a producer might request a gunshot from a specific type of gun, shot under precise conditions. Access to "real" sound effects became increasingly important to producers.
These collections of prerecorded sound effects, both real and artificial, began to be referred to as stock sound effects and were organized into libraries. As their usage increased, stock sound effects libraries became the valuable assets of <a href="/facts/Sound_design/2LYWGxdQ">sound design</a> artists and <a href="/facts/Production_companies/daLRqFqQ">production companies</a>. Some stock sound effects have been reused so many times that they have become easily recognizable and even cliché. Examples of these include the scream of a <a href="/facts/Red-tailed_hawk/ztuthKhr">red-tailed hawk</a>, <a href="/facts/Castle_thunder_(sound_effect)/fpCX4QY2">castle thunder</a>, or the <a href="/facts/Wilhelm_scream/f99ECSyQ">Wilhelm</a> and <a href="/facts/Howie_scream/M57PDudf">Howie screams</a>.
Many of the original sound effects libraries originated in the mid to late 1950s from film and <a href="/facts/Television_studio/xgP1r4nX">television studios</a> that employed the artists who created them, such as <a href="/facts/Warner_Bros./JRF3lhQ6">Warner Bros.</a> and <a href="/facts/Hanna-Barbera/hI750v8v">Hanna-Barbera</a>. <a href="/facts/Audio_Fidelity_Records/eCEhII7n">Audio Fidelity Records</a> was one of the first record labels to join in releasing compilations from the late 1950s to the early 1970s,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1">1</a> notably <a href="/facts/Elektra_Records/qwRKPND1">Elektra</a> alongside <a href="/facts/Jac_Holzman/RUWPIhEP">Jac Holzman's</a> released Authentic Sound Effects in 1964 as a 13 volume series.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2">2</a> Over time, independent companies such as Sound Ideas and Hollywood Edge became involved, both distributing the major studios' libraries as well as making their own available to the public.
The <a href="/facts/Internet/Xw1rVvJU">internet</a> ushered in a new generation of technology, entertainment media, and sound effects libraries. <a href="/facts/Sounddogs/doAf6S0r">Sounddogs</a> became the first to distribute sound effects libraries over the internet and <a href="/facts/Soundrangers/8AmVnyR9">Soundrangers</a> became the first to create an all-new sound effects library for internet-based entertainment. Dozens of other websites now provide stock sounds for <a href="/facts/Movie/wM3b9Kk3">movies</a>, video games, and <a href="/facts/Software/RP79lVSW">software</a>. Others such as <a href="/facts/Freesound/SVTRIJ6B">Freesound</a> aim to provide free sound effects under the <a href="/facts/Public_domain/YWKMDKw4">public domain</a>.
Over the years, with the evolution of <a href="/facts/Sound_recording/BMbpAWkE">sound recording</a> technology and new formats, the format used for sound effects libraries also evolved. Sound libraries are now available on many types of media, including <a href="/facts/Vinyl_records/ccuFV9Af">vinyl records</a>, <a href="/facts/Reel-to-reel_tape/x4MLKeVB">reel-to-reel tape</a>, <a href="/facts/Cassette_tapes/w8I5uyfs">cassette tapes</a>, <a href="/facts/Compact_discs/g51GRloc">compact discs</a>, <a href="/facts/Hard_drives/kekLSGSE">hard drives</a>, and via the internet. Sound effects libraries now include more complex, layered, and mixed sounds along with a wider variety of incidental real-world sounds.

<h2 id="often-used-examples">Often-used examples</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Wilhelm_scream/f99ECSyQ">Wilhelm scream</a> — a man screaming, first used in a 1951 Western and used as a <a href="/facts/Running_gag/MK4dymoC">running joke</a> by sound designers in many films and television shows</li></ul>
<ul><li>Universal stock roar — the second-largest stock sound in <a href="/facts/The_Land_Unknown/TAdN7e5E">The Land Unknown</a>; louder than the <a href="/facts/Tarzan_yell/MPlVKow5">Tarzan yell</a></li></ul>
<ul><li>Sharptooth roar — a stock roar in <a href="/facts/The_Land_Before_Time_(film)/JV2wasPW">The Land Before Time</a></li></ul>
<ul><li>Spider Mastermind alert sound — (titled DSSPISIT within <a href="/facts/Doom_(1993_video_game)/KA6n0GoY">Doom's</a> <a href="/facts/Doom_modding/7jVdksW3">WAD</a> files, also known as Animal, Creature - Large Animal Death Scream) — stock sound effect of an ear-piercing screeching roar, transcribed as "Woo-roooo!", frequently used in television and video games. Belonging in the same <a href="/facts/Sound_Ideas/3TzqC8LV">Sound Ideas</a> library as the Sharptooth roar, this sound effect was compiled for <a href="/facts/Doom_(1993_video_game)/KA6n0GoY">Doom</a> by music composer <a href="/facts/Bobby_Prince/FYb6qpqM">Bobby Prince</a>, which would become the alert sound for the game's final boss the Spider Mastermind whenever <a href="/facts/Doomguy/GWqV5yYj">Doomguy</a> enters its line of sight or engages in combat.</li></ul>

<ul><li>Howie scream — (also known as the Howie Long scream or Screams 3; Man, Gut-Wrenching Scream and Fall into Distance) is a frequently used film, television, and video game stock sound effect for a <a href="/facts/Screaming/rwIWWQXl">scream</a>. Often compared to the <a href="/facts/Wilhelm_scream/f99ECSyQ">Wilhelm scream</a>, its prominence in a number of movies has launched a few nicknames such as Howie Long Scream, in reference to <a href="/facts/Howie_Long/hvJsCaw7">Howie Long</a>'s character's death scene in the 1996 film <a href="/facts/Broken_Arrow_(1996_film)/pg5wa3JS">Broken Arrow</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3">3</a> It appears to have originated from a fight scene in the 1980 film <a href="/facts/The_Ninth_Configuration/VVYCAguY">The Ninth Configuration</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4">4</a></li></ul>
<ul><li>TF2 match loss sound - (also known as Crowd, Booing - Indoor: Small Crowd 01) is a stock sound effect for a crowd <a href="/facts/Booing/SmuAXnUN">booing</a>, primarily associated with the 2007 video game <a href="/facts/Team_Fortress_2/Ta3QvNeE">Team Fortress 2</a> when the player's team loses a match, usually following after the Administrator declares "You failed!".</li></ul>
<ul><li>Click Plink — (also known as the Clicker Plinker or Plink, Cartoon - Sour Plink) a common <a href="/facts/Hanna-Barbera/hI750v8v">Hanna-Barbera</a> poking or plucking sound in cartoons</li></ul>

<ul><li>WB's Slide string — a slide string 1/7 short / long / shuttered</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Tarzan_yell/MPlVKow5">Tarzan yell</a> — distinctive, <a href="/facts/Ululation/8PvN1LfF">ululating</a> yell of the character <a href="/facts/Tarzan/DMjBa2xo">Tarzan</a> as portrayed by actor <a href="/facts/Johnny_Weissmuller/jVauV0zx">Johnny Weissmuller</a> in the films based on the character created by <a href="/facts/Edgar_Rice_Burroughs/lFWLFHpA">Edgar Rice Burroughs</a> starting with <a href="/facts/Tarzan_the_Ape_Man_(1932_film)/5gchvh74">Tarzan the Ape Man</a> (<a href="/facts/1932_in_film/7b0btKck">1932</a>)</li></ul>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Goofy_holler/Topl3nwr">Goofy holler</a> — the cry that the Disney character <a href="/facts/Goofy/Topl3nwr">Goofy</a> makes when falling or being launched into the air, that can be transcribed as "Yaa-hoo-hoo-hoo-hooey!"</li></ul>
<ul><li>Universal telephone ring — a ringing telephone, used in the opening credits of <a href="/facts/The_Rockford_Files/VQuCn4vw">The Rockford Files</a> designed by <a href="/facts/Ben_Burtt/rzdIgUHr">Ben Burtt</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5">5</a></li></ul>

<ul><li><a href="/facts/Red-tailed_hawk/ztuthKhr">Red-tailed hawk</a> calls — the piercing scream of the red-tailed hawk is widely used for birds of prey, especially <a href="/facts/Bald_eagle/sPc1AQCj">bald eagles</a>, as well as shots of nature, including deserts and mountains</li></ul>
<ul><li>The Dolphin Chirp Stock Sound Effect — debuted in the 1960s film "Flipper" and is ubiquitous, now being heard in hundreds of media. It is also used as a reference to the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Sailor Mouth" due to SpongeBob using it out of context.</li></ul>

<ul><li><a href="/facts/Common_loon/SRUdLvBk">Common loon</a> calls — the wailing call of the loon is widely used in film and television to evoke wilderness and suspense</li></ul>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Castle_thunder_(sound_effect)/fpCX4QY2">Castle thunder</a> — a loud <a href="/facts/Thunder/maTSnAY5">thunderclap</a> during a rainstorm, originally recorded for the 1931 <a href="/facts/Universal_Pictures/2xUCraUP">Universal Pictures</a> film <a href="/facts/Frankenstein_(1931_film)/T9BuVHDE">Frankenstein</a></li></ul>
<ul><li>Diddy laugh — (also known as Two Children Giggling or Two Young Kids Giggle) a sound of two <a href="/facts/Child/GGe19I8d">children</a> giggling acquired by The Hollywood Edge on August 13, 1990, originally recorded in 1978 for the 1990 <a href="/facts/TriStar_Pictures/E8xBMNW1">TriStar Pictures</a> film <a href="/facts/Air_America_(film)/TKJQJ60A">Air America</a> and colloquially named for its use in the 1997 video game <a href="/facts/Diddy_Kong_Racing/p5aHvRLy">Diddy Kong Racing</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6">6</a></li></ul>
<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Post-production/RpqM8yLl">Post-production</a> – Step in film, video, audio or photography process</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Sampling_(music)/QLXy5WbA">Sampling (music)</a> – Reuse of sound recording in another recording</li></ul>

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1932/07/03/archives/variety-of-noises-in-sound-effects-library.html">"Variety of Noises in Sound Effects Library"</a>. The New York Times. July 3, 1932.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWmEReS_r-s">Universal Studios SFX Monster Roars</a>, retrieved 2023-06-26</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3pMW_3C79Q">Universal Stock Roars Compilation</a>, retrieved 2023-06-26</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3l58YD1M4U">The Land Before Time Sharptooth Sound Effects</a>, retrieved 2023-06-26</li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">"Audio Fidelity Recordings Discography". Syracuse University Libraries. Retrieved 2022-09-16. <a href="https://library.syracuse.edu/digital/afdd/HOME.HTM" target="_blank">https://library.syracuse.edu/digital/afdd/HOME.HTM</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">Ingham, Tim (2020-10-12). "Five Crucial Lessons From Jac Holzman, Who Founded Elektra Records and Signed The Doors". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-08-17. <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/features/elektra-records-the-doors-jac-holzman-1074071/" target="_blank">https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/features/elektra-records-the-doors-jac-holzman-1074071/</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">"Top 10 Movie Sound Effects We All Recognize". listverse.com. September 25, 2009. Archived from the original on 21 January 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011. <a href="http://listverse.com/2009/09/25/top-10-movie-sound-effects-we-all-recognize/" target="_blank">http://listverse.com/2009/09/25/top-10-movie-sound-effects-we-all-recognize/</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">"A tribute site to one of Hollywood's best sound effects!". Archived from the original on July 19, 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130719043834/http://www.freewebs.com/notthewilhelmscream/history.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20130719043834/http://www.freewebs.com/notthewilhelmscream/history.html</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">Lee, Steve (2004). The Universal Telephone Ring. Archived from the original on 2008-07-02. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help) HollywoodLostandFound.net. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080702013944/http://www.hollywoodlostandfound.net/sound/uniphone.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20080702013944/http://www.hollywoodlostandfound.net/sound/uniphone.html</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:6">Desta, Yohana (July 3, 2017). "Your Guide to the "Diddy Laugh," a Sound Effect That's Been Driving People Crazy for Decades". Vanity Fair. Retrieved February 27, 2024. <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/07/diddy-laugh-sound-effect-origin" target="_blank">https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/07/diddy-laugh-sound-effect-origin</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
</ol>

Stock sound effect open-in-new

Stock sound effect