The Guide To Sound Effects

Tips and ideas for making your own sound effects

Welcome to The Guide To Sound Effects. This page contains a number of ideas on how to create various sound effects, and we hope you find it inspiring. Thanks to everyone who submitted their tips and techniques – and if you have any ideas to share, do let us know!

Happy designing,
– David Filskov
Sound Designer, Epic Sound

Want your project
to sound its best?

The Guide To Sound Effects

Airplane engine, flying (WW2 style)

Get some of the larger fan types into your studio and record different speeds and power up/downs, close miked. You’ll have to add some distortion and remove some of the… read more →

Alien egg sacks

A good one for alien egg sacks contracting and expanding is breathing softly into a styrofoam cup while pressing it in and out. – Pedro Seminario

Alien pod embryo expulsions etc.

Certain kinds of canned dog food make useful sounds as the food comes out of the can. The chunky stuff isn’t so good, but the tightly packed all-one-mass kind makes… read more →

Arrow flyby

Use a thin bamboo stick, such as the type used to hold up plants in a garden. Whip it past the microphone. – Adam Johnson

Bats flying

I used an umbrella opening and closing rapidly for the sound of bats flying one time… turned out great. I think I had to filter out some of the low… read more →

Blood and guts being torn out

I know how to make a nice sound of blood and guts being torn out. Just make a milk pulp and put it into your mouth, and they try to… read more →

Blood rushing in veins

For the blood sound I use the sound of a sponge that I squeeze into water (with a hydrophone) to make the air come out, then I pitch down a… read more →

Blow to the head

Now I’ve heard, (and I’m not saying it’s true but…) if you get a water melon, stick cream crackers to it (Jacob’s or Sainsbury’s own) and then whack it with… read more →

Body and face hits

Rolled up newspapers being hit with a (soft wooden) stick are meant to be good for body and face hits. – Paul Arnold, Gordon Hall Hitting real meat, use a… read more →

Bomber Squadron

For a project, I had to create a loop of a bomber squadron from the view of someone on the ground. Since it’s quite difficult to record airplane flying, and… read more →

Bones crunching and breaking

I personally like putting things in (cooked) whole chickens and then beating the chicken with a sledge hammer or other bludgeoning device. – Billiam Baker This technique can yield not… read more →

Boulder rolling

Car rolling downhill on gravel without engine running – record the wheel friction. – Ben Burtt

Bullet flybys/impacts/ricochets

Put a nail end-to-end in-between your thumb and index-finger and then throw it as hard as you can past the mics. The nail spins and creates a good raw sound… read more →

Bullet, slow-motion

Record the spout of a ’70s coffee percolator. – Brian Chamberlin

Calf being born

For the archers radio series – the sound of a calf being born was created by dropping an object (forget now – probably a dead sheep or something) and a… read more →

Car crashes

A scrap yard – heaven with a sledge hammer. – Mark Estdale Actual car crashes sound lots different than swinging & smashing cars with hammers & such, because of the… read more →

Car engine

If you need a car engine sound, buzz into a brass mouthpiece – (tuba/baritone) or bassoon reeds – and pitch shift it down. -Ellen Lurie If you need actual car… read more →

Car engine, revving and sweetening

For a Lamborghini sweetener sound effect, take a half liter empty beer can. Squish the can together at about 3/4, closest to the drinking opening side. Hum, sing, mimic a… read more →

Car horns

On one film a while back we had tried to get a clean “school bus” horn with no luck, there was always too much BG (it was supposed to be… read more →

Cartoon sounds

I found that using my own mouth sound effects (saying stuff like “blink” and “squish”) and then dsp’ing them or putting them through a harmonizer was always neat and appropriate.… read more →

Chainmail movement

A bunch of keys for chainmail movement. – Patrick Phelan

Christmas Sound Effects

Want to make your own Christmas SFX? This Christmas Sound Effects guide shows you how to make the sounds of fireplaces, ice, mistletoe kissing, magic, ornaments, presents, chimney sounds, skiing,… read more →

Creature sounds

I’ve been designing creature SFX recently, and after the first few creatures, found myself returning to the same elements (snake hisses, walrus roars, tiger gurgles, etc). Don’t be afraid to… read more →

Crickets

Recently I had to create a sound effect similar to crickets chirping or to be added to a night time ambiance sound clip, the whole thing was catching me off… read more →

Crops in a field

Record a bamboo or similar plant (it’ll need to have somewhat dry leaves) being continuously stroked and shaken. Then layer these recordings and use them for the for sound of… read more →

Debris, sand/dust

You can try regular gravel, bird seed, rock salt or whatever. I’ve slowly dumped it onto a large sheet of butchers paper taped down tightly over a piece of carpet,… read more →

Defensive Energy Shield

Drop an egg on a really hot pan, reverse that sound and add sci-fi processing (filter, flange, etc), and then blend with synthesized sounds. – Alex Barnhart

Depth charges

1/2 speed toilet flushing with plate reverb. – Paul Davies

Dog shaking itself dry

Shake a wet mop for a very effective dog shaking itself dry effect. Don’t do it inside though, you tend to get water all over the place and a very… read more →

Dragon roars

A very basic approach to a dragon roar would be to experiment with a pitched-down human scream (add treble when pitch-shifting), combined with roars from animals such as walruses, lions… read more →

Driving on gravel

Plastic bags, polythene etc. – great for driving on gravel. – Mark Estdale

Driving on snow

Flour – great for walking/driving on snow. – Mark Estdale

Earthquake / ground moving / geo-shifting

For EARTHQUAKE/GROUND MOVING/GEO-SHIFTING/PROGRESSIVE TEXTURE-type sounds – really, just about anything that could use more organic movement: Go to the supermarket and head straight for the bulk foods department. Get ample… read more →

Earthquake ground cracking/floor splitting

Wooden cracking (slowed down). – Paul Arnold Rubbing on an inflated balloon. – Ben Burtt For seismic sounds: Slowed down metal creaks, ice cracking slowed down. – Mike Rooke If… read more →

Electrical current, zapping & sparks

Not so much for the “kkzzr” but more for the “crkck”, try sticking various long strands of industrial strength packing tape to a firmly mounted window, and experiment with pulling… read more →

Elephant waving its ears

Umbrellas (avoid the metal frame clashing) or a leather jacket are alright for making the sound of elephants waving their ears :) – David Filskov

Elevator door

Closing a filing cabinet in conjunction with a hotel reception bell works well. – Keith Law

Explosion

A lion roar with flange can beef it up. – Paul Arnold

Explosion debris

Smashing rubbish. – Paul Arnold If you hit a large cardboard box filled with rubbish with a hammer and then slow the sound down and increase the low end, you… read more →

Fire crackling

Breaking matches or the air bubbles in plastic wrapping sounds like the louder pops from (undried?) firewood. – David Filskov Crisp (potato chip) packets very slowly compressed with hands make… read more →

Fireworks, fizzing

Close mike on a running tap (faucet). Fingers in the water stream or adjusting the flow can add nice movement to the sound. – Paul Davies

Fish – movement out of water

Heavily wet some newspaper, place the microphone just a feet or two above it, and move the wet paper with your hand. You can use a hi-pass filter to get… read more →

Fuse burning

If you break up the gray powdery stuff found on sparklers into a fine powder, you can lay them in a line and set it off like a fuse –… read more →

Giant snowball

For a recent project we had to create the sound of a giant snowball rolling over ice. It turned out that the sound of a car rolling over gravel, with… read more →

Glass breaking

For the sound of breaking glass, use metal wind chimes and lay them on a surface. Throw or move a small bottle over them and it sounds like glass being… read more →

Glitch elements, extreme and unique

For unique and extreme glitch elements, import non-audio files such as bitmaps and executables into an audio editor as ‘raw data’. Please ensure you keep your speakers and headphones low… read more →

Gore and squidge

Wet wash leather – fantastic for gore and squidge. – Mark Estdale Fruits! Especially tomatoes (for splatters) and potatoes (for wet crunchy sounds). Another classic is making a goo with… read more →

Growing plant tentacles / roots

For the sound of growing plant tentacles or roots crawling up walls and grasping objects, try squeezing some raw vegetables – like iceberg salat, green peppers or asparagus. Also perhaps… read more →

Gun cocking

A good emergency replacement if you don’t have a starting pistol: Briefcase catches being closed slowly, again close miked. – Paul Davies Haven’t tried but the sound of a Sony… read more →

Gun, grappling hook

For the initial gun sound I actually used a real gun pulled out of a plastic holster fairly quickly. Then I added a small air blast created by an air… read more →

Heartbeat

In my sound effects research of the old radio days, I understand that to create heartbeats, they placed the arm of a record player on a towel or other kind… read more →

Helicopter rotors

Umbrellas might also be useful for an element in the sound of helicopter rotors (if you’re a very fast and steady flapper). Just shake the umbrella half opened (or almost… read more →

Horse hooves

Coconut halves. – Paul Arnold I once got a really good sound of a horse or other large animal running on dirt or gravel. I did it by beating two… read more →

Hull giving in

If you need a sort of metal version of a wood door squeaking in pulses (ee-eh-eh-eh-eh–eh) – like a hull expanding / contracting – here’s a way: I’ve had some… read more →

Human mutilation

Cabbage, carrots and other vegetables. – Mark Estdale

Ice creaking and breaking

You might try freezing a home-made piezo mic inside a block of ice and plunking it in hot water. – Scott Koué Try dry ice against resonant metal combined with… read more →

Ice freezing, dramatic

To make a dramatic crackling sound of when something is frozen, try recording the bristles of a wire brush. A wide brush that has long stiff bristles works best. Push… read more →

Ice skating

Get yourself a Tile Cutter, the type with a sharp metal disc that is dragged across a tile. Smooth glazed tiles are best.. you get a great crunchy, squeaking sustained… read more →

Ice volcano

For ‘Mission Backup Earth’ (Sci-fi series), an ice volcano was modeled using impulses from real ice cracking. A trash bag dropped with snow on the top simulating a large rock… read more →

Innards of alien

For more subtle “Bloke examining innards of alien” effect, close-up mic work on your mouth, open and close mouth slowly whilst slowly taking tongue away from roof of mouth –… read more →

Insect wings

Try using a pocket fan with nylon fabric or sticky tape on the wings. Bring it close to your fingers and record the flapping sound. Modulate al gusto. Find a… read more →

Jet aircraft

Air line in mouth. -Mark Estdale Another great way to do a jet sound effect is to record a hoover – EQ to desired effect. If you have a hoover… read more →

Kissing

What you need: Glass of water, your lips, and your forearm. Take a sip of water and wet your lips. Then, make out with the underside of your forearm, the… read more →

Large robot servos

Take a hard-cased suitcase for resonance, tape or hold a piece of nylon cloth to its side (size: kitchen towel), then crumple another piece of nylon into a ball and… read more →

Laser gates and slow lasers:

I’ve found that home sink and bathtub taps running water at a low flow into the drain make a great ‘base’ sound for laser ‘gates’ (security grids or fences, sci-fi… read more →

Lava

Recording water running out the end of a drain pipe onto a stone/patio/concrete floor then pitch down. – Philip Moroz Bubbling sound from a hot radiator tank on a car.… read more →

Metal blinds

If a scene features the talent using a finger to look out of metal blinds, the sound could be created by using a tape measure. Pull the tape measure out… read more →

Metal squeak

A metal squeak – depending on the type of sound you want – can be made by taking a metal plate and sliding it sideways over a flat surface –… read more →

Meteor trail

For the sound of an Arrow Flyby or Meteor Trail, simply hold some tight plastic using grips (not hands) over a sink of water and set fire to the plastic… read more →

Mine car

Roller coaster. – Ben Burtt

Money falling

Try lightly shaking some bushes – Andrew Scott

Moon buggy on ice

Snow blower dragged over ice for metal sounds. Local bus for the engine drone. – Mike Rooke

New Year’s Eve sound effects

Here’s a compilation of ideas for New Year’s Eve SFX: For the fireworks fizzing, try jolting your fingers in the water stream from a close-miked tap (tip from Paul Davies).… read more →

Ninja Star, throwing and impact

Get a stick of bamboo or other light wood and move it quickly to and fro in front of the mic. Swish it back and forth as fast as you… read more →

Ocean waves

Take a microphone and place a windjammer on top of it. The very furry ones do a great job ;) Then what I did was to record myself rubbing my… read more →

Outer space depth charge

For a cool outer space depth charge explosion, use a screwdriver and run it down the low E string of a guitar. EQ the sound so the high end is… read more →

Ox cart

Drag some cinderblocks or rocks or bricks across a wood floor, add some creaks and bumps, add some metallic jingles. – Bob Kessler

Plastic surgery

Put some dishwashing detergent on a rubber doctor’s glove, add some water, and squeeze and fiddle with it. – Durk Kooistra

Punch sounds

I like to think of such sounds as having two general components: a ‘defining’ one, and an ‘impact’ one. The defining one is what sounds up front and tells the… read more →

Radio static

If you put a sparkler and melt it into a styrofoam cup sideways so that the mouth of it is facing towards you, the sound is very alike to that… read more →

Rain on gravel

Plastic bags, polythene etc. – great for rain on gravel. – Mark Estdale

Rat shrieks

Pitched-up chickens. – Ben Burtt Up-pitched kittens. Especially the screechy ones. – Gustaf Grefberg

Ripping a small alien’s body in half

A good Foley artist I worked with had a good technique for achieving the sound of someone ripping a small alien’s body (a monkey like voodoo creature) in half- eww!.… read more →

Road flare, igniting

Evenly distribute kitty litter into a shallow plastic container and drag a rock no bigger than your fist, from one side of the performance area to the other. (About 45… read more →

Roaring animal

If you want to simulate the roar of an animal, an angry tiger or lion for example, take a corrugated cardboard box, place two condenser mics (one outside the box,… read more →

Robotic servo, subtle

A cell phone in vibration mode can serve as a nice base for a more subtle robotic servo sound. Record a cell phone’s long vibration tone once at close distance.… read more →

Rocket engine screaming

Chalk squeak on a blackboard. – Paul Arnold

Rope with heavy weight swinging

Twist a pencil between the keys on a standard PC keyboard (slowly) for a “Rope with Heavy weight swinging” effect. – Tim Wright

Sea shore

I heard that pouring a fizzy drink onto tarmac or any floor is supposed to be very good for sea, or that’s what they used in jaws anyway. – Matt… read more →

Sizzling / crackling

To create a variety of sizzling and crackling sfx take some Alka Seltzer tablets and place them on top of a piece of dry ice. Pour various liquids like water… read more →

Skiing / ski jump

Slide usual paper over abrasive paper at various speeds to achieve a nice variation of ski sounds. – Ronny Pries For skiing try rubbing a piece of 8.5×11 paper or… read more →

Snake movement

Mushy/oily food, movement of wet sponge (on rubber). – Ben Burtt

Space door opening

Train door opening, car boot opening. – Paul Arnold Put a piece of paper in an envelope and slide it out. I believe that’s what they used in Star Wars.… read more →

Space ship, hyper space zoom

For the sound of a space ship hurling through space: Drive on the highway alongside a tractor trailer at high speed and have a friend record the sound of the… read more →

Spear piercing flesh

Biting into an apple. -Paul Arnold

Spirits screaming

Dolphin and sea-lion cries, other animal screams and human vocalizations. Perhaps run through a vocoder. – Ben Burtt

Stone coffin opening

Slide off top of a toilet tank. – Ben Burtt

Stone doors

Rub two rough stones together – in a slow circular motion. Slow the sound down, enhance the bottom end. Gives you a real nice ancient tomb opening sound. – Patrick… read more →

Sword, swinging

Take a plank or another long object and swing it around rapidly as you would with a real blade. This produces a good swooshing sound – and if you layer… read more →

Sword, wielding

Get a spatula or some sort of large metal cooking tray, if possible steel. Put it on your kitchen surface and pull it off the surface – but make sure… read more →

Tentacles, sliding

Get a few day’s worth of stubble on your face. Go somewhere real quiet and record running your hand and arm under your chin – it mixes in nice with… read more →

Tire Skid/Power Slide

Very recently I had to create a skidding sound effect for a game where engine sounds would not be acceptable. What I did was I acquired a carpet tile and… read more →

Tree falling down

Chop on chips. Pitch them down. – Ellen Lurie

Tron disk toss

Processed bull whip cracks and monkey shrieks. – Paul Arnold

Vocalization of monster

Metal pressed against dry ice. – Paul Arnold Slide a straw up or down in a McDonald’s large drink plastic lid. Trying pitching it down, stretching it. And voilá! McZilla.… read more →

Voice similarity

If you insert your wet hand into a wet cup, wiggling and moving your hand once it is inside, you’ll notice a certain similarity to a voice. With some practice… read more →

Vomiting

I made a great vomiting sound by taking a large bottle of commercial Italian dressing (chilled to make it more viscous) and a gallon juice bottle filled with water. Take… read more →

Walking, grass

For grassy footsteps I have used newspaper in a plastic grocery bag and softly tapped the bag. It worked out pretty well. – Spencer Johnson Old cassette tape – unravel… read more →

Walking, hazardous-materials suit

To make sounds for footsteps and other movements of a man in a hazardous materials suit: Record, fairly closely, the sounds made by flexing an “accordion folder”. (Not sure what… read more →

Walking, metal

Record yourself banging a boot or a heavy shoe against a heater. You can use a pair of boots to simulate a walking pattern. – David Filskov

Walking, on leaves / in the forest

Put a sheet of new and straight aluminium foil on a pillow, and cover with a thin cotton sheet (e.g. kitchen towel or similar), then push on the surface using… read more →

Walking, robotic hydraulics / footsteps

Photocopier sounds are good for robotic hydraulics/footsteps. – Paul Arnold Close mic a DVD player door closing, it will give you a motorised sound ending with a thud. You can… read more →

Walking, snow

Lay a strip of carpet on top of some gravel, then pace over it to make a cool walking on snow effect. – Martin Severn Flour, great for walking/driving on… read more →

Walking, swamps or wet mud

For something walking around in the swamps or wet mud, try: – A big heap of totally wet toilet-paper on your desk… – Mount the mic close up… – “walk”… read more →

Water ambience

Water through pipes. – Paul Arnold

Weapons, scary

Just taking “bang” sounds and compressing them usually doesn’t give them a dangerous edge.. Get a “tone” in the sound.. Take one of the elements in the weapon sounds and… read more →

Wind

Try turning a bicycle upside down (a touring model rather than a mountain bike… the tires are smoother). Spin the tire and press a piece of stretched silk/parachute-pants/winter-parka against it.… read more →

Wings flapping (bird takes off)

A pair of leather gloves flapped about is a good substitute for wings flapping when a bird takes off. – Garry Taylor Leather/rubber gloves. – Paul Arnold For winged creature… read more →

Project Highlights

Asus ZenWatch 2

GivingTales

Music for H. C. Andersen's tales

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Original game music

Invasion From Below

Music & sound for LEGO®

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