Practical Task - Sound

Initially, I looked to the internet to find inspiration for ways of making sound effects with everyday items. I found a website, http://www.epicsound.com/sfx/, which lists various sounds and how to make them. On the list were helpful sound effects that would be useful for the horror genre, such as stab and punch noises. There were also more general sound effects, such as walking on snow and fire crackling. I also found several videos that showed ways of making general foley sounds. 

From the website and these videos I found the easiest way to create the sound effects of a person being attacked was to use vegetables. Having found this information, I bought various vegetables and found some objects around the house that I could use to make some foley sounds. 

List of items used:

• Knife
• Knife sharpener
• Lettuce
• Celery
• Bell pepper
• Black pepper 
• Eggs 
• Breadsticks
• Carrots
• Plastic packaging

I then recorded the sounds the objects made, whilst filming what I was doing to make the sounds. I then edited this footage together to make a short video. 

One of the sounds that I think worked well was the carrot snapping and the crinkling of the plastic packaging combined to make the sound effect of a fire. These two sounds were easy to make and sounded really effective. This could be used in final production piece if we were to do a psychological horror, as fire could be used in a sequence of burning various significant items, like a shrine. 

Another successful sound was the bell pepper that sounded like a victim being punched. This sound effect could be used in many genres, any that include fight scenes or violence as a common convention. This could include teen drama, urban drama or any type of horror. 

One of the less successful sound effects was the lettuce being chopped. Many of the sources found suggested a lettuce being cut creates a sound that can be used for someone being stabbed. However, I found that the knife went through the lettuce too easily, meaning the only sound that could really be heard was the knife hitting the counter. If I were to try to recreate this sound, I would use a harder fruit or vegetable, such as a watermelon. This would allow the knife to sink into the fruit better instead of passing straight through it, allowing for a better sound.

Another aspect of the sounds that would need to be revised should I recreate the sound effects is crushing the egg. In past experience, it has been hard to crush an egg, however when creating the sound effects the egg cracked very easily. If I were to create the puddle sound effect again, I would be sure to cover the area I would be recording in newspaper or another protective material to prevent the egg from going everywhere. However, to achieve the sound of stamping in a puddle in the future, it would be easier to just create a puddle and record the sound of stamping in it.