The requests for new free sound effects have been coming in thick and fast this last couple of weeks so we’ve been busy in the studio and out on location trying our best to record and create what we’re being asked for. So here is a breakdown of the most recent free sound effects we’ve uploaded to zapsplat.com.
Metal
Metal is our favourite thing to record, because so many different sounds can be produced from various metal sources. So when we get people asking for metallic sound effects, we jump at the chance. Metal impacts was first up and we needed to create some thin resonating impacts and larger heavy ones too. Often simple items found around the home can be used and with a bit of creative editing, they can be manipulated into something special.
We used some common kitchen utensils to create thin, light impacts for one member who needed them for a cartoon he was creating. One specific sound he asked for was the sound of a BBQ scraper scraping across a tiled surface. For this the real thing was fine.
We also recorded some heavy metal objects being dropped and thrown around and then added a large reverb. These were used for a user who required some suspense hits for a movie.
Stomach Gurgles
This was really fun to work on and we had to try out a few techniques to get it right… One member wanted some big, loud stomach gurgles, the kind that you get right before you hit the toilet…. yeah, those! We tried a few things, such as blowing bubbles into water, pitching it down, EQing it etc. But the best sound we could get was taking an almost empty shampoo bottle and recording the nozzle end while squeezing it. Then we pitched it right down and rolled of the top end with EQ. They can be downloaded here.
Door Creaks
You can never have enough door creaks… So when we were asked for a heavy old antique door creaking sound that would be used in a horror movie, we knew exactly what to use. I live in an old house with all the original fixtures. One door in particular really needs oiling and the loud creak drives my kids mad. Luckily I still haven’t got round to it so was able to record and upload it for our member. If you’d like to use it too, it’s here.
Playing Cards for a Magic Show
We love a bit of magic so when a magician asked us to create some very specific card sounds that would be used in a live show, we were only happy to help. The sounds in question would be played at the specific point in time that he performed a part of the trick designed to confuse the audience. These sliding and turning card sounds were simply created by using a real card and performing the desired action and recording it. We needed to work on several surfaces to get the right sound and a hollow table seems to give the best sound.
Lastly…
Last week we took a trip down to Brisbane and recorded a set of long (around 3 to 5 minute) ambiences around the city. These ranged from streets, traffic and pedestrians through to some lovely sounds of the botanic gardens. We plan to release these as a free pack once our new packs feature is up and running but we’ll write a post up soon with some photos of our trip!
Comments are closed.