- 3 hours ago
You've heard them a thousand times, but do you know where they came from? Join us as we count down the most iconic and overused sound effects in film, TV, and media history, and uncover their surprising origins! From screams to thunder claps, these sounds are impossible to escape. Which one will you never be able to unhear again? Let us know in the comments below!
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00:05Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today, we're counting down our picks for the most frequently used
00:11and or famous sound effects, as well as where they come from.
00:14There's kids around.
00:16There are no kids around.
00:20Number 10, Eagle Screech.
00:23Bird sound effects are often painted with broad strokes, although it was tempting to
00:27talk about how basically every movie Owl's hooting is a great horned owl's.
00:34A more interesting case involves the famed Eagle Screech.
00:38You know the one.
00:39The characters are in some desolate remote location.
00:42Maybe they're climbing a mountain, or they're in the desert in a western, and then a piercing
00:47bald eagle's cry breaks the silence.
00:56Except, it's not an eagle screeching at all.
00:59The distinctive call most associated with eagles is, in fact, that of the red-tailed hawk.
01:06The bald eagle's actual vocalizations are less impressive.
01:14Number 9, Howie Scream.
01:17There are a couple of stock scream sound effects that you're probably familiar with.
01:21Of the two most famous ones, this is the comparatively less known of the pair.
01:25It's most frequently known as the Howie Scream, named for its use in the death of a character
01:30played by actor Howie Long in the film Broken Arrow.
01:35It's often used as a gut-wrenching scream, usually accompanied by someone falling from
01:40a great height.
01:46You may also know it from the intro to Ah, Real Monsters.
01:54However, its origins predate Howie Long.
01:57It was originally a stock sound effect, known as Screams 3, and first used on screen
02:02in a bar fight in the film The 9th Configuration, as a battle cry.
02:11Number 8, Dramatic Chipmunk Sting.
02:13We've all seen the meme.
02:15The animal turns its head with a dramatic zoom and the
02:18dun-dun-dun sound effect.
02:25However, while the fact that it's a prairie dog and not a chipmunk,
02:28and the clip originating from a Japanese morning show are fairly well known at this point,
02:32what's less famous is where the dramatic sting comes from.
02:36Well, if you aren't a Mel Brooks fan, at least.
02:40You're putting me on.
02:43While far from the only version of a dun-dun-dun sound,
02:46this particular one originates from the classic parody film Young Frankenstein
02:50as the castle comes into view.
03:01Haul me, right?
03:03Number 7, Vos Break.
03:11Things break a lot in movies.
03:13Glass, ceramic, and other delicate materials especially.
03:16You'd think they'd all sound different, right?
03:18However, thanks to this overused sound effect,
03:21no matter what shatters,
03:23it all sounds the same,
03:24with only a few variations on pitch.
03:26The sound effect originates from Little Shop of Horrors
03:29in a scene shot in Silhouette
03:30where a vase is knocked over and broken.
03:33Get the vitality!
03:34Quick, the vitality!
03:35My majesty!
03:37What?
03:38It's too bad Audrey 2 couldn't feed itself on this noise,
03:41since this vase breaking has accompanied
03:43so many other objects breaking for the last 40 years.
03:46I said no!
03:49Sorry, no.
03:57Number 6, Heavy Metal Door.
04:00What is happening?
04:01Where are we going?
04:02I don't know.
04:04Break, break, break, break!
04:13Things breaking aren't the only thing to sound alike in various media.
04:17Metal things opening are also repeatedly given the same sound effect.
04:24Whether they're big, heavy metal doors,
04:27car doors, locker doors,
04:28or any other metal object that has a hinge,
04:31Hollywood loves using the same noise.
04:33First recorded in 1984,
04:36the heavy metal door sound effect
04:37debuted the next year in the film Mishima,
04:39A Life in Four Chapters.
04:40If there were a noise for a vault of overused sound effects being opened,
04:44it'd probably be this one.
04:46And it would play a lot.
04:47This seemed like a nice place to take a nap,
04:49so she went in!
04:51Number 5, Truck Passing Horn.
04:55Buckle up, guys.
04:56This is gonna take a while.
05:01Alright, never mind.
05:02Big semi trucks have a very distinctive sound in general.
05:06However, most of the ones we see on the big and small screens
05:09have the same distinctive sound.
05:11Or at least use an identical sound bite.
05:26The Doppler effect of a semi truck's horn honking twice as it passes by
05:30is in basically every scene with one of the large hauling vehicles.
05:34First created in 1987,
05:36the noise debuted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.
05:39During the famous scene that sees the two protagonists
05:42pass between a pair of trucks in a scene that's as terrifying for them
05:45as it is hilarious for us.
05:47You're going the wrong way!
05:55Truck?
05:55What truck?
05:56Why?
06:04Number 4, Yowling Cats.
06:07We've all seen this sort of scene, right?
06:08Maybe a car backfires,
06:10or something heavy gets dropped into a garbage can.
06:13Or perhaps something is thrown off screen.
06:15And then what do we hear?
06:16A cat making a noise that is decidedly unhappy.
06:20Get out of the driveway, you stupid cat!
06:24Comedy gold, right?
06:25However, it's used on screen just as much.
06:32Its origins are somewhat murky.
06:35Some claim it was first used in the 1980 movie Forbidden Zone.
06:38However, Wiley Stateman, the man believed to have recorded it,
06:42claims that he recorded it eight years later.
06:44Whether it's the work of a copycat,
06:46or if there's more than one way to skim this sound effect,
06:49there's certainly no escaping it.
06:51What?
06:52Now?
06:57Number 3, Diddy Laugh?
07:00Listening to the radio in the morning.
07:03I'm about to leave.
07:05When suddenly...
07:12The sound of children laughing is a wonderful thing, is it not?
07:16However, the overuse of the sound effect has ensured that every time kids are heard giggling
07:21and enjoying themselves on screen, it sounds exactly the same.
07:24Whether it was in the movie Taken,
07:29in this lousy horror movie,
07:33or even in this commercial of a dog-shaped toy.
07:37That's mine bones today.
07:39First debuting in the action comedy film Air America,
07:43this sound effect came to prominence through its use in the intro of Diddy Kong Racing,
07:47hence the name Diddy Laugh.
07:48You'd think that in the decades since it was created,
07:51that there would be more recordings of kids laughing.
07:57We are definitely not amused.
08:00Number 2, Castle Thunder.
08:02What was that?
08:04All right!
08:05That's a great sound!
08:07But it wasn't me.
08:09It came from there.
08:17It was a dark and stormy night.
08:20Always wanted to say that.
08:21Regardless, you've probably seen a movie, show, or cartoon
08:25where there's a spooky castle or mansion in the rain.
08:28And chances are you've heard this thunder sound effect as lightning flashes,
08:32illuminating the spooky structure.
08:35Lucky gust of wind.
08:52The Castle Thunder sound effect was first created in 1931,
08:56making it easily the oldest sound effect on our list.
08:59While there's some debate on whether it originated with the adventure film East of Borneo or Frankenstein,
09:04which was released a few months later,
09:06it's easily more associated with the latter.
09:08In the name of God, now I know what it feels like to be God.
09:24Before we continue, check out this single from Sound Mojo's Audio,
09:29Songs from Iran,
09:30reimagining Persian melodies as modern rock, metal, and pop songs.
09:34Check out the full track and album below.
09:37Where are you, my love so near?
09:39Say the word and I'll appear.
09:41I wrote this song just for you to tell you what I always knew.
09:51Number 1, Wilhelm Scream.
09:54Yep, you probably saw this coming.
09:56This sound effect is so famous, it was basically a meme before memes were even a thing.
10:01You're not going anywhere.
10:04Wilhelm Scream.
10:05Popularized through movies like Star Wars and Indiana Jones,
10:08This distinctive scream is used whenever a character falls or is killed slash injured.
10:19While the Wilhelm Scream is named for the character Private Wilhelm in the western film
10:24The Charge at Feather River, after he shot in the leg,
10:27it first debuted two years earlier.
10:29It first appeared in another western, Distant Drums.
10:36The person screaming is Private Jessup,
10:39who shouts after he's attacked by an alligator.
10:41So maybe it should be called the Jessup Scream,
10:44or else named after Sheb Woolley, his actor,
10:46and the singer of the Purple People Leader song.
10:49Yes, really.
10:50You're one-eyed, one-horned,
10:52flying purple people,
10:53you sure look strange to me.
10:55Is there a familiar sound effect we forgot?
10:57Scream your favorites in the comments.
10:59Scream your favorites in the comments.
11:01Scream your favorites in the comments.
11:04Scream your favorites in the comments.
11:05Scream your favorites in the comments.
11:05Scream your favorites in the comments.
11:05Scream your favorites in the comments.
11:05Scream your favorites in the comments.