Just about every professionally-made movie or TV show uses the technique that created the fake gunshot sounds in chapter 187. It’s called “foley” and it’s used widely in post-production during editing. The example Ukyo gives in the chapter is using sand to recreate the sound of waves. As you might have observed at some time or another, recorded sounds and pictures can be experienced differently when played through speakers or photos versus live in-person (it’s why I stopped bothering to try taking pictures of sunsets).
The goal of foley sound is to make you think you’re experiencing it live. Foley and many other aspects of filmmaking are designed to not be noticed by the viewer or else it will disrupt the immersion. This means every decision is made with the viewer experience in mind. When Ukyo and Senku made the gunshot sounds, they decided to use a different sound so that when it is played, the Americans will think it is real and get tripped up. Especially when it catches them by surprise, they wouldn’t notice anything inaccurate or synthetic about the sound.
So what they used to create a believeable gunshot was a plastic bottle. The actual gunshot sound fell flat because the acoustics that come with it wasn’t picked up. This is called the sound’s “decay”. With a large plastic bottle, the sound echos and reverberates within the bottle, and the thunderous ringing stays near the microphone. Something used in modern times to replicate gunshot sounds is a heavy duty staple gun.
Foley artists must constantly be creative and observant when designing their sounds. Someone with Ukyo’s ears would be very useful in a foley studio to pick out the small details that gives a sound more “oomph”. The most commonly known foley sound is using coconut shells for a walking or running horse (Yes, just like Monty Python). Here are some more interesting examples of what they use to create certain sounds.
Snapping celery sticks for breaking bones.
A phone book or big slab of meat for punching.
Shaking a large flexible sheet of metal for thunder.
Crinkling cellophane for fire.
Pushing the bottom of a plastic trash can in and out for a heartbeat.
Check out this challenge, can you tell the difference between the sound of rain and bacon frying?
Most of these sounds are created using other objects beside the original because recording the actual thing is usually underwhelming once you play it back, just like the gunshot recording in this chapter.
Some sounds are fully artificial but we’ve come to expect or be used to them in movies and shows. When Ukyo shoots an arrow, you might expect a “whoosh” sound, which can be portrayed by swinging a thin bamboo stick, but in reality arrows barely make a sound in mid-air. Many sounds during fight scenes are exaggerated or made up to add intensity. The sounds are still carefully chosen to create a balance of excitement and reality.
Next time you watch a Dr. Stone episode, take notice of all the sounds used. Dr. Stone actually has really nice sound design. It uses music, action sounds, but also other sounds that are neither music or action but help give an exhilarating experience. For example, when Senku is petrified and talking about losing consciousness (and diarrhea...), they use warpy sounds to transition to his petrified mind that sound really cool. But also fast forward to when Gen, Chrome, and Magma bury the cell phone and are found by Ukyo, the sounds are silly but still fitting. Anime can get away with more unrealistic sounds but it's still easy for them to seem out of place if not designed carefully.
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