Science - sound effects

Today in Science, we talked about sound effects, and how they make movies and TV shows much more realistic. We also talked about how, in the 'olden days' before TV, people used to listen to radio dramas, where sound effects were especially important, because the listener had to imagine what was happening - sound was a big part of that. I showed them this video of an old radio play, which shows how a lot of the sounds were made... but first I played them the audio only, and had them guess how the sounds were made.

After this, the students worked in groups to make sound effects for 'The Three Little Pigs', where I narrated the story, and they inserted sound effects. While each group was performing, the other students had their eyes closed, like they were listening to a radio play - here are some photos of some of the students creating their sound effects.

Finally, I showed them a couple of short videos on how Ben Burtt, sound designer for the Star Wars films, found sounds all around him (both mechanical and natural) to create some of the most iconic sound effects of our time (i.e. the laser guns).

Episode II: Foley on Disney Video