Motion pictures are primarily a visual medium. That said, a well-done soundtrack can greatly enhance the viewers’ experience. While voices and music are obviously important, but so are sounds found in nature or created by natural activity (known as “sound effects”).
Recording quality sound effects—such as thunder or horses galloping—can be difficult when using simple equipment. But there is an easy workaround, namely adding pre-recorded sounds in the editing step. For example, suppose you’re making a biographical movie about a relative who flew bombers in WWII. If you have a still photo of your subject standing near a plane, you could drop in a background sound of a bomber flying.
Just about any sound you will need is available on YouTube.com. For example, if you have a poker scene, search for “sound of cards shuffling” and you’ll come up with hundreds of clips.
Some extended audio clips, which insomniacs use as sleep aids, chalk up thousands of views, or to be more accurate, listens. For example, the train sound found in the sampler (below) has had nearly 2 million hits.
While some of the sounds on YouTube can be purchased as downloads, most are free. But if you’re planning to exhibit your film commercially (for example, in an advertisement for your small business), it’s good practice to ask the producer for permission in exchange for a credit.
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