19 March: On this day in 1953, the Oscars were televised for the first time. From QI Series F, Episode 11 - 'Films and Fame' With David Mitchell, John Sessions, Emma Thompson and Alan Davies For more visit qi.com
Ego Geo Where did you hear that? I thought they didn't have money for horses, although they could have used stock audio of a horse, and just recording a horse is probably cheap.
My favourite sound effect moment is from Round The Horne. We hear the 'clippety-clop' noise for a few seconds followed by Betty Marsden's character with: "There's a pair of coconut shells pulling up outside..."
I was listening to a Christmas Round the Horne (might have been beyond) on an MP3 player a couple of years ago, it was strange listening to a show recorded before I was born only meant to be heard once, fifty years after it was broadcast.
I love how right at the end Stephen is obviously joking about the woman being reduced to tears, but David is so genuinely concerned that he might have offended someone that he feels the need to clarify! David, you complete me. 3:34
"You've got two empty alves of coconut and you're bangin' 'em together." "So?" "Where'd you get the coconuts?" "We found them." "Found them? the coconut's a tropical fruit!"
There is a story from BBC Radio about a play where they needed the SFX of a paper bag of porridge being thrown against a wall. The SFX department (not foley artists as that is for film) tried everything they could think of, and it simply wasn't convincing. Then someone said, "why don't we put porridge in a bag and throw it against the wall?" So they did, and it was perfect. However, there is a good reason why you might not use the real sound, especially in film. (Note - I was a sound man and this was part of my job). In film, sound can tell the story better than the picture sometimes, or it can change the picture even. For instance, an old silent movie shot of a woman creeping up on Dracula's coffin was scary with the trembling violins. But change that to a love song, and suddenly it is a clip of a woman tragically finding the tomb of her lover. Likewise with sound effects. Sometimes when you use the real sound, in a cinema it sounds lame. The reason is because you are in a cinema seat and not at the event itself. Exaggerate or fake the sound, and suddenly you feel like you are really there. Isolate it so those thundering horses' hooves are the only thing you can hear, then the Knights' charge is extra dramatic. Bury it in a ton of bird tweeting, wind through the trees, a badger throwing up somewhere, which would be far more real, then it is just a mess. So, the SFX crew at Broadcasting House can be forgiven for not leaping for the porridge.
Foley and soundfx are sooo incredibly important, the backdoor to your brain is through your ears (though I'm sure you've heard that a million times.) I do have something you have to check out as a sound engineer/artist. Watch a film called First Man, the sounds they use for the metal scraping inside the rocket are wild animals screeching, the effect is amazing. It's like a deeply instinctive fear gets pulled out of you, legit my fav use of creative foley I've ever heard.
Spike Milligan once came down to the BBC cafeteria and asked for some runny custard. The tea lady obliged. Spike proceeded to pour it into a sock, and yeet'd it at the wall. When it seemingly didn't make the sound he wanted, he was reported to exclaim "Shit!", which the tea lady was said to remark that that's most likley what he wished was in the sock.
The best one I've ever seen used, was used in a recreation of a radio show from the 1930s that I did when I was in college. The Theater Department did a recreation of an episode of "The Shadow"from the 1940s. Part of the episode involved someone being chased down a snowy path. If you squeeze a box of corn starch near the microphone, it sounds like footsteps in snow.
But why do foley artists feel the need to recreate things that can be easily recorded. I can see why finding a proxy for something like dinosaur footsteps or futuristic doors would be necessary, but the crackling of fire or a horse running? Those would be far more effective to just record outright.
@@Hankblue yes, let's just set fire to things, and run at the same speed as a horse while holding a boom mic, and hope the wind and being jostled up and down doesn't distort the clopping. Not to mention the rustling of grass being picked up as well. Or one's own heavy breathing, because running at 40 miles an hour really takes it out of you.
@@tahutoa Uh yes, set fire to some wood in a fireplace, why are you acting like that's some crazy impossibility? 🤔Ride a mic dolly next to a horse galloping. Why would you be concerned about picking up grass rustling when you're trying to track the foley for a horse running through some grass? Running at 40 miles an hour? Gee if only there was something you could ride on to go at the speed of a horse.. some kind of animal maybe 😂
@@Hankblue I think it's mostly because the timing needs to match the pictures. So the Foley artist needs to control the sound precisely while watching the pictures.
"You see it many times in films without knowing" ....and I'm sure this collection of funny British people has all seen it in film _at least_ once where they _definitely_ knew it: *"You've got 2 empty halves of coconut & you're bangin' 'em together!"*
There isn't usually much if any sound made when a lamb is born, the ewe sometimes bleats or groans slightly and may rustle any straw she's standing or lying in. The loudest noise may come from the shepherd saying "Christ! There's two more in there!
Such a great show, but I must confess that I have not watched since Stephen left as host. RIP John Sessions. Particularly loved the episodes that he was in.
I did too for a long time but Sandi is amazing. She’s not Stephen but she’s exactly as good as Stephen and just as funny and interesting but in a different way. Give one of the compilations a try and see how you go. You’re missing out!
Yes, dialog that you can't record on location like a scene in heavy rain or if it's not possible to have a mic near the actors, you will add the dialog later in ADR-sessions.
Yesterday was the last show for Monty Python's Spamalot at my school, and I was playing in the pit. This video coming out today was such a big coincidence. I essentially have the lines for the coconut scene memorized at this point.
when i first saw this episode, and heard the first noise, my initial thought was "washing hands/applying lotion on your hands". then the right answer was "giving birth" i was fine with it. when i saw how the sound was made, i was quite chuffed i slightly got the right answer.
The thing is-you know that, and other people who have delivered lambs know that. That leaves the remaining 99.99% who don't have a clue, but we see the film with that sound and it works for us. Sometimes they have to give up some verisimilitude for the sake of the wider audience
I haven't delivered anything and yet I totally agree. Maybe it's correct if you play it backwards ? Lamb arrives then there's the sound of the mother licking it ?
deejayy2k That's what's confusing about what he says. The sound is clearly from Star Trek, not Star Wars. But then he claims the effect was being made at Elstree Studios, which was indeed connected with the Star Wars productions, but had nothing to do with Star Trek.
Nope. It's Star Wars. There are plenty of door opening moments - the trooper head bash as mentioned, the droids hiding, the lift they take to the detention block etc.
I recall seeing a video about a couple who did amazing sound effects. I think it was on RU-vid. They were not given the credit deserved at the time and when it finally did come the record was lost? Or something like that. Anyone else remember that and maybe have a link or hint to search with? I wish I could remember the movie they worked on. Sorry I don’t have more info, dear reader.
Doc Daneeka Not when the comedian demands the answers beforehand to sound "smart." He's either a weird, creepy man, or he asked for the answers to know that "pregnancy" was the sound that was trying to be made.
We had the sound drop out for an egg frying in a pan on a production. To challenge ourselves we tried to find another sound to match it. It turns out that the shower running is a perfect substitute.
I was doing sound for a minor production and the main sound man provided the sound effect of a toilet being flushed. It sounded nothing like a toilet - so I recorded the flushing of my own loo and used that.
I once had a book of Goon Show scripts that described in detail, the difficulty of creating the sounds for The Phantom Batter Pudding Hurler Of Bexhill-On-Sea (spoiler alert: a sock full of custard doesn't work)
Coconuts don't produce milk. The liquid inside a coconut is known as _coconut water. Cononut milk_ is made from pulp. This is mentioned in Series R, Ep 14.
I spent time on Mackinaw Island. The coconut thing would be more convincing if it went clop, clopclop, clopclop, clopclop... The gentle clop clop clop should be more energetic, because that's a horse on a mild stride.
The paper in envelope - I'd got sliding doors but was thinking of Star Trek ! It's deffo not original series but could be next gen ??????? Of course, the correct sound effect would be: "DOORS OPENING"
Allow me to feel a little smug at correctly guessing what the sheets of paper were the ‘sound’ of. 🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓 (Well I said Star Trek not Star Wars but same difference.)
Is it the doors in Star Wars or Star Trek ? I think it might be the latter..... And what about all the other science fiction films that have sliding automatic doors?
It's not the exact same sound, but it's not the most dissimilar thing they could've done. Take a listen to the second half of this: watch?v=dyZyKA80L6k and tell me that's not at least in the same ballpark. Now, suppressed pistols, swords being drawn and punches - THOSE are insanely off.
Shod horse on a hard surface like cobblestones, it should probably be clarified further. Obviously if you're only familiar with the sound horsehooves make on softer surfaces, it really sounds nothing like it.
Yeah, and he always want to jam an Alan Rickman impersonation into the show as well. Absolutely nothing against Alan Rickman, but unnecessary impersonations are tedious at best.
To be fair, all the guests in QI have the questions before the show. But no one cares with them, because as Alan once said in some interview, they don't even understand most of the questions. And only one mistery guest look for the awsers before. But no one demands the questions, they all have them before.
I've not heard a lamb being born but I bet it sounds nothing I say NOTHING like that. The birth would be relatively silent and sheep don't drop their lambs - so the towel's completely wrong.
