Why is it said that sound effects are important for a movie?
Imagine watching a horror film without background sounds evoking a spooky or mysterious feeling, or watching an action thriller without the sound effects that thrill. How interesting would these be? Not at all!
Indeed, a good film should have a gripping story and impressive acting, but it won’t be complete without good sound effects.
Sound effects, generally, refers to the artificially created or enhanced sounds. In other words, it is something that helps to tell a story better!
There are different types of sound effects in a film. One of them is the hard-sound effects, which are common sounds, such as door alarms, weapons firing etc. Then there are background sound effects. They do not explicitly synchronize with the picture but indicate a setting to the audience. For example, forest sounds. Then, there is something called the Foley sound effects. They are sounds that synchronize on screen- like the footsteps, the movement of hand props etc.
Another important effect is the design sound effect. They are used to suggest futuristic technology in a science fiction film.
Sound Effects in Video Games
You might have noticed that sound effects are used not just in films, but also in television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media too.
As far as video games are concerned, the effects play an integral role in their success. To understand this better, one should play a game with sound play a game with the sound turned off. Imagine scenes of battle with no sound. Boring, aren’t they? That is because sound effects play a major role in communicating the narrative, an enriching the experience of the player.
In the past, game environments were simple and hence, they reduced the required number of sounds. As the business of video gaming grew, more people started getting involved in the sound part. Today, most successful projects have a specialized team of sound designers who work to improve the quality of games.
However, such importance is given not just in video games, but in music too. Some pieces of music use sound effects to enhance its beauty.