As the year continues, many of these posts will be philosophical in nature. Some will be in contradiction to previous postings. These are not intended as truths or assertions, they’re merely thoughts…ideas. Think of this as stream of consciousness over a wide span…
Besides the obvious answer of, “DON’T!”
This week’s post was inspired by the use of the Wilhelm Scream in the film Warcraft, and various conversations surrounding its usage that spotted last night. One of which I got involved with, despite not having seen the movie. [ed. …and no. I don’t plan to…ever, if I can help it.]
Regardless of how you feel about it (I personally want the madness to stop) clichéd sounds can have their place, but it’s all in how you use them. If you absolutely must see if you can sneak it past the director and/or producer, then I can only see two ways of doing it:
- Bury it. Make it so that YOU have a hard time hearing it in the piece you’re working on. Only people who are actively searching for it should be able to find it. Don’t let it draw attention to itself.
- Use it in an exceedingly clever way. The problem with this is that as soon as someone has done that, you can’t use that approach again…ever. Sounds like the Wilhelm have been bouncing around for decades. It’s getting harder and harder to use it in a clever/subtle way. If you can’t do something new with it, DON’T! A good example of a clever use comes from Tron Legacy (2010):
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y-6P5_Bw9k[/youtube]
There’s one other instance where it can be acceptable to draw attention to a clichéd sound, and that’s by turning it into a self referential joke. If you can make people who are sick of it laugh, then people who aren’t aware of it will probably enjoy the joke without the full knowledge of what’s happening. The film Over the Hedge (2006) did this very well with a mosquito.
And that’s about it. Anything other than these three approaches is likely to earn you the ire of soundies and the general populace. You have been warned!
Out with rules!! Setting boundaries to anything at all is not something I subscribe to personally…free the Wilhelm Scream!! :p
where’s my pitchfork? ;)
I am guilty of sneaking one in a film I supervised last year…then again I am still in early stages of my career so I guess best get it out of my system at this stage :p
The Wilhelm Scream could be compared to canned laughter on radio shows and studio sitcoms. It becomes comical, almost satirical in its nature, which is often not why it was created in the first place.
I agree with Shaun – you have been warned! Don’t! Find a better solution that serves the story better rather than resorting to an in-house joke that is dated!
Oh Enos, what film did you sneak it in? I am surprised that you used it being Mr.Storyteller… smiling!
Ha! I stand my ground in defense of freedom of sonic expression and the use of the Wilhelm Scream!! :p
Funnily I just heard it feature very heavily in a Deadpool trailer I just saw on TV a few minutes ago.
Martin, I sneaked it into the Arthur & Merlin film I supervised last year…the story REQUIRED it!! I promise!! :p
I’ve used it once, but it wasn’t my call. You can’t always blame the Sound team for its use. The Producer/Director are in charge and we’re there to help them realise a vision.
So, Director asked me to use it, so I did. However, I did use one of my own screams right next to it, might as well stand next to one of the greats!