![]() “The foley of a character’s shoes or movements will influence how authoritative we think they are, the infinite textures of background atmospheres affect and manipulate our comfort within an environment. “music is the true international language of emotion and can seduce or kidnap us with its seemingly unlimited access to our unconscious.” Bennet Maples When producing the soundtrack we are in a privileged position of having control of the audiences’ experience.” “It’s 50% of our experience according to the likes of David Lynch and George Lucas…up to 80% if you ask Danny Boyle. “Sound plays a much greater part in film than most of us realize,” says Bennet of audio’s subconscious influence. The Inception Horn slyly references warning alarms and sirens, animal roars and rumbling thunder, tapping in to pre-existing human anxieties relating to particular sounds. One theory by Smithsonian states that “the ominous drone is a nod to inner turmoil there’s lots of worry about today, and ‘those thunderous musical cues seem handed down to remind us that even frivolous popcorn movies aren’t supposed to merely be fun anymore.’” There are many theories about why the Horn works so effectively on an audience. Synthesisers can offer a range of options too, and many of the versions of this sound used in trailers are simply virtual recreations, but even a unique blend of synth sounds will never have the inherently organic qualities that we subconsciously feel in a home-recorded texture.” The psychology of sound design If you are starting from scratch chances are you’ll want to be in your nearest sound booth exploring the sonority of the most interesting items, or instruments you can lay your hands on – then heading off to the likes of the local steel mill to capture size and drama. Sound designing an effect like this needs extremes of timbre, powerful for impact and tenuous for emotional ![]() Layering different sounds can reap extraordinary and often surprising results. “At normal film resolution we are listening to forty eight thousand samples every second. ![]() “In the case of the Inception Horn, you’re looking at both a sound team and a music team with immense time and resources at their disposal. This single sound will have been one that stood out from hundreds of experiments, probably involving a bizarre cross-section of contributing textures and enormous patience. “Creating a special effect like this one can be both a technical and a creative challenge,” says Bennet. Vulture states that the Inception Horn is actually made up of five different instruments playing one note at top volume together – the French horn, the Bassoon, the Trombone, the Tuba, and the Timpani. I sat down with sound designer and regular FXHOME collaborator Bennet Maples to talk about the origins of the sound and the technical tricks used to create effective trailer soundscapes. I’m talking about what has become known as the Inception Horn (follow the link, you won’t regret it) a distinctive sound which has been ubiquitous in movie marketing for the last four years. Cue a few seconds of black and then one, lonely, final BRAAAAHHHHHMMMMM as the film title fades in. Shots fade in and out with the brassy notes until they reach a climax. ![]() Perhaps one of them looks in horror at the sky as a shadow falls over their face. Did it have a slow beginning, followed perhaps by a couple of scenes showing a peaceful world, building tension with a ominous line of dialogue? Then, you hear it – your speakers shake as you hear the first of many BRAAAAHHHHHMMMMMS and the characters start panicking. ![]()
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