If you call yourself a movie buff, then there’s a massive chance that you recognise the iconic “Wilhelm Scream” – but, do you know how it became one of the most famous sounds in movie history? Let’s deep dive!
Sound effects come in all shapes and sizes…er, well, volumes and pitches. Sound effects can be created by nearly any method, and more often than not, sound effects come from things you wouldn’t even think of.
In order to get just the right effect, sound designers, editors, recordists, and mixers extract different sounds from a multitude of objects, and run them through heaps of effects to get just the right tone they’re after.
Since AFTRS is gearing up for their 2021 Master of Arts Screen: Sound degree, we thought it was high time you got to know the science behind creating the perfect sound effect, and just how they become famous. And, there’s no place better to start than the legendary “Wilhelm Scream”.
Check out the “Wilhelm Scream” in numerous films:
The “Wilhelm Scream” is noted as being one of the most iconic (and recognisable) sounds in the world of film, alongside the “Tarzan Yell”, the legendary lightsaber “whoosh”, and the THX intro sound. But, how did it become one of the most famous sound effects of all time?
Classified as a stock sound effect, the “Wilhelm Scream” has been used in over 400 films and televisions series since it first arrived nearly 60 years ago. Emerging in the 1951 film Distant Drums, the sound’s name actually came from a later Western film from 1953 titled The Charge At Feather River, after a Private Wilhelm who emits the same scream after being shot by an arrow.
The man behind the scream? That’s believed to be the voice of Sheb Wooley – an actor and singer from the 1950s who was also responsible for the novelty hit ‘The Purple People Eater’. However, there isn’t a surefire way of knowing, as the voice behind the screen was uncredited. But, Wooley himself has joked that he was “great about screaming and dying in films.”
Often used as the basic scream when someone either falls from a high place, shot with an arrow or gun, or even thrown from a horse, the “Wilhelm Scream” slowly gained traction, and then exploded when used in the Star Wars films.
Since then, it’s been used in countless films across the decades, sparking up in numerous Disney films like Toy Story and Aladdin, and even popping up in the Game Of Thrones series.
Check out the origin of the “Wilhelm Scream”:
So, we know it’s been used in numerous films, and that it’s pretty dang iconic, but why is it? Well, it turns out that it’s used in the film world as somewhat of an inside joke.
At the time, Academy Award-winning sound designer Ben Burtt was actually a student of the University of Southern California, and studying film. Just like those students at AFTRS, Burtt was looking to enhance the world of film through a multitude of methods, including sound effects.
At one point during his schooling, Burtt was employed by George Lucas himself, and quickly the “Wilhelm Scream was used in all three of the original Star Wars films.
With Burtt wanting to iconise the scream, it was then placed in numerous legendary films by him as a sort of inside joke – placing the scream in all of Steven Spielberg’s Indiana Jones.
Soon after, many film industry insiders noticed these big films featuring the “Wilhelm Scream” and decided to use the scream into many of their own works in the blockbuster film franchises.
Famed directors such as Quentin Tarantino, James Cameron, and Peter Jackson have payed homage to the famous scream in their films. Even Disney has incorporated the sound effect into quite a few of their films. And, once it gets used just a few times, it sort of becomes tradition.
Even as the internet started to spark up in the ’90s and early ’00s, and YouTube became a solid source of entertainment, the “Wilhelm Scream” was honoured there, too, making more people aware of its presence in film and television. Basically, it’s turned into a giant meme.
Check out the “Wilhelm Scream”:
So, all in all, one of the most famous sound effects to date was spawned by an old, and forgotten film, and then turned into a massive inside joke by none other than a student studying film and sounds. So, do you want to be the one creating or discovering the next infamous sound effects that could go on to feature in hundreds, if not thousands of films? Then you’re looking for AFTRS, and their Master of Screen: Sound degree.
“Whether your interest is in production recording, mixing, or sound design and editing, this course will prepare you for tomorrow’s industry. Through a combination of practice-based learning and theory, you will critically evaluate the techniques and technologies of sound production and design.
“You will investigate the ways in which sound can be produced, edited, designed and manipulated to create rich, diverse and immersive cinematic story worlds. You will be encouraged to challenge norms and build an informed creative practice, aware of future platforms and changing work practices.”
Keen to dive into the world of film, and create sounds that are known all around the world like the “Wilhelm Scream”? Then AFTRS is the place for you.
