This article was taken from the August 2011 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online
A sentient semi-truck morphing into a ten-metre-tall robot is bound to make a lot of noise. But what noise, exactly? As supervising sound editors for the Transformers films, Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl had to decide. "The challenge is how to tell a story with sound," says Van der Ryn, 48. "We wanted to combine organic with synthetic, because these robots are a synthesis of those two worlds."
Taking the iconic five-beat transforming sound from the 80s animated series as inspiration, the team developed a discreet set of noises for each robot by combining synthetic tones with an array of real-life clicks, clangs and whirrs. For Autobot leader Optimus Prime (above), that included recordings of air brakes, scissor lifts and clashing swords. "Swords are great for resonating, ringing metal that really reads," explains Aadahl, 34.
The pair decamped to their LA studio and fired up Pro Tools 9 and a range of plugins, including GRM Tools and SoundToys, to warp the pitch and speed of a variety of recordings. The slowed-down squeal of a faulty car window became a deep robo-growl, the gargling of a bent garden hose with its pitch altered became bleeping data-chatter, and a car door slamming became booming Transformer footsteps.
And for some of the robots' more unusual noises, the team turned to the animal kingdom. "To make the buzzing that became Bumblebee's signature sound, we actually caught a bee, put a microphone in a cup with him and let him buzz around," says Van der Ryn, laughing. "Michael Bay really gave us free rein." Other sonic contributors included Van der Ryn's dog, and, in new instalment
Transformers: Dark of the Moon, an elephant's trumpet, slowed down to 20 per cent of its original speed, becomes the sound of an alien mothership. "We're always thinking of what unexpected, delightful sounds we can apply to these moments," says Aadahl. "One thing that we've found over the three Transformers movies is that often the grandest sounds are created by the smallest things. It's funny -- people think that we're dumping cars off cranes to make these big smashes, but more often than not, it's just a dryer door closing."
Transformers: Dark of the Moon is in cinemas nationwide now
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
