Some of the most memorable sounds in cinema come from spontaneity. From a sound technician recording his three-year-old daughter's laugh to an old fan making strange noises, anything can become a unique piece with the right treatment. At the same time, there is a high degree of improvisation in creating sound effects. Foley artist and sound designer Matt Davies decided to share his tricks for creating material for zombie films, which come down to squashing and twisting fruits, vegetables, pieces of meat, or wet towels.
If we have to choose two sounds above the rest in the entire Star Wars saga, it's hard to go beyond Darth Vader's breathing and the lightsabers (although R2-D2's expressions and the blasters come very close). In all cases, none other than Ben Burtt intervened, a true legend in sound design. The first was achieved by breathing himself into a diving regulator, while the second is based on the motors of old projectors and the interference of a television. That's right: There's nothing very sophisticated behind those sounds, and their electronic origin makes them fit perfectly. Now, what happens when you need more “organic” sounds, so to speak? I'm referring to things like zombies eating brains and gutting corpses…
Foley artist and sound designer Matt Davies shows us that it all starts with a trip to the market. You'll need plenty of tomatoes, a couple of peppers, and a watermelon. It's also a good idea to add some raw meat, especially chicken. Devouring a tomato savagely reproduces an excellent zombie bite, and the crushed pepper basically sounds like a skull breaking. Every zombie movie requires entrails hanging or spilled on the ground, and that's when raw chicken or wet towels come into play. Even a dog entertained with its bone can serve as a sound source for a disturbing and primordial hunger.
In short, the cost of materials can be very low (in fact, the priority of the Studio Unknown where Davies works is to maximize its clients' budget), however, every sound will need a little help before reaching its final version. Unfortunately, Davies doesn't share any details about the microphones or software he uses in his work, but we hope he will in the future.
