Thunder rumble...
Sound effects and film sound technique Thunder rumble...
I'm in need of a making a good thunder clap and rumble. What should I use to make it?? What produces the best sound??
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"Life is pain, highness...anyone who tells you differently is selling something."
A few months ago I was faced with making just that. Here's what I did:
I got two condenser mics (for stereo)
I went outside and looked got an old piece of sheet metal and metal roofing.
I got a wooden baseball bat and a hammer, I set up the mics, hit record, and started banging the metal until I got the sound I wanted. Of course, I had to slow it down a little later, but that was my "clap". For the rumble, I used a stereo recording of an actual thunderstorm that I had made a while back. I mixed them together, and presto! It sounds pretty nice, too. I don't know if you'd feel comfortable recording during a thunderstorm, but I think there is a safe way to accomplish this. What I did, is I set my mics up next to my window with the window about halfway open and just let it record while I went to another room and did something else. Trouble is, I don't know how often you get thunderstorms where you are. 
If I can ever find my old recordings of thunder, I suppose I could convert some to MP3 and upload it to you. Otherwise, I can't think of a good way to create artificial thunder, although I suppose if you get a big enough piece of sheet metal, you could shake it up a bit and get a decent sound. That'd be the best alternative as far as I can tell.
Isaiah
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Isaiah, "I'm too young to be cool" Eyre
http://www.iEyre.com
if your too lazy, try napster. search hollywood sound fx or something like that because i downloaded a great thunder sound awhile back from there.
Jacob - Prism was on to something there, but seemed to miss something
. He was right about the sheetmetal, as far as the thunder claps. But for the rolling thunder, why not use the metal again? 
No need to get anything else. Get a large and LONG sheet of sheetmetal (aluminum is cheap, and works great). Now hold it by the top edge, and shake it back and forth slowly. This will create the rolling thunder sound. For the thunder claps, no need to hit it with a hammer (unless you want to. ), simply flick your wrists hard, and make the metal not just wobble back and forth, but SNAP back and forth, violently. Just do it once, real quick, and you will get a nice thunder clap. If you do it right, there is a possibility you wont need to edit these sounds AT ALL. The best way to figure out how to make the right sounds for your scene, is to just play around with the metal. Just have fun shaking around in different ways (heck, even try hitting it with things if you want), and then just remember what you did that sounded good to you.------------------
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Thanks, Movieman! That's the old-fashioned way of doing it, and it should work just fine.
Isaiah
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Isaiah Eyre, Sound Guy
"Sun, sun, sun, here it comes." - The Beatles
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Yeah, thanks guys! It worked really well, and it sounds great mixed into the film. Thanks again.
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"Life is pain, highness...anyone who tells you differently is selling something."
Awesome! Glad to hear it. Got a clip I could see/hear? I'd love to see what you came up with.
Isaiah
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Isaiah Eyre, Sound Guy
"Sun, sun, sun, here it comes." - The Beatles
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Well, the clip did sound really great. But now the other director of the film (Jamison Acker) suggested we should use more of a crash sound. Not so natural as a thunder clap. By adding a couple sounds, we came up with a crash created with a slamming washer door, and some dripping tap water. I think it fits the film more. But if i ever need thunder again, now i know exactly how to do it! Thanks again!
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