# 'KABOOMM ... wiiiiiiiiiiii...' - When did this audio effect begin in movies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [April 25, 2024, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaboomm-wiiiiiiiiiiii-when-did-this-audio-effect-begin-in-movies/1000720 "2024-04-25T01:54:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2024, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaboomm-wiiiiiiiiiiii-when-did-this-audio-effect-begin-in-movies/1000720/1 "2024-04-25T01:54:41Z")
The scene is familiar - there’s a high-stakes confrontation two-thirds of the way through the movie and the hero narrowly dodges a BIG explosion - large enough to trash the car they were in. The explosion is deafening, and as the dust settles on screen you hear … a very high-pitched, almost inaudible monotone, and any background sound is muddied and dulled. Clearly its intended to represent the post-explosion temporary hearing loss as seen through the hero’s ears, and give some sense of their disorientation and disconnection from the immediate action. Sometimes it works well, and now you see it all the time on movies and TV. But it wasn’t always so. Back in the olden days there was none of this audio jiggery-pokery - the explosion exploded and then everyone just got on with their business. When did this particular explosion audio effect begin being used? The people demand to know. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2024, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaboomm-wiiiiiiiiiiii-when-did-this-audio-effect-begin-in-movies/1000720/2 "2024-04-25T02:03:01Z")
I can’t answer your question, but. I can say that I do appreciate when they do that effect after a bunch of guns have fired near someone’s ear. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2024, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaboomm-wiiiiiiiiiiii-when-did-this-audio-effect-begin-in-movies/1000720/3 "2024-04-25T02:04:30Z")
There’s a trope for that: > **[Shell-Shock Silence - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ShellShockSilence)** > > A giant explosion goes off, then — silence. In the eerie pause, we see the action continue but only hear a high pitched hum. Gradually Fade In small arms fire, yelling, screaming... suddenly everything returns to full volume and the … Also, there’s a study for that: [http://www.thecine-files.com/the-tinnitus-trope/](http://www.thecine-files.com/the-tinnitus-trope/) ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2024, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaboomm-wiiiiiiiiiiii-when-did-this-audio-effect-begin-in-movies/1000720/4 "2024-04-25T02:45:07Z")
Thanks - its a great article, although I can’t claim to understand much of the acoustic science content. It does confirm my recollection of it being post-2000 [I’ve only seen one of the earlier films that use it], and do now recall its impact on me in _Master and Commander’s_ battle scenes. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2024, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaboomm-wiiiiiiiiiiii-when-did-this-audio-effect-begin-in-movies/1000720/5 "2024-04-25T03:19:43Z")
_Saving Private Ryan_ always seemed like the trope codifier for me. It wasn’t the first, but it included the trope in giant battle scenes that were highly memorable for all sorts of other reasons (like the tropey reduction in frame rate, low shutter angle [for a stuttery look], and cranked up contrast/saturation). Never saw _Cop Land_ but I don’t think it’s stuck in the cultural memory like _Saving Private Ryan_. _Pi_ is too obscure and the other examples are too old. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2024, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaboomm-wiiiiiiiiiiii-when-did-this-audio-effect-begin-in-movies/1000720/6 "2024-04-25T11:34:04Z")
They mention this in the article. Great minds and all that! ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2024, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaboomm-wiiiiiiiiiiii-when-did-this-audio-effect-begin-in-movies/1000720/7 "2024-04-25T21:01:24Z")
Kaboom! wasn’t on the Wii. It was on the Atari. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/47/Kaboomcover.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/47/Kaboomcover.jpg)