Punch sounds

In Cecil’s response to the query about the above topic:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_012.html
Cecil writes:

My nit-picky response to this is that since most screen punches are pulled, they don’t have any sound at all… reinforcing the need to add sound to make the punches seem more real.

Did you ever see the original broadcast of Star Trek: TNG episode “Sins of the Father”? There were scenes with fights and slaps, but the Foley track wasn’t played. It was hilarious seeing Worf slap Duras with a strong backhand, but absolutely no sound. :smiley:


When danger reared its ugly head,
He bravely turned his tail and fled

Keep in mind that he was responding to Foley sounds in general, not just fight scenes. Miking an entire stage to pick up, say, footfalls, is what he meant was impractical.
Which explains things like the Foley pit.

Also, unrealistic. If the microphone at the camera can’t pick up the sounds, neither would an observer’s ears. Effectively, Foley sound fx sometimes add something new to the scenario. Something that wouldn’t be there in reality… Presumably this is chalked up to dramatic effect and/or poetic license, though sometimes to the detriment of the scene…

Ever hear soft soled shoes making a hard soled click in a quiet hallway on screen? Or even better was the martial arts film I saw once where the hero walked on rice paper without leaving a footprint, yet you could hear the crunching of every step…

In the movie Moontrap, they realistically omitted sounds from falls and explosions taking place on the Moon’s surface. But boy, was it weird! After years of “hearing” space explosions in movies and TV, this movie sure threw me off.

The original Star Trek was good about not sounding the explosions, just punctuating them with dramatic harp arpeggios. :slight_smile:


Wrong thinking is punished, right thinking is just as swiftly rewarded. You’ll find it an effective combination.

You have overly optimistic notions about microphones.


John W. Kennedy
“Compact is becoming contract; man only earns and pays.”
– Charles Williams

Either that or you have overly pessimistic notions about microphones.

My notion is that a modern, high quality mirophone can detect sounds that are not perceptible to most human ears. Furthermore, with advanced electronic filtering and amplification techniques, the sounds they pick up can be rendered in much higher fidelity.

Please explain your notion where a tightly stretched flap of fleshy material at the end of a soft, fleshy tunnel, vibrating against a series of bone-like structures is more capable of detecting sounds.

I’m all ears…

Let’s just say that I spent several months last year working on an independent TV pilot. Most of it was shot on location.

It’s taken longer to get the damn sound fixed in postproduction than to do the original shooting.

Microphones will never be as good as ears until they have as much intelligence.


John W. Kennedy
“Compact is becoming contract; man only earns and pays.”
– Charles Williams