I am watching a rerun of Enter the Dragon and I am chuckling about the sound effects. For example, with every punch that is thrown (and that’s quite a few), you hear that ‘swoosh-bang’ sound that has been the de facto standard for punching sounds in movies for as long as…I guess somewhere in the 70s.
Now being an amateur fighter myself, I am rather familiar with the sound of a (bare knuckle) punch, namely none worth mentioning.
I understand that it is better for effect to have some sound to match the visual, but I started wondering…who came up with this sound and why do we have the exact same sound in all movies and tv shows? Is there a sound monopoly in Hollywood, or is there a standard for movie sound effects that best practice producers must commit to?
Are there other totally unrealistic sounds going around in movieland?