Is there another name for the TIE fighter noise?

September 22, 2009 4:29 PM

Having learned that there's a name for the Wilhelm Scream, now I have to know if there's a name for another sound effect; most commonly known as the TIE fighter sound. Name?

I've recognized that the same sound effects get used over and over, even for things unrelated to the original noise.

Someone just clued me in to the fact that the Wilhelm Scream is often used as sort of an in-joke as well as a stock sound effect.

This made me start thinking and asking about two more sounds.

There's a jaguar growl or other big-cat noise - "rr-ROWL-rowl"- that often gets used to "sweeten" explosion sound effects; I bet that's just "panther sound #5" and I'm not that concerned about it.

But I hear and recognize the "yeeeeaaaargh!" or TIE-fighter noise much more often than I pick up on the Wilhelm scream, and now I just HAVE to know what/where it comes from and if it has a name, official or unofficial.

Any SFX folks in the hive able to help?

posted by bartleby to media & arts (16 answers total)

The TIE fighter sound is an altered elephant noise. More info on Ben Burtt's brilliant sound design work on the Star Wars movies can found here.
posted by dersins at 4:51 PM on September 22, 2009 [4 favorites]

I don't think it has a name, but it was made Ben Burtt by combining a car on wet pavement and an elephant call.
posted by Deflagro at 5:03 PM on September 22, 2009

You hear the TIE fighter noise outside of Star Wars films? Really? I'm not necessarily disbelieving you, but I just don't recall having heard it myself, and would love to know other places it's been used. That'd be fun trivia to have at my disposal!
posted by jdroth at 5:43 PM on September 22, 2009

Is this the tie-fighter noise? I always thought so, because the album is called 1977 and that's when starwars was released (and that's when the bandmembers were born...) any my friends told me so.
posted by mjg123 at 5:55 PM on September 22, 2009

I know exactly what sound you are describing, bartleby. It is not the TIE Fighter sound, but a man's scream that sound similar. I've been trying to locate an example online, but haven't had much luck yet. I do remember that it was used in Starcraft, when you clicked on a Terran barracks. If I had my Starcraft disc with me I'd install it just to grab that sound and post it.
posted by good in a vacuum at 5:57 PM on September 22, 2009

Er, I think I know exactly what sound you mean, bartleby. Re-reading your post, are you talking about the actual TIE Fighter sound, or a scream that sounds like a TIE Fighter? I'm interpreting your post to mean a scream.
posted by good in a vacuum at 5:59 PM on September 22, 2009

If it is indeed the scream, I know precisely the one you're talking about. It's a clipart scream from Sound Ideas or one of those common collections, and is used extensively in video games, movie trailers, commercials, etc.

I don't know if it has a particular name. I just knew it as "that damn scream that means the sound designer was too lazy to scream into a microphone."

A-ha. Is it this? (roughly 35 seconds in).
posted by Durhey at 6:15 PM on September 22, 2009

You must be referring to the Gut-Wrenching Scream, yes?
posted by Jinkeez at 6:22 PM on September 22, 2009

Assuming that's the sound/scream you mean, Previously
posted by Durhey at 6:23 PM on September 22, 2009

(also http://www.freewebs.com/notthewilhelmscream/history.html)
posted by Jinkeez at 6:25 PM on September 22, 2009

Well, that's the one I was talking about anyway, Jinkeez. Thanks for finding it!
posted by good in a vacuum at 6:28 PM on September 22, 2009

Like Durhey says, the sound in question is indeed from a compilation. To be precise, it's:

Hollywood Edge - PE 13 - Human Sounds 1 - 44 - Man Screams #3- Gut-Wrenching With Fall

Buy the 20-disc collection here for the low low price of $750.00!

Oh, and enjoy this video.
posted by AAAAAThatsFiveAs at 7:44 PM on September 22, 2009

(Sorry--didn't see Jinkeez post. He's right on the money.)
posted by AAAAAThatsFiveAs at 7:47 PM on September 22, 2009

(Also called (maybe incorrectly) the Howie Scream), it also appeared in Half Life 2)
posted by OrangeDrink at 8:59 PM on September 22, 2009

Gut-Wrenching-Scream-and-Fall (or Howie) it is!

The sounds seemed close enough that I thought this and the TIE fighter noise were the same.

Jinkeez FTW!
posted by bartleby at 2:18 PM on September 23, 2009

I always thought of it as the Starcraft scream; the first time I ever really noticed it was playing Starcraft, since you'd hear it when you clicked on the Terran barracks. And then I noticed it all over the place after that :) Glad to help!
posted by Jinkeez at 6:28 PM on September 23, 2009