How did they make the Inception sound?

How did they make the Inception sound? - Content female customer with long curly hair wearing casual outfit sitting at wooden table with netbook in classic interior restaurant while making online order

I've noticed that deep bwaaah sound from Inception in several movies and trailers.

Apparently others have too--hear a montage of similar sounds (collected by Gregory Porter). I found some info on Wired about Inception's other (crash) sounds, but nothing about the bwaah sound, specifically.

  1. It seems similar to Star Trek The Motion Picture's Blaster Beam instrument. Anyone know how was the Inception sound was made?
  2. Also I think "that Inception sound" works but would "musical stab" be the right term for such a sound/effect?

Edit: I've seen it spelled or referred to as:



Best Answer

In the featurette The Sound of Inception sound designer Richard King talks shortly about recording sounds from an oscillator that are played through subwoofers.

That's when you can hear that bwaah sound, as you call it.

  oscillator

  Sound

Mix Magazine has an article in which Richard King explains a bit more about using subwoofers and oscillators to create certain sounds for the movie.




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Where does the inception sound effect come from?

Vulture states that the Inception Horn is actually made up of five different instruments playing one note at top volume together \u2013 the French horn, the Bassoon, the Trombone, the Tuba, and the Timpani. \u201cCreating a special effect like this one can be both a technical and a creative challenge,\u201d says Bennet.

Who made the inception sound?

Composer Mike Zarin Sets The Record Straight. It has become nearly omnipresent in blockbuster trailers, it was the defining characteristic of a major movie campaign, it has become as recognizable as any piece of score or movie music, and you know it as one single, stomach rumbling note: BRAAAM!

How is sound used in Inception?

Nolan incorporated the piercing sound directly into the Inception screenplay by writing it next to scenes. According to Zimmer, Nolan described the BRAAAMs as \u201cmassive, low-end musical tones, sounding like distant horns.\u201d Zimmer's BRAAAM came about as a result of experimentation.

What is a Braam sound?

Essentially it is a mega powerful \u201chorn-like\u201d sound that blasts with a long sustain and screaming \u201cListen to me, I am important!\u201d. You can think of a Braam sound as a mix between huge brass instruments playing at high dynamics, and a big cruise ship horn sound. All mangled with heavy effect processing!



Hans Zimmer - Making Of INCEPTION Soundtrack




More answers regarding how did they make the Inception sound?

Answer 2

There is an article based on an interview with Vulture where Hans Zimmer claims to have done it with brass players playing into a piano standing in a church as a kind of experiment.

However, this kinda pissed off Mike Zarin who details how the development of the sound was a team effort involving many people in this article that shows the evolution of the sound over the various trailers and score pieces, including trailers that Hans Zimmer wasn't involved in.

It doesn't seem like Richard King was involved at any point though and I also can't hear that exact BWAAAH sound in the Featurette Oliver_C posted.

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

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