How do we hear ant sounds in Ant-Man?

How do we hear ant sounds in Ant-Man? - Black and Brown Ant on Green Leaf

I don't really get it. How on earth can we hear sounds made by ants? This is too much exaggeration in the Ant-Man movie.

The ant wings sound like helicopter rotors.



Best Answer

The movie focuses on ant sounds to highlight the action they want followed. Selective sound highlighting is typical in all movies. Like how you can clearly hear people in a club talking at normal conversation levels which would be impossible in real life.

That said, we typically hear the ant sounds only when the camera is in ant perspective, just as we do the vision changes. We, the audience see things similar to how shrunken Scott sees them, and hears them. Perspective is distorted, when needed. The camera, being closer to the ants, making them the relative size of a helicopter, will sound different then when the camera makes the ants the relative size of an ant. Comically, this is illustrated when YellowJacket is struck by a train:

Notice the sound changes? That's the perspective change. Also an example of the Doppler Effect.

In reality, someone with ear drums the size of a fraction of an inch will hear the same sound differently from a normal person. Compare listening to ear buds, tiny speakers that need to be close to your ear drums for you to hear them properly, to listening to a concert speaker. The pressure wave of the sound is the same, but the intensities are much different.

In an earlier scene from the movie, when Scott first shrinks down, notice how Luis' footsteps sound like booms to Ant Scott, while Scott's yelling sounds like faint scratching to normal size Luis.

Of course, the following scene where Scott falls into the club, he should be completely disoriented by the loud club music. Not only does the suit helmet likely help prevent that, the Pym Particles allow Scott to keep his normal size strength, but mainly it's because the movie (and comics) do sacrifice scientific reality for entertainment reasons. The Rule of Cool applies more than fact would. And a story like Ant-Man would be ruined by facts.




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How do we hear ant sounds in Ant-Man? - Brown and Black Insect on Brown Stick
How do we hear ant sounds in Ant-Man? - Red ant
How do we hear ant sounds in Ant-Man? - Tilt Shift Photo of Acoustic Drum Set



How does an ant make sound?

Many ants chirp to each other by rubbing two hard parts of their abdomens together. Different species can use these scraping sounds for things like getting organized, communicating with mates, and calling for help.

Can Ant Man speak to ants?

Ant-Man is able to talk to and control ants with his mind. In the first movie, this is explained by tapping into the olfactory center of ants' brains (the part that handles smell).

Can you hear ants?

If you've got a thousand ants in the wall, moving around at night, it actually sounds like the sound where you pour rice on Rice Krispies \u2011\u2011 just that low\u2011level little clicking and scratching. If you get them moving with a pesticide application, you can hear the rustling just begin.

What would happen if Ant Man was real?

His bones would no longer be able to hold his body straight and would turn into powder, being crushed under the weight of his colossally heavy body, turning him into a giant living blob.



What Sound Does An Ant Make?




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