How the BBC used to make sound effects
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- KVRian
- 1158 posts since 6 Jan, 2015 from London, England
A short photo gallery here.
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- KVRAF
- 25849 posts since 20 Jan, 2008 from a star near where you are
How to get the sound of somebody walking in snow:
Buy a bag of potato starch and squeeze it back and forth
Buy a bag of potato starch and squeeze it back and forth
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- KVRAF
- 37492 posts since 14 Sep, 2002 from In teh net
That must have been such a fun job.
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 1158 posts since 6 Jan, 2015 from London, England
Until they dropped a clanger... Or made a howler...aMUSEd wrote:That must have been such a fun job.
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- KVRian
- 614 posts since 7 Jan, 2009 from Gloucestershire
On the Goon Show, they used to press vinyl records for the speeding up effects. I can imagine it was a lot of work, and you can hear their excellence on the show using internet radio and searching.
Then came their prized Radiophonic Workshop of course - here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YW8TdMgSxaQ
Then came their prized Radiophonic Workshop of course - here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YW8TdMgSxaQ
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- Beware the Quoth
- 35506 posts since 4 Sep, 2001 from R'lyeh Oceanic Amusement Park and Funfair
I think its fair to say the BBC used to make sound effects the same way every TV and radio broadcaster did; lots of mechanical and manual foley 
Great stuff, though.
Obviously prerecorded effects have probably taken over, but foley as a craft is still as important as ever, and some radio shows still use live foley, I believe.
The Radiophonics Workshop was indeed a wondrous thing apart; sadly, though, despite its successes the BBC didnt really prize it as much as they should.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Special-Sound-C ... c+workshop
Great stuff, though.Obviously prerecorded effects have probably taken over, but foley as a craft is still as important as ever, and some radio shows still use live foley, I believe.
The Radiophonics Workshop was indeed a wondrous thing apart; sadly, though, despite its successes the BBC didnt really prize it as much as they should.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Special-Sound-C ... c+workshop
An idiot on Set Theory:
"In some cases there is an object called red that contains everything that is red. In much the same way a pot is a plate."
"In some cases there is an object called red that contains everything that is red. In much the same way a pot is a plate."
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- KVRian
- 614 posts since 7 Jan, 2009 from Gloucestershire
I still hear their sound effect library in music tracks, it's just so distinctive:-
https://www.discogs.com/BBC-Radiophonic ... se/4372262
Someone's 'Tubed' it from the vinyl (same stuff, different name)
https://www.discogs.com/BBC-Radiophonic ... se/4372262
Someone's 'Tubed' it from the vinyl (same stuff, different name)
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- Beware the Quoth
- 35506 posts since 4 Sep, 2001 from R'lyeh Oceanic Amusement Park and Funfair
I bought a set of about a dozen of them on (original release) vinyl a while ago, which Im (slowly) ripping to digital. The first 8 in the series plus the two 'Death and Horror' classics. Most are in mono.
Great stuff.
Great stuff.
An idiot on Set Theory:
"In some cases there is an object called red that contains everything that is red. In much the same way a pot is a plate."
"In some cases there is an object called red that contains everything that is red. In much the same way a pot is a plate."
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- KVRian
- 614 posts since 7 Jan, 2009 from Gloucestershire
Yes me too!
The Death and Horror stuff was hilarious to me as a kid.
But it got me into it all big time, so I'll be forever grateful to Mike Harding and the gang!!
The Death and Horror stuff was hilarious to me as a kid.
But it got me into it all big time, so I'll be forever grateful to Mike Harding and the gang!!
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The_Hidden_Goose The_Hidden_Goose https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=10878 - KVRian
- 945 posts since 8 Dec, 2003 from Birmingham-ish, UK (Tamworth, but shhh!)
Daphne Oram (a founding member of BBC Radiophonic Workshop) created a machine ashe called the "Oramics" system, which she fed reams of 35mm film with hand-drawn "waveforms" drawn on them to control the sound.
And then there are all the tape-loopers like the more famous Delia Derbyshire.
The polyphonic synthesizer pretty much ended the experimentation at the workshop, as most of the poeple still there weren't all that interested in things that could do it for you. Plus, it became ever-cheaper to outsource for music with these going into something like mass-production - thus invalidating the very reason the workshop existed in the first place.
The BBC Workshop IS the sound of childhood TV for many people....I was only at the very end of that, when synths proper were out and everything started sounding "futuristic" (early 80's being my earliest memories), as opposed to each production having more it's own sound & texture to suit the subject material.
Edit: Haha....Delia Smith! Fixed.
And then there are all the tape-loopers like the more famous Delia Derbyshire.
The polyphonic synthesizer pretty much ended the experimentation at the workshop, as most of the poeple still there weren't all that interested in things that could do it for you. Plus, it became ever-cheaper to outsource for music with these going into something like mass-production - thus invalidating the very reason the workshop existed in the first place.
The BBC Workshop IS the sound of childhood TV for many people....I was only at the very end of that, when synths proper were out and everything started sounding "futuristic" (early 80's being my earliest memories), as opposed to each production having more it's own sound & texture to suit the subject material.
Edit: Haha....Delia Smith! Fixed.
Last edited by The_Hidden_Goose on Mon Mar 21, 2016 4:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Q. Why is a mouse when it spins?
A. The higher the fewer.
A. The higher the fewer.
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- KVRian
- 614 posts since 7 Jan, 2009 from Gloucestershire
Just had a quick check, the D&H CDs are definitely in stereo, apart from the short limb breaking effects! 
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- Beware the Quoth
- 35506 posts since 4 Sep, 2001 from R'lyeh Oceanic Amusement Park and Funfair
Good article a few years back on that, from Sound On SoundThe_Hidden_Goose wrote:Daphne Oram (a founding member of BBC Radiophonic Workshop) created a machine ashe called the "Oramics" system, which she fed reams of 35mm film with hand-drawn "waveforms" drawn on them to control the sound.
https://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb09/ ... ramics.htm
Considering that they were pivotal to RW, its a shame the 'old boys club' culture of the BBC kinda prevented Daphne and Delia from getting the respect and recognition they deserved during their lifetime, but in the past few years I think they finally got it. Strangely, though, their other contemporary Maddalena Fagandini never has....
An idiot on Set Theory:
"In some cases there is an object called red that contains everything that is red. In much the same way a pot is a plate."
"In some cases there is an object called red that contains everything that is red. In much the same way a pot is a plate."
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 1158 posts since 6 Jan, 2015 from London, England
I hear that all of her records were pressed in bakelite...The_Hidden_Goose wrote: Edit: Haha....Delia Smith! Fixed.
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The_Hidden_Goose The_Hidden_Goose https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=10878
- KVRian
- 945 posts since 8 Dec, 2003 from Birmingham-ish, UK (Tamworth, but shhh!)
garryknight wrote:I hear that all of her records were pressed in bakelite...The_Hidden_Goose wrote: Edit: Haha....Delia Smith! Fixed.
Considering she's one of my audio idols....I feel quite stupid now!
Q. Why is a mouse when it spins?
A. The higher the fewer.
A. The higher the fewer.