Processing Whooshes

Question

I have been trying to add reverb to wind, thunder, and air sounds while also pitching them down and the results are in...

Can anyone share some insight on how to process a sound like wind, a swish, or another to create a whoosh?

What are some creative ways to make a whoosh and what sounds have you processed that yielded fruitful results?

score 7 · Answer 1 · answered Sep 01 '10 at 03:46

Oh, the possibilities are endless!

Depends on what type of "whoosh" you want to create:

Long vs. short
High freq vs. low freq (or mid)
Sharp vs. smooth
Peaceful vs. scary
Simple vs. complex
Singular vs. multiple peaks

Working with wind and air sounds will usually yield smooth, long whooshes which can add body to your sound design. Or they could be used in an emotional context, such as peaceful, happy, "airy", calm, etc.

Thunder and gunshots will go a different route, usually yielding undulating whooshes with sharp peaks (as per Ryan's example).

There's so many other ways to go, too. Try working with your own voice; record yourself singing a steady tone, whistling a note, blowing steady air, etc. Work with doppler/flanger/modulator plug-ins to add movement, then work in some reverb for added depth. Delays are helpful here, as well. And if you don't have access to fancy plugins, you can create very effective sounds with simple techniques, such as EQ sweeps and fader moves. Just like in the good 'ol days before fancy digital doodads.

Layering is a good way to build complex whooshes. Try stacking a pole swish, reversed transient attack (ie. metal hit or drum hit), and a vocal element together in your DAW (syncing up the peaks) and see what ideas you come up with.

Well put! Forgot about the emotion of them - that is an extremely good point. — Utopia, Sep 01 '10 at 04:05

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 01 '10 at 07:18

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I created some long whooshes a while ago. I played wind through a speaker, got a boom mic, pointed it 90 degrees from the speaker and slowly went 180 degrees the other way. Got some great long whooshes for a slow motion scene.

If memory serves isn't this the way Burtt did the Lightsabers? Someone here must have that new Star Wars book!

answered Sep 01 '10 at 07:18

ianjpalmer

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yeah, he was playing back the interference he recorded from a crt monitor over a speaker, and then foleying against picture with a shotgun mic using the technique you mentioned. – Shaun Farley Sep 01 '10 at 12:03
of course....and that will sound killer with some long animal growls/roars/groans – Kurt Human Sep 06 '10 at 17:29
didnt he also layer that with a boom mic sweeping near a telephone wire? – Chris Sep 08 '10 at 14:48
I love this technique since you can do it to picture and choose how airy, mid, or low the swoosh is. – Luke Farroh Feb 22 '16 at 23:35

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 01 '10 at 03:32

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I haven't gotten a chance to try this one out yet. But I'm soooo looking forward to it.

answered Sep 01 '10 at 03:32

Steve Urban

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It's fun -- give it a try! The setup takes a while but once it's done you can use it as a template for future sessions. – Jay Jennings Sep 01 '10 at 03:35
Mocked it up a while back, got a silly amount of whoosh sounds now. – ianjpalmer Sep 01 '10 at 07:16
good link. i guess its time to make some whooshes today. – Chris Sep 08 '10 at 14:52

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Sep 01 '10 at 12:49

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As to the technique of using a boom mic and a speaker: also try to stick your mic into tubes and swing that around. I used this to fake the sound of a fire extinguisher.

answered Sep 01 '10 at 12:49

mny

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score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Sep 02 '10 at 05:45

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If you like to work with synthesizers, then take some white noise and run it through a filter and layer it with other sounds. I use Absynth 5 and I'm still exploring its immense potential.

answered Sep 02 '10 at 05:45

Hubert Campbell

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Processing Whooshes

5 Answers5