When you watch a movie, you hear many sounds. You might hear people talking. You might hear a door close. You might hear a creaky floor. You might hear an explosion. You might hear some animals. These are all sound effects.

A sound effect is a special sound that is in a movie. Sound effect artists are in charge of making these. Sometimes they record the real sound. Sometimes they use special tools to make sound effects. They might use sticks to make the sound of horses walking. They might use water to make the sound of splashing. Sometimes they have to guess what something sounds like. We don't know what dinosaurs sound like. Sound effect artists guess and create this sound.

Sound effect artists spend time recording sounds. They have a collection of sounds they can use in a movie. Some are real, and some are made on computers. Look around your house. What sounds can you make at home?

When you watch a movie, you can also hear music. The music makes the mood of the movie. The music can make us feel happy or sad or scared.

The music in a movie is called the score. The musical score usually has only instruments. Score composers are in charge of making a movie's score. They make up songs for the movie. They make, or choose, songs for the movie titles. The titles are at the beginning of a movie. They make, or choose, songs for the movie credits. The credits are at the end of the movie. Sometimes they write a song for the characters in the movie. There are many famous character theme songs. Do you know any?

Score composers work with musicians. They might work with orchestras. Score composers use computers to make the music beautiful. They make sure the music matches the mood of the movie.

Next time you watch a movie, listen to the sounds and music. What do you hear?

Exercises

keyboard_arrow_up