Sound Effects Skill: Wolf Howls

In "Leila," Deborah Hyatt's chilling contribution to Chatterbox's 2011 Halloween Show, a man fights to save his marriage to the werewolf he loves. Ultimately, our hero finds himself in the woods, amid the most unfortunate of family reunions -- surrounded by a pack of angry wolves. The script, as you can imagine, called for lots of howling.

Though we mixed in some recordings of real wolf howls, I wanted to supplement them with howls from the cast. In general, recorded (or "canned") sound effects tend to be more realistic, and are the only way to go with very large or very specific sounds. But live (or "spot") effects often fit into a scene more naturally, sounding both more immediate and more coherent. For sounds that require both realism and immediacy, we've found that a blending of recorded and spot effects works best.

So, how to howl? We wanted to stay as accurate as possible, which meant moving past the oversimplified arooo sound you'll hear on cheesy Halloween records. Here are some links Deborah and I sent to the cast during rehearsal.

Recordings of actual wolves:
http://www.wolfcountry.net/WolfSounds.html
http://vimeo.com/53969
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGJoACEi-8A

How to mimic a wolf howl:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBs6TEiMZ5A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk0W59pXUjY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYoXzZxEa9g

(Obviously some folks get really into this.)

There's an arc to the pitch that is crucial to a realistic howl. Up quickly, then down more slowly -- almost like a siren warming up and winding down -- with a kind of vocal break near the end. I also love the shorter "yipping" sounds, which Megan incorporated into the wife character's final strangled howl, described in the script as "a terrible mix of human and animal, pleasure and grief."

So how did we do? Judge for yourself, but I was certainly happy with the end result. Any effect that doesn't draw attention to itself, that the listener accepts as part of the story, is successful. Meanwhile, explore the above links to perfect your own howl, for use in your own spooky performance or just a wild night on the town.

The Long Halloween

Original artwork by Derrick Dent

Chatterbox's 2011 Halloween Show is now available from our website. So if you missed the live broadcast, check it out!

Additionally, as you may know, our show was part of an international collaboration of audio theater producers known as Transcontinental Terror. Everyone contributed an hour of scary audio, and all six hours were streamed live through Sound Stages Radio.

Here's a full list of everything that aired during this year's Transcontinental Terror. Each group is free to release its shows how and if it chooses. I've added links to the ones that are available online.

The Wireless Theatre Company (London, England)

Curse of the Wolfman

The Cask of Amontillado

Electric Vicuna Productions (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
The Muse of Madness
Faith

FinalRune Productions (Portland, Maine)
Intensive Care
Dark Passenger

Chatterbox Audio Theater (Memphis, Tennessee)
2011 Halloween Show


Icebox Radio Theater (International Falls, Minnesota)
The Demon


The Willamette Radio Workshop (Portland, Oregon)
Dracula

I was performing and cleaning up for most of Halloween night, so I've got some great listening ahead of me as well. Enjoy.



Happy Chatterween!

Tonight's the night! Be sure to tune in to 91.1 WKNO-FM (through your radio, if you're in the Memphis area, or through the WKNO website) at 7:00 CT to hear Chatterbox's live Halloween broadcast. Or, listen to the online re-broadcast at 9:00 pm CT as part of Transcontinental Terror (which will be streaming original works of audio horror from across the globe from 6:00 - 12:00 pm).

Here are a few images to whet your appetite, courtesy of David Barton, who is also one of our illustrious Sound Effects Artists for the show:

 

Don't miss it!

Halloween Show Load-In

Eric and I spent most of today moving our piles of equipment over to the lovely WKNO studios in Cordova. Here are some pictures of the basic setup -- which, not surprisingly, had evolved even further by the end of tonight's rehearsal.

Treats, tricks, etc.

Some seriously spooky artwork by Derrick Dent, from our 2010 show.

It's October, which means Chatterbox is gearing up for its annual Halloween Show on WKNO-FM. This live broadcast has become a tradition since we first started it in 2008. And it's one of the most fun things we do all year.

The 2011 show will consist of four original horror stories. Scripts were written by myself and the talented Deborah Hyatt, who penned our adaptation of Jack London's "Moon-Face" as well as two previous Halloween stories: "Burning Cold" in 2010 and "Boil" in 2009. (I just noticed that both of those stories have temperature-related titles, a streak that Deborah will break in 2011 unless she opts for some creative last-minute renaming.)

Naturally, the less you know about the scripts, the more likely you are to be horrified, so I'll stay tight-lipped. But I can tell you we've got some really intense stuff planned for this year, and that the stories will range from subtle and eerie to squirm-inducing and over-the-top. Remember: we're trying to give you nightmares. So if you have young kids, don't let them listen unless you want them to have nightmares.

Casts for our Halloween Show are always hand-picked. The stakes are high on live radio, so I like to work with seasoned performers whom I trust implicitly. I got a bit of a late start on casting this year, so we still have a few roles to fill -- but I can already say with confidence that we're going to have a great lineup of voices, including a few newcomers to Chatterbox. As with all shows, casting is half the battle, and with the right team on board rehearsals go a lot more smoothly.

Later today I'm meeting with producer Eric Sefton, musician Cheri Hughes, and SFX designer David Barton to go over the scripts and brainstorm ideas for music, sound, and production choices. There, we'll think hard about how to create some really gruesome sounds and a really unsettling atmosphere. Then rehearsals start next week!

The show will air live on 91.1 WKNO-FM in Memphis at 7:00 CT on Monday, 10/31. You can listen from anywhere in the world through WKNO's website. It will also be rebroadcast that same night as part of the Transcontinental Terror event. If you like horror audio, I highly recommend you tune in to as much of this event as you can.

More updates coming soon! In the meantime, mark your calendars for the show.