What do big pigs, beluga whales, and macaws all have in common?
They all worked in the same movie, of course! In a behind-the-scenes video on SlashFilm.com (courtesy of The SoundWorks Collection), we get to hear about how each of the unique sound patterns for all the dinosaurs and technology were created, from the Ankylosaurs, to the Gyrospheres, to the Raptor pack.
Sound designer Peter Horner and sound editor/designer Al Nelson explain how each of the dinosaurs got their unique sounds, especially Indominus Rex, the latest and not-quite-ready asset for the park. Because she’s part-raptor, part-rex, the deep, bellowing roar we’ve heard in the other movies and come to associate with the T-Rex just wasn’t going to cut it. Like the cause for creating Indominus Rex, something new was needed for the fans. However, the team had a leg-up thanks to Gary Rydstrom, the original sound designer for the dinosaurs in the Jurassic Park movies, credited for creating the T-Rex roar. Big pigs and walruses were used to incorporate the sound of the T-Rex, while dolphin squeaks and monkey howls were used to represent the Velociraptor within the fifty-by-fourty hybrid. The sound effects for the Mosasaurus are explained, too.
Dinosaurs aren’t the only the things that’ve evolved in the park. The technology to keep up with the containment of the beasts and to keep the public entertained has turned from fake footprints in clay for the kids to play with to holographic dinosaurs that serve as good distractions for running away from a rogue raptor (looking at you, Echo…). The sound of the gyrospheres (large spinning pods that roll through the Apatosaurus valley and hilariously chaperoned by a virtual Jimmy Fallon) was created by using various frictional sounds of glass and other materials, and the various experiments done are shown in the video.
The sound team for the Jurassic Park/World has baffled us for a space of fifteen years, and have hopefully prepared us for the day when we may very well have a Jurassic Park built on an island off the coast of Costa Rica where twenty-thousands visitors flock per day to see the creatures from our past. The guttural roars and clicking of sharp claws on kitchen floors had us shaking in our cinema seats fifteen years ago, and without a doubt, we’re doing it again this year.