Looking for ideas for your next sound effects library? Good news, the SFX survey results are in – and this time around, we’ve gathered 56 ideas in total!
I’ve carried over some of the ideas from the previous surveys, too; these are marked with an *. I’ve also added some suggestions for existing material in brackets.
A big thanks to everyone who participated – hope you find the list inspiring!
• African-american walla
• Animal vocalisations, clean, 192 kHz (check out the animal libraries from Krotos here – but the more, the merrier)
• Australian crowds
• Babies crying (Baby Boom or Oh Baby could come in handy here)
• Bamboo forest *
• Basketball Trash Talking
• Car engine recordings to use with LeSound Audiomotors
• Car interiors. Especially with open window
• Cars that run normally. I often find it hard to find a car pulling in or out at a normal speed. Most of the times it’s either too fast or too aggressive. Also nice, constant drive interiors again with subtle gear changes.
• Caves – textures and layers that can be used in designs
• China Ambiences – countryside, no humans
• Christmas – Especially carolers, church interiors, vintage toys (not video games), congregations singing carols, reindeer. The only album I was able to find was all bells, store interiors, traffic, sleigh bells and winter sports. It needed sounds like wrapping presents and decorating the tree, Christmas morning unwrapping gifts, family dinners, etc.
• Circus *
• Comedic sounds/accents, updated and decently extensive.
• Common Birds for city ambiences, organized per time of day
• COMMON stuff every project needs, but recorded with several perspectives: DOORS recorded from 1 meter AND 3 meters AND 5 meters, and so on.
• Crowds Library – but not angry crowds, there are tons of those. Crowds that you can’t hear exactly what people talk about, sad crowds, happy crowds, frightened crowds – and all kind of emotions we have!
• CU tires screeches and tires on different terrains, mostly tires arriving and departing in slow speed without motor or bg bleed
• Dog foley – “footsteps”, panting, breath (there are 3 dedicated dog SFX libraries here – not specifically for dog “Foley” though)
• Dragging sounds (this could be helpful)
• Electronic console sounds
• Everyday roomtones and exteriors (these may be useful)
• Explosions (there are a number of explosion-focused libraries here)
• Fishing sounds *
• Global events (Olympics, World Cup, Tour De France etc) *
• High quality big electricity sounds / sparks (libraries such as Sparks N Arcs, Polarity or Electronic Drain might be useful here)
• HQ classic combat sounds, punches, kicks
• Individual screams and insane vocal reactions, of every age and gender
• Kids, not babies, both genders, multiple characters, solo, not field recordings, a wide variety of natural/not-hammy laughs, screams, emotes etc. Avoiding words/accents so as to remain internationally applicable *
• Metal cable snaps with that whip kind of snap and cable resonance sounds
• Metal piercing sounds (there could be something useful in the Metal category)
• Middle East cars *
• Military Voices – giving orders, taking orders by single soldier and group of them. Soldiers responses to orders etc.
• Modern car alarms
• More ‘source’ libraries – ie, not designed sounds and not raw recordings
• Motor ‘sweeps’. Not just cars; other vehicle types, tools, servos, toys, WWI biplane
Office ambiences, modern – printers, scanners, copiers, modern phones and computer keyboards. Same for police stations, hospitals, hotels etc. (this office SFX library might work – for hospital ambiences, try this)
• Organic morphing sounds. Not robotic, but mutating type fx
• Outdoor “roomtone”: just a tone of exterior air (Street, park, desert etc)
• Outdoor sport practice (without crowds)
• People Moving – sitting down, getting up, single and groups *
• Pedestrians walking and moving on sidewalks without distinctive speech and with clear footsteps, light or no traffic. (something like this, this or this might work)
• Prison *
• Pro wrestling sfx – wrestling ring, bell etc *
• Quiet crowds and group movement (Quiet Spaces or Room Tones and Quiet Places could be a good starting point)
• Rolling loops of different size, weight, texture and if possible by layers organized in frequencies of wood, metal, plastic and their corresponding squeaks. For example, loops of tree logs rolling, or different size metal tanks or pipes rolling downhill on concrete etc etc. *
• Room movement
• Seagulls (there’s a dedicated Seagulls pack here)
• Severe American Weather – Midwestern blizzards, ice storms, derechos, sandstorms and real hurricanes and tornadoes, tornado warning sirens, storm shelter doors, cleaning up debris, falling debris, TV/ Weather Channel Severe Thunderstorm and Tornado Signals
• Shop bells *
• Slingshot bys library *
• Small and large crowds – general murmuring, talking, clapping, rioting, panicking… It would be really useful *
• Small “fire” (candle, lighter, old lamps) *
• Thunder hits and rumbles, clean CU (there are a number of thunder SFX libraries here)
• Tropical vacation – Tropical atmospheres not all surf, boat docks, cruise ship terminals, rainforest insects and thunderstorms, wind in palm trees, beach front sports, scuba diving, wind surfing, tropical rainshowers, Carribbean town ambiences like supermarkets and department stores, fishing boats.
• UI SFX, modern game audio
• Vocals. I do all audio for short animation now and then, mostly without dialogue but with endless amounts of ‘huh’s, ‘hmm’s, ‘ah’s and ohs’, etc.
• Walla
• Weapon impacts (for regular bullet impacts, this or this library could be what’s needed)
• Wolf vocals and howls
• Worldised Royalty Free Music
