What with one thing and another, it’s been a while since I’ve had the opportunity to announce another contributor’s joining the Zapsplat community. So I’m delighted to announce that Music For Video has joined us with a generous contribution of 150 whoosh sound effects as well as 20 music loops.
We’re always glad to welcome new contributors and Music for Video has helped us to start to fill some particularly important gaps in our library so a big thanks to them and a warm welcome. Now, let’s see what they have for you.
First, you’ll find some sunny, upbeat royalty-free music loops like this one. Royalty-free music is vital for almost any multi-media project for which a composer hasn’t been hired to custom-make music, so we can never have enough of it. When it’s loopable though, it becomes even more useful because you can stretch it to fit the scene, advert or whatever with a minimum of effort and fuss. Simply paste copies of the sound file end to end until you reach the time index you need.
As you can see from the link above, Music for Video’s loops have a very modern feel. The instrumentation instantly reminded me of YouTube ads that I have seen recently so whether you’re a streamer, a podcaster, a DJ or someone working on a commercial, if you’re creating content that needs to get people feeling lighthearted and positive, these assets could really help you out. If you’re creating content with a more dramatic feel though, don’t worry, we have something for you too, but more on that later. Before we get to that, let’s talk about the whooshes.
Whooshes are like a Swiss army knife for sound designers because they can achieve so many things. They can work as transitions for scene changes, to show movement in space and/or time, they can be used for layers in so much sci-fi, horror and fantasy sound design, they’re great for logos and trailers, the list goes on. With a little tinkering, they can be turned into impacts or filtered so that one whoosh can be used in several different contexts without anyone knowing. So having 150 more of them can’t be a bad thing.
That’s particularly true given that this collection comes in a variety of shapes and sizes to suit all tastes. There are whooshes with long attacks and abrupt decays, whooshes with varying degrees of distortion, also short attacks and long decays, whooshes where the attacks and decays are a similar length, short whooshes, long whooshes, whooshes with echo, resonant whooshes, eerie whooshes, sharp whooshes etc.
Some of the whoosh sound effects are very powerful and broad, dominating the spectrum so that they would need to take centre-stage in a mix unless filtered, such as this long whoosh. Others are narrower in scope and more subtle like this one.
There are whooshes that evolve, going in directions the listener might not expect. This one has an almost glitchy tail, which gives me the impression of something dissolving or flickering. This example begins in a very straightforward way and then, all of a sudden, gets put through a phaser or frequency shifter.
I mentioned above that whooshes can be a good way of sonically illustrating movement and there are whooshes here that are particularly well suited for that purpose, that might be used as layers in sci-fi vehicle sound design or, equally, to indicate a demonic presence passing by. Some of these sounds give a sense of great speed, which is rather nice.
Some of the sounds in this collection don’t have many features that make them stand out. The fact that this makes them less memorable can be a good thing. It means that, with the right tinkering, they would blend well as layers in composite sounds. Many of these less distinct whooshes have a broader spectrum, meaning that there is more for a sound designer to work with in that respect too, so that they can be filtered and processed to become something unique for that project. It also means that they can be reused more times without a production sounding canned or too much like another production using the same assets.
Other whooshes are very distinctive and inspiring though. There’s this interesting and lo-fi example and this ominous stinger that has a sense of definite impact in the middle.
All in all these sounds provide an excellent foundation in whooshes and supplement our collection of production elements very well.
But wait, there’s more! The jewel in the crown of this contribution for me is the epic music loops they have provided. These grand pieces would be ideal for fantasy settings or any project where a sense of drama and excitement is needed. As a keen role-player, I know I will certainly find a use for these.
The orchestral instrumentation is very good, no cheap and tacky strings here. There’s even a piece with a choral line, which I found very impressive. Here are two examples. Check them our here and here.
We’re very glad to be able to offer you these sounds and music clips, particularly since some cover genres we hadn’t really strayed into up to this point. Be sure to check out Music For Video’s whole collection on our site and then head on over to their website for more just like this.
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