STEAM: Sound Effects Lab

Making videos and having a channel online are all the rage. They involve animation, real people or animals. What else do these videos include? Super fun sound effects! They add something special to an otherwise dull or quiet video in places where music just wouldn’t work. So, how do they make all those cool sound effects?

There are lots of fun ways to make your own sound effects with common household items. For example, you can rub two blocks of sandpaper together to get a soft, crunchy sound, or you could clack sticks together to make it sound like someone is knocking on a door, depending on how fast or slow you clack them.

Is it raining in your video? Try using rice, birdseed or coarse sand on a metal sheet or taped into a cardboard tube leftover from a roll of paper towels.

On the Instructables website, they offer several low-budget, at-home-friendly options for adding sound effects to your videos. They even have a video so you can see each item and how it works, before leading you through photos on how to make these sound effects creations.

Another great resource is Music Radio Creative, where they demonstrate how you can use common household items such as rice, cellophane, a slinky, pillows or a watch to make interesting sound effects for your videos.

Videomaker is a website dedicated to all things video-related, including sound effects. They have a long list of household supplies that can be turned into sound effects for your next great video masterpiece.

Imagination and creativity go a long way, too. Don’t forget to branch out and explore items you have at home to see what kind of sounds they make and how you might be able to use them in your video.

Part of STEAM is trying new things, so don’t worry if something doesn’t turn out exactly as you hoped the first time. Figure out ways to pivot and see how you can change the sound by adding or subtracting items from what you have chosen. There are so many techniques out there waiting for you to discover!