Re-Creating the Inception Sound - The infamous BRAAAM
Recreating the Sound
In this post I break down the recording and design techniques I used to create a dirty distorted BRAAAM sound effect inspired by the 2010 film Inception.
You can watch the full episode here:
What is a BRAAAM?
A BRAAAM is a low distorted cinematic sound that was popularised in movie trailers in the 2010’s.
Composer Hans Zimmer and trailer track composer Zack Hemsey both helped popularise the trope.
The name BRAAAM is an onomatopoeidic word used to describe the loud low sound but it can also be referred to as the "Inception sound".
How was it made?
Hans Zimmer's BRAAAM was made by combining brass instruments, a piano and a book. Zimmer placed a piano in the centre of a church, surrounded it with brass players and instructed them to play loudly. But the key to this entire sound was the book.
Zimmer used the book to press down the piano’s sustain pedal. As the brass players performed, the huge wall of sound forced the un-dampened piano strings to vibrate. Creating the deep rumbling texture of the BRAAAM and blurring the lines between musical score and sound effect.
How to make one
No time to Design?
Step by Step
Equipment
For this project I used my trusty Mid Side rig (Rycote SC-08 & BD10) inside a Radius Mini Alto (Radius 10% off affiliate link) and a pair of Oaka Instruments Tellus contact microphones.
The contact microphones were setup a bit like an A/B microphone setup. I panned one hard left and the other hard right. This gave me a nice stereo width.
The recordings were captured at 96kHz and 192kHz on the Zoom F6 and F8n Pro.
These higher sample rates help because they preserve high-frequency detail, reduce aliasing and prevent harsh digital artefacts.
High sample rates become especially important when pitching sounds down and performing the BRAAAM recordings in a sampler.
Prop & Tools
The prop I recorded was a large metal filing cabinet I picked up from the tip years ago.
For the pitch bending deep bass frequencies I used a sports massage gun and other vibrating tools to rattle and vibrate the sheet metal on the the front, sides, top and back of the filing cabinet.
For the impacts I mainly used my fists to hit the cabinet at different velocities then slammed the drawers shut for more of a whoosh to sharp transient impact.
Performance (Vibrations)
Like a lot of sound effects, performance is a big part of getting the best out of your prop.
One thing my mate Dale taught me was to capture a wide variety of performances and avoid obvious repetition.
For the metal vibrations we can have similar sounds but varying the length, volume, pitch, speed, intensity etc gives more to play with in the processing and sound design stage.
I find that having 10 recordings that sound almost identical isn't very inspiring for sound design.
During my recordings I discovered that applying different pressures and movement with the sports massager caused pitch bends and tonal shifts on the filing cabinets sheet metal. Changing the massager speed was cool too as more speed equals more intensity.
Performance (Impacts)
One secret for massive cinematic percussion sound relies heavily on recording instruments or props at softer dynamics as opposed to whacking them at full force.
Hitting the filing cabinet softly allows more of the low end boomy characteristics to stand out. When you strike it at full force the aggressive transient overpowers the sound, resulting in a thin harsh tone.
Having good pre-amps on your recorder and microphones with a low noise floor is a huge bonus for this recording technique. Your gain is going to be set relatively high to pickup the soft impacts and you'll be boosting the levels even more in the sound design stage.
The Rycote mics I used have quite a low noise floor and the Zoom F Series recorders have great pre-amps.
A cheaper alternative to the Zoom F Series recorders is the H5studio. That shares the same pre-amps as the F6 and F8n Pro.
Processing (Vibrations)
For the main BRAAAM element I used:
- EQ
- Distortion
- Pitch Shifting
- Reverb
- And a Limiter
I put the recordings into a sampler so I could perform the BRAAAM on a small akai midi keyboard. This allowed me to easily change the playback speed and pitch of the recordings.
The effects were used in no particular order except for the Reverb which I kept at the end.
Pitch shifting was automated near the tail end of the sound to give the BRAAAM a subtle pitch bend with the EQ sweeping back and forth for some filtering.
Distortion was used to slam and crunch the sound. I used different types like overdrive, saturation and even experimented with phase distortion.
Processing (Impacts)
For the impact I was mainly trying to boost the softer hits and impacts. For that I used:
- EQ
- Transient Shaper
- Multi Band Compressor
- Compressor
- Kilohearts - Shaper (distortion)
- Limiter
The EQ had a Low Shelf to crank up the low end frequencies and a High Cut to reduce the higher ones. This exaggerated the boomy characteristics even more.
I used a Transient Shaper, Multi Band Compressor and regular Compressor to really squash the impact sound. Turning it into a soft impact with a big rumble.
Kilohearts - Shaper was added for grit and distortion. This plug-in can be skipped if you want something more rounded and less gritty.
Finally I used a Limiter to bring up the overall volume as I'd crushed the sound with all that compression.
Bonus Processing (Comb Filter)
Comb Filtering was a cheeky little trick I learnt from one of my friends.
I used Kilohearts - Comb Filter to add some tasty Neuro Sci-Fi vibes to a few of my BRAAAMs.
Comb filtering occurs when there is a short delay between two copies of a sound that get mixed together. Creating peaks and troughs in the frequency.
By automating a comb filter down in frequency we create a swooshing psychedelic flange effect.
For my sounds I set the Comb Filter Polarity to "PLUS" and automated the frequency and Dry/Wet Mix Knob to follow the Pitch Shifter.
Use this effect sparingly though as it can get a little TOO much. Around 20-40% mix is a sweet spot.
More ways to make a BRAAAM
Haunting Metal
Regular price
£30.00
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£30.00
Resources & Inspiration
Final Insight
BRAAAMS - Impacts & Vibrated Metal
Regular price
£15.00
Regular price
Sale price
£15.00
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