Some Sound Cliches.

I was looking the list of sound cliches over at filmsound.org. While it is an impressive list I would like to add a few things I’ve noticed on my own to it.

• Immigrants will inevitably speak with a stereotypical accent regardless of how long they have lived in the United States. (It’s true we all have an accent of some kind because of our regionally differences but, if you live somewhere else, you will pick up the local accent whether you want to or not.)
• Footsteps always echo in stairwells.
• Any machine that has an electrical power source will hum.
• Any machine that has a mechanical or old look will click.
• People always drive cars with big intakes so they roar when accelerating.
• Every person outside the United States only listens to local ethnic music.
• Any ship will have the sound of metal groaning regardless of how good in repair the ship is.
• Film projectors always hum and click on start up.
• Every beach has seagulls squawking.
• A gun shot will either be too loud or too quiet depending on what the plot requires.
• When closing a car door you will always hear the latching mechanism click in place.
• Any troops that are marching will be heard when watched through a looking glass.
• All broken bones are set with a loud cracking sound.
• All tissues that a character regrows or reattaches will have a squishy sound.
• Smart dogs always respond to something said.
• Cats always hiss at dogs. Dogs always bark at cats.
• Every arrow shot will whistle through the air.
• Every time a coin is dropped it makes the same sound regardless of size, shape, or metallurgy.
• Any satellite dish must rotate and make the sound of Morse Code.
• Faucets always drip.
• Morgan Freeman will narrate every movie he is in from The Shawshank Redemption until his last film.