Video summary

Making The Seismic Charge Sound With Only An iPhone Mic || Waveform

Main summary

Key takeaways

Technology

Summary (Technological concepts / Sound design)

This video is a sound-design tutorial by Marshall, using Waveform (audio editing software) to recreate the Star Wars “seismic charge” sound with only an iPhone microphone in a laptop. It references Ben Burtt’s original creation as inspiration, then breaks the iconic sound into components and rebuilds it using layered recordings and effects.

Breakdown of the Seismic Charge (Key Analysis)

The speaker identifies the original sound as having three distinct elements (based on waveform shape):

  1. Intro / suction A rising “vacuum/air suction” style sound that increases in intensity, then cuts to silence.

  2. Transient / punch A very loud, short burst—the “explosion hit” moment.

  3. Long twangy tail A distinctive vibrato-like, spring/string vibration quality that lingers.

Recording Strategy Using Only Household Sounds

To recreate those elements, the speaker uses recorded everyday sounds:

  • Suction element Recorded from an indoor noise source—specifically mentioning a fan above the stove. It also suggests similar options like wind recording or white noise sources (without claiming certainty about the original).

  • Transient element (hardest to match) Recorded something loud, such as slamming a glass door. The results are later processed to “beef it up” into an explosion-like punch.

  • Extra harmonic / transition help Records a door lock click to add tonal/harmonic content if needed.

  • Tail element Uses a detuned guitar recording to create a twangy/vibrato texture.

Assembly and Effects Chain (Waveform Workflow)

The tutorial explains how the pieces are combined using common audio processing techniques.

Building the “Suction” Layer

  • Pitch automation: ramps up the fan sound pitch over time to simulate increasing suction intensity
  • EQ: removes some low rumble
  • Stereo widening: doubles the track and routes different samples to left/right
  • Dynamic EQ: adds texture and motion

Turning Door Recordings into the “Explosion” Transient

  • Layering: stacks door recordings on top of each other
  • Pitch shifting: shapes the combined transient for more punch
  • Saturation / overdrive: adds distortion “weight”
  • Echo / reverb: helps glue the layers into a cohesive event

Building the “Tail” Using Guitar Resonance

  • Sample editing: cuts out a segment containing the desired rattling texture
  • Chorus: applies a very wet chorus with long release and feedback to make it twang/vibrate
  • Multiband compression: helps shape/contain the tail
  • Add raw texture: re-adds some raw string recordings for depth and character

Validation / Result

The speaker compares:

  • Original Star Wars seismic charge
  • Their iPhone-mic-generated version

They acknowledge it’s not perfect, but present it as a cool recreation and demonstrate the process.

Advice / Takeaway

The speaker argues that expensive mics are not required for good results:

  • Record what you can
  • Use creativity and processing
  • Samples and technique matter more than gear

Download / Community

They mention a Patreon where viewers can download:

  • The seismic charge sound made in the episode
  • Other sounds from the show via a growing sample pack

Main Speakers / Sources

  • Marshall (host/sound designer in the video)
  • Ben Burtt (referenced as the creator of the original Star Wars sound)

Original video