Gamache explains that adding horse vocalizations, along with pounding hoof beats, can do a lot to create mood and help tell a story. “These recordings are done on a variety of surfaces such as grass, dirt, cobblestone and water.” Expressive EquinesĮxperienced horse people sometimes wonder why so many horse sounds appear in the background of television shows and fi lms, when in reality horses don’t usually talk so much. “A rider will perform those same moves riding toward, away from, and past a recordist aiming a microphone,” says Gamache. Microphones are attached to a horse’s saddle, bridle, or body, or worn by the rider to capture the horse performing necessary maneuvers like walking, trotting and galloping. I was lucky on that visit.”Ĭapturing sounds like galloping requires more precise work. That’s when Amigo, their miniature-donkey, let out a very long and expressive bray. I hurriedly pulled out my recorder to take advantage, but as you’d expect, they promptly stopped. One day, a couple of the horses were extremely vocal. Most times I walk away with some good carrot chomping recordings, but not much else. “I bring along a small recorder, just in case. “Whenever I visit, I end up spending some time at the barn, helping her feed and care for the horses,” he says. Gamache sometimes visits a small ranch in Massachusetts where his sister works as a hippotherapist and tries to capture horse sounds here. A lot of times whinnies, neighs, blows, and snorts are captured by luck.” “It can be difficult to get a horse to vocalize when and how a recordist wants. “Recording any animal is a challenge, and horses are no exception,” he says. Sound effects are later added for the different noises a horse might make, from the clatter of hooves to whinnies and breaths, bridle and saddle movement, or the swish of a tail on a close-up.Ĭapturing the horse sounds to be added later can be a challenge, according to Gamache. There are also occasions where multiple horses are in a scene and it can be unclear as to which horse is doing what.”
“The production recordist’s primary focus is the actors’ dialog, so the horse hooves tend to be off-mic, echoey, or lacking good sonic definition. “Most of the horse sounds recorded during production are not featured in the final mix,” he says. Dan Gamacheĭan Gamache of King Soundworks is the supervising sound designer on Knightfall, and a big part of his job is providing realistic sounds to go with the dynamic action scenes featuring the Knightfall’s horses. Although it may sound like the whinnies and hoof beats heard during the show are happening at the time the scene was shot, these are actually added later, according to Gamache.
The Noises of Knightfall HorsesĪside from the expert riding and historically accurate turnout of the Crusader horses in Knightfall, sound effects are crucial in helping viewers feel like they have been transported back in time to Medieval Europe. Just as with the Friesians in Knightfall, these heavier warhorses were strong enough to carry their own metal protection (in the form of head and neck armor) in addition to the weight of their armored rider. Most often seen as mounts of the Knights Templar, the Friesians in the production likely resemble the horses ridden by knights during Medieval times. The Knightfall horses features a variety of breeds, but Friesians stand out dramatically. Based on the legends of the Knights Templar, the order of warriors created early in the 12th century by the Catholic Church to protect Christian pilgrims headed to the Holy Land, Knightfall has all the ingredients needed for a successful historical drama series: violence, deceit, intrigue, romance, and-of course-horses.
#Horse walking sound series
This scene is one of many where horses play a big part in the History Channel’s epic Medieval epic series Knightfall, starring Mark Hamill of Star Wars fame.
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