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The Meg: What does a giant
shark sound like?
By Jennifer Walden
The Meg has everything you want in a blockbuster. There are explosions, submarines, giant prehistoric sharks and beaches full of innocent swimmers. Along with the action, it has comedy, suspense and jump scares. Best of all, it sounds amazing in Dolby Atmos.
The team at E² Sound, led by supervising sound editors Erik Aadahl, Ethan Van der Ryn and Jason Jennings, created a soundscape that wraps around the audience like a giant squid around a submersible. (By the way, that squid vs. submersible scene is so fun for sound!)
We spoke with the E² Sound crew about the details of their recording sessions for the film. They talk about how they approached the sound for the megalodons, how they used the Atmos surround field to put the audience underwater and much more.
Real sharks can’t make sounds, but Hollywood sharks do. How did director Jon Turteltaub want to approach the sound of the megalodon in his film?
Erik Aadahl: Before the film was even shot, we were chatting with producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, and he said the most important thing in terms of sound for the megalodon was to sell the speed and power. Sharks don’t have any organs for making sound, but they are very large and powerful, and they are able to displace water. We used some artistic sonic license to create the quick sound of them moving around and displacing water. Of course, when they breach the surface, they have this giant mouth cavity that you can have a lot of fun with in terms of surging water and creating terrifying, guttural sounds out of that.
Jason Jennings: At one point, director Turteltaub did ask the question, “Would it be appropriate for The Meg to make a growl or roar?”
That opened up the door for us to explore that avenue. The megalodon shouldn’t make a growling or roaring sound, but there’s a lot that you can do with the sound of water being forced through the mouth or gills, whether you are above or below the water. We explored sounds that the megalodon could be making with its body. We were able to play with sounds that aren’t animal sounds but could sound animalistic with the right amount of twisting.
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