Back in 2003, Disney surprised audiences everywhere by adapting one of its theme park rides into a film: Gore Verbinski’s Pirates of the Caribbean. Hailed for its writing, action, music, incredible set design, and outstanding performances, the film was a major hit, grossing over 600 million dollars.
Of course, yet another amazing aspect of the film—and the one want to discuss today—is the sound. Pirates‘ sound team went all out to achieve their vision, even building an actual pirate ship to destroy in order to create a truly lush and realistic soundscape.
Today’s scene shows the first meeting of the pirate Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and blacksmith Will Turner (Orlando Bloom). The two encounter one another while Jack is on the run from the law, and they immediately begin to spar. This action sequence is loaded with foley from sword hits and scrapes, to the moving parts of the blacksmith’s shop, as well as footsteps, accompanied with Jack’s jingling accessories. Watch how Jared did it then see what you can create yourself!
Download Audio Design Desk here, and then get Jared’s project below to use a starting point for your own sound design.