Sound Sculpture Inc. (SSI) are leading sound artists based in the greater Los Angeles area. The company, which celebrated 25 years in the business in 2021, is directed by brothers Ben Herrington, who founded the company in 1996, and Roy Herrington, who joined in 2003.
The work that SSI does is a unique blend of classic sound effects artistry and techniques with state-of-the-art technologies. The result is bespoke sonic creations for immersive, location-based experiences.
Ben and Roy Herrington spoke to blooloop about their passion for authentic storytelling through sound, and why they think it is so important to continue the legacy of classic sound artists in the location-based entertainment industry.
Bringing environments to life
Sound Sculpture Inc. is interested in how sounds bring environments to life, shaping perceptions and influencing emotions. The company looks at the role of sound in storytelling. Its projects show how audio can elevate experiences into something truly memorable.
“We are sound artists, focusing on conceptual development and the creation of content for themed environments and extraordinary experiences,” explains Ben Herrington. “A lot of our work involves applying classic sound effect techniques to modern technologies. This allows us to meet the unusual and specific challenges that this kind of industry presents.”
Sound Sculpture’s early influences
For the brothers, their earliest musical memories come from their father, media designer and Disney Imagineer Joe Herrington.
“I remember the music that dad wrote for the Fleet Space Theater in San Diego,” says Ben. “He would be composing music, and as he was cooking breakfast each morning, he would be listening to the pieces that he was working on.
“I have vivid memories of waking up to those sounds. And because it was planetarium music, it was lush analogue synthesisers and tape loops, and all of this found sound. It just reinforced this idea that anything that made a sound could be building material for something else.”
They also recall visiting him in his studio and watching him work:
“As a very young child, I remember it painting these vivid images in my mind. It felt like he could make anything that he imagined,” says Ben, of his early realisations on the power of sound. Meanwhile, for Roy, these experiences instilled in him a love of making things, as he explains:
“My dad’s hands-on approach to everything he does was what most influenced me as a kid. I loved the idea of building or breaking something to achieve whatever the goal was. When we were growing up, dad went to great lengths to support us in our interests. He even built us a small structure in the backyard. Half of it became a studio for Ben. The other half was a workshop for me, where I built my own toys.”
A Disney sound legend
As young boys, both Ben and Roy became familiar with the work of Jimmy Macdonald, the original head of the Disney sound effects department. Their father met Macdonald when he began a job with Disney as a sound effects specialist. While Macdonald had already retired by this time, he was always happy to provide advice, skills, and stories, and the two formed a firm friendship.
“He was really generous in the way that he would share his stories and talk about his craft,” says Ben. “And dad was eager to learn from him. So, they became very good friends and dad would frequently talk about Jimmy’s broad skill set.”
Macdonald is known for being the voice of Mickey Mouse and for his sound effects work. However, Ben adds that he was also a bandleader, an engineer, an inventor, a builder, and a performer:
“He combined this broad skill set for the unique art form that he had. Dad would talk about the ingenious devices that Jimmy would invent. But he would also talk about what a virtuoso he was in how he performed them.”
It’s a very simple device. It’s just a spool with a bit of surgical tubing and a piece of rubber stretched over the top. But Jimmy would perform with it; he could create these fully formed characters with nuance, emotion, and language.
“For instance, if you’ve seen any of the videos online of Jimmy, you’ve probably seen the device that he made and used for several characters: Evinrude, Buzz Buzz the Bee, and others. It’s a very simple device. It’s just a spool with a bit of surgical tubing and a piece of rubber stretched over the top. But Jimmy would perform with it; he could create these fully formed characters with nuance, emotion, and language.
“This really inspired us with the idea of how good performance can shape story and create characters. Those early memories instilled the idea that sound artists are storytellers, people who can build entire worlds in the mind of the listener.”
Sound Sculpture continues the legacy
Today the work of iconic sound artists such as Jimmy Macdonald, Ray Kemper & Tom Hanley still inspires the work that Sound Sculpture does, both in terms of carrying on their work and in creating new ways to innovate in sound design.
“Their skill as storytellers is one thing that particularly inspires us at SSI,” says Ben. “For instance, the old Gunsmoke radio shows. One of the things I liked so much about that show is the vivid imagery that the sounds create in our minds. That speaks to the skill set of Tom Hanley, Ray Kemper, and Bill James.
“Interesting things happen when you’re listening to those stories. Sometimes you’ll realise that for the past 30 or 45 seconds you haven’t heard a single line of dialogue spoken. Everything in your mind has been shaped by sound effects. It also speaks to the skill of Norman Macdonnell, who was the co-creator and director of the show. He empowered those guys to tell stories in these ways. Like Jimmy, they were absolute virtuosos in the way in which they performed their devices.”
“When you’re listening to the Gunsmoke radio show, you’re never aware of the fact that you’re listening to coconuts. You hear horses, very specific horses doing very specific things and they have character. It’s amazing how flexible and adaptive they could be with these sounds.
“In addition, the idea of the handcrafted ingenuity that these classic artists had gives you a very specific way of crafting your sound. Every choice you make as you’re building a device will impact the outcome. For instance, the materials that you use, the interface that you design, what you choose to couple it with, how you choose to record it and what you then choose to do with it after you’ve recorded it. This enables you to work in an incredibly specific way.
“When you combine all those factors with the tools of today, and the sorts of things that we can do with recorded sound now, the possibilities are endless. We’re only just beginning to scratch the surface of what these kinds of classic techniques can offer to modern challenges and modern applications.”
Authenticity & LBE
One common theme for all Sound Sculpture projects is the desire to create an experience that feels authentic. This is important, Ben says, because audiences want to feel fully immersed in these worlds that they are visiting:
“They want to feel like they’ve been transported somewhere else. But if the tools and methods that we’re using to transport them there are obvious, that could be distracting. So, in a lot of our projects, what that means is that we want the sounds that we’re building to be perceived by the guests as the real and authentic sounds of that space.
“If we can convince them that these fabricated sounds are real, there’s all kinds of fun potential for then shifting their reality and having these powerful moments.
“The boiler room at the Tower of Terror is a really good example of this. The vast majority of what we built in that space was about creating this false reality. It is the sounds that emit out of these show set-pieces which turn what would be a static prop into a functional piece of machinery. It’s the sounds that you hear in the environment that form your impressions of this functional boiler room space.”
“If you were to suddenly mute the audio in that space, you would quickly become aware of the fact that so much of your perception of this area has been formed and shaped by the sounds that you hear.
“The same kind of thing can be done in a fantasy forest outside. For instance, maybe you’re walking outside, and you hear all these birds singing in a way that’s similar to how you encounter birds in your daily lives. But then these birds begin to organise or maybe these birds begin to sing melodies that you know. They could be singing along with the music you’re already hearing.
“It can become a really fun, delightful moment. Particularly because it comes from a place that mimics how you hear sound in your daily life and then it takes this unexpected turn.
“It’s like watching a magic show where you know an illusion has taken place somewhere but you’re not sure exactly where it happened. It becomes a magical experience.”
Sound Sculpture shifts reality with sound
A core belief of SSI is that sound has the power to shift reality and to create a bigger picture.
“Sound can change your perception of other things as well,” says Ben. “We can make you feel like you’re in a space that’s larger than it is. Or, we can tell you stories about things that you can’t see. We can tell stories about something that might be happening on the other side of a wall or in a dark corner. We can tell stories about how a piece of machinery is working.”
“Also, we can exaggerate and enhance the sensation of being on a ride. In Radiator Springs Racers, we designed the onboard sounds to accentuate the sensation of the ride. This helps make it feel like you’re travelling faster than you really are.
“It all boils down to trying to start from a place that feels familiar to how we experience sound in our daily lives but then building on that. We exaggerate it and twist it in a way that reinforces the stories that are being told.”
Creative collaboration
When it comes to meeting the brief for a new project and setting up for success from the start, Ben says:
“It boils down to making sure that we are establishing a collaborative relationship with the team. It’s important to firmly understand their creative intent and firmly understand the kinds of challenges that we expect to encounter.”
“Early on, we want to talk to the creative leads. We ask questions, but we also do a lot of listening. Because the more people are talking about their impressions of the sounds that they’re expecting, the more they start to talk about the broad objectives that they have with the experience and the role that they picture sound playing. That really gets to the heart of the creative intent and what factors are most important to them.”
Reacting to unique environments
In terms of the challenges that a project might face, he adds:
“Theme parks have really unique challenges for audio and that is why we find them interesting. You are often contending with a high noise floor, and you have sometimes difficult acoustic spaces. Sometimes, because of the way the ride system works or the way an interactive element is introduced, you’ve got to come up with elegant solutions for the way sound transitions in cohesive ways.
“Often, you’re trying to deliver a clear, concise story to people who are completely overwhelmed by this visceral experience.”
“It’s important for us to understand these challenges and to understand how the team will work together to address them. Some of these challenges can be addressed in the way the facility is built or how the systems are integrated. Solutions can be found in the way the story is told. Also, a lot of solutions can be found in the way that we create and prepare the audio material.
“The key is to convey our impressions and our perceptions of the challenges and our proposed solutions to the team to make sure that we’re in sync with their vision. Because ultimately, we can be the most helpful when we’re coming from this context of a collaborative creative relationship.”
Sound in action
To show Sound Sculpture’s work in using classically inspired devices to create modern sound solutions, Ben talks about the work that the team did for Disney on Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway.
“This was a great opportunity to include some of the antique devices that had belonged to Jimmy in that attraction. But, more importantly, Runaway Railway speaks to the enduring legacy of Jimmy Macdonald. These methods and techniques that he had developed decades ago are still being fully embraced and employed to solve these incredibly complex challenges today.
“Under this very charming appearance of the attraction is a very sophisticated, complex system. So, pulling off a cohesive soundscape in that kind of environment means that we’ve got to work in very deliberate ways. We’ve got to collaborate with people.”
“It’s a very specific, orchestrated effort. Employing these classic techniques allows us to work in that specific way. But it also allows us to be flexible and adaptive in the way that we apply them.
“It also creates collaboration opportunities. With Runaway Railway, we were fortunate to be working with the composer Christopher Willis. He really embraced the way that we were approaching it.
“He was fully committed to the idea of music and sound effects working together as a tapestry. Because of that, we were able to achieve things that, sonically, I don’t think we would have been able to do otherwise.”
A “Santa’s workshop” of sound effects
Speaking about working with Sound Sculpture on this particular project, Willis himself says:
“Working with Ben and Roy on Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway was incredible. Making sounds by hand is a dying art form that Ben and Roy are single-handedly keeping alive. They are proving that crafting the sounds organically still has a place in today’s Hollywood.
“Stepping into their workshop is like taking a step into the annals of Disney history, because they really do build their own instruments, just like the early sound pioneers. Seeing their wonderful, intricate creations was like nothing I’ve experienced! It was magical – like entering Santa’s workshop. I think the results speak for themselves: the sounds in Runaway Railway are just perfect.”
“We collaborated very closely,” continues Willis. “I think that was the only way we could have made textures that had a classic cartoon feeling while having a 21st-century immersion and complexity. We would go back and forth, with their ideas inspiring me and vice versa.
“It was a true blend of old and new techniques. Sometimes I would provide musical notation, and they would perform it live. At other times, they would craft sounds into virtual instruments, and let me bring them into my digital environment to experiment with myself.”
Tower of Terror
Sound Sculpture’s work can also be seen at Disney’s Tower of Terror, which Ben and Roy worked on in Paris, Tokyo, and California.
“With something like Tower of Terror, we’re still employing the same kinds of techniques, we’re still creating devices,” says Ben. “One of the devices that we built comes out of a book from 1951, by sound effects artist Robert Turnbull. It was a giant screen resonator.
“Roy made some minor adjustments to the way in which we capture sound on it. But it is basically a classic sound effect device replica that was incredibly effective. It creates these deep groans and ominous textures. It is incredibly effective in the Tower of Terror.
“Roy also built what we call the Flex Sheet Resonator. We inject sounds into this device. As I pipe sounds into it from the studio, Roy will manipulate and undulate the resonator. This kind of churns and bends sound on itself. We used this device to create a volume of material. This then became a signature thread connecting the show experiences of the Paris attraction.
“In addition, we also brought a cart full of devices and props to the attraction. We then performed and recorded them on top of the elevator ride vehicle.
“The first time we did this was for the Tower of Terror in Tokyo. Then we did it again for the Mission Breakout attraction in Anaheim. The performative nature of this approach enabled us to convey specific story beats in a very flexible way. By recording in the elevator shaft, we were also recording in the same acoustic space where the sounds would play.”
“Coupling our props and devices to the ride vehicle resonated the same surfaces that guests would hear shake and shimmy when the ride is in motion. We hear a very convincing sonic vocabulary when these recorded sounds are played back through the attraction’s audio system.
“The sounds that Roy is creating through performance are consistent with the sound of the cab. So, when you play it with the sounds of the cab, you have this very convincing sonic vocabulary.”
What’s next for Sound Sculpture Inc.
Ben and Roy Herrington’s creativity and innovation continue to grow as the company heads into the future. This will help them to meet new projects and challenges.
“Immediately after this conversation, Roy will be figuring out how to attach a giant wind harp to a hand crank. Meanwhile, I am creating sounds which are going to mask the coaster actuators for ab new attraction,” explains Ben. “We’re working on a coaster going into Europe. We are also working on a large attraction going into Asia. Plus we’ve got several projects going on here in the United States.”
“In addition to this, we have recently been working with a wider variety of people throughout the themed entertainment industry. We are building new collaborations that we’re really excited about.
“In all these things, we’re staying true to our focus. And we’re grateful that our focus is something that seems to be resonating with so many creative people.”
