Published 14:07 IST, September 1st 2020
Netflix 'Ta-Dum' intro sound shortlisted from ‘goat bleating’, now has 'extended version'
Yellin said Netflix intro sound mark which is undoubtedly the greatest of all times came out as a result of a survey that involved goat’s sound.
Netflix’s iconic "Ta-Dum" opening sound, as referred internally at the headquarters, was actually modified from the initial stranger sound of a ‘goat bleating’, Netflix's VP of Product Todd Yellin revealed at Twenty Thousand Hertz podcast that aired online. Speaking with the host, Yellin said that the intro sound mark which is undoubtedly the greatest of all times came out as a result of a survey that involved goat’s sound, a water bubble, and Ta-Dum. The listeners were asked to describe what aural clips on the shortlist made them “feel”. While the company sought an effect that was “cinematic" compared to “electronic”, audience feedback of Ta-Dum as quite “dramatic” led Netflix to change the mind from its initial favourite Goat sound.
Netflix was looking for a distinctive sound that could merge with any genre well, Yellin said. The focus was to create the sound that all the viewers could relate to alongside their watching experience. A sound that would create “excitement” and curiosity, Yellin was heard saying at the live-streamed podcast. Most sounds, although, the company had found amazing initially were computerized. And the Netflix logo's sound was uniquely created by Academy Award-winning and Oscar-winning sound designer Lon Bender who tapped his wedding ring on a nightstand and later mixed with other sound effects, according to Yellin. A chord which was created playing the electric guitar backwards was used, it was later named as 'The Blossom’ in 2015. And then Netflix had almost added goat bleating which Yellin thought was a version of Leo the Lion created by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Hollywood studio that gripped the audience.
Extended "immersive" Ta-Dum version
In the podcast, Yellin also revealed that his 10-year-old daughter played a vital role in decision making when the company was stuck with top-five contender sound effects. He said it took almost a year to create the ta-dum, overall. The company eventually selected Ta Dum which the audience thought was "dramatic" "interesting" "beginning," and even “movie-like”. Although, recently, as the intro sound is only three seconds long, the famous beat is creating a hurdle for a theatrical release. Therefore, a film composer has created an extended orchestral theme build-up different from short ‘ta-dum’. Netflix’s brand design lead Tanya Kumar said at the Twenty Thousand Hertz podcast, that Netflix looked for someone who worked in cinema to recreate Ta Dum from a theatrical angle for the movies and make it bigger. Zimmer has composed Netflix’s The Crown and created a version that is more immersive, she said at the podcast interview.
Updated 14:07 IST, September 1st 2020