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The Sound of Water in the Background


Ron

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Was watching an earlier episode today and noticed a distinct sound effect that added to the atmosphere - the sound of water moving.

 

anyone know when/why this stopped happening? don't recall ever hearing it in newer episodes

 

If you don't know what I'm talking about, here's an example - skip to 0:48: 

 

 

It's just kinda in the background, idk it sounds nice. This isn't the best example but you get the gist

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YO YES

I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY PERSON WHO NOTICED THIS

IT USED TO PLAY ALL THE TIME IN SEASONS 1 & 2 THEN IN 3-5 IT PLAYED WAY LESS

IN SEASON 6-NOW IT BASICALLY DOESNT EVEN PLAY AT ALL BUT IF YOU LISTEN CLOSE ITS STILL THERE AT SOME POINTS

I THINK IT STOPPED BECAUSE DEREK IVERSEN WAS A SOUND ENGINEER ON THE SHOW AND STOPPED THAT WHEN HE BECAME A WRITER SO THE NEW ONE DIDNT INCORPORATE THE SOUND

ALSO THE NEWER EPISODES HAVE A LOT LESS QUIET MOMENTS TO HEAR IT

IM YELLING BECAUSE OH MY GOD SOMEONE ELSE KNOWS THIS EXISTS THIS WAS LITERALLY THE COOLEST THING LINKING THE SHOW TO THE OCEAN LIKE NOWADAYS HALF OF THE EPISODES DONT EVEN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SEA PREMISE

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I used to notice it, they probably did it more in the earlier episodes since the show was new and they wanted to portray the under the sea background more. After they went with different stories they most likely dropped it since they could make a bigger story out of the show instead of just focusing on an underwater background. Probably a result of the show turning mainstream.

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I used to notice it, they probably did it more in the earlier episodes since the show was new and they wanted to portray the under the sea background more. After they went with different stories they most likely dropped it since they could make a bigger story out of the show instead of just focusing on an underwater background. Probably a result of the show turning mainstream.

Don't agree with this. At all. Especially the mainstream assumption because if that was the case, they wouldn't have sea creatures at all at that point.

I feel like they got rid of the water effects post-movie because I could still hear some of the water effects in S3. Then they stopped focusing on that aspect around then. Which is a shame because I loved the water sound effects a lot.

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I really miss that. One other thing that was mostly season one was distance shots with echoing voices. I don't know why I loved that so much or why they stopped doing it but I miss that in the show.

This is also important I think. The sound plays a lot less nowadays because compared to Season 1, the show is a lot less atmospheric and spends a lot less time establishing places. At the beginning the show feels a whole lot more ocean-y because it needed to cement how different it was. Now that the show is kind of this gem of pop culture, that thing that set it apart is just taken for granted, and thus the show feels a lot more generic because of it.

The opening moments of episodes like Ripped Pants and Bubblestand are these really simple, quiet moments that feature the water sound, slow pans across landscapes, and the French Narrator establishing a calm tone, and the show has become so loud and less and less about the ocean that I worry we'll never get moments like it again. As time progresses we get less and less moments on the show that could only fit in SpongeBob and could be interchanged in any other show airing today. This sound is more important than it seems, because it's part of SpongeBob's identity which has faded away as time with the show has passed.

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This is also important I think. The sound plays a lot less nowadays because compared to Season 1, the show is a lot less atmospheric and spends a lot less time establishing places. At the beginning the show feels a whole lot more ocean-y because it needed to cement how different it was. Now that the show is kind of this gem of pop culture, that thing that set it apart is just taken for granted, and thus the show feels a lot more generic because of it.

The opening moments of episodes like Ripped Pants and Bubblestand are these really simple, quiet moments that feature the water sound, slow pans across landscapes, and the French Narrator establishing a calm tone, and the show has become so loud and less and less about the ocean that I worry we'll never get moments like it again. As time progresses we get less and less moments on the show that could only fit in SpongeBob and could be interchanged in any other show airing today. This sound is more important than it seems, because it's part of SpongeBob's identity which has faded away as time with the show has passed.

You're right on with what I've been thinking. Sure, seasons two through even four had great stories and are iconic but season one was better at everything else than any other season. The calm moments in SpongeBob was what made it appeal to me in the first place. Like the ending to Rock Bottom and the beginning of Texas. Maybe now with Sherm back for some writing it'll get a little closer to what it used to be, since he took part in writing many of the relaxed episodes. The change probably has a lot to with Derek Drymon not the creative director anymore. Vincent is great, but it's not the same.
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Wow, I didn't even notice the sound effect disappeared along the way.  Newer SB in general just has a different feel from the older, and that's always been clear.

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