Braaam Braaam

Been watching trailers lately? Well, if you have I have no doubt you know what I mean when I say the trombone sound which pulses through as the brass gets jiggy with it and causes the hair on your scalp to be blasted outwards.

The New Yorker describes it as “that low and loud synthesized hum—ominous and brain-addling". It's the fog horn of brass instruments – they lumber together and without any reservation kick you right in the ear drums.

The origin of this sound is one of much debate, and has been said to be a very touchy subject to some within various music departments in cinema. You may have first recognised the sound from the movie Inception, and you would be largely right in thinking that this was the sounds conception. So let's talk about that - Hans Zimmer has scored most of Nolan's films over the years, and in Nolan's usual fashion, gave Zimmer a few notes of what he wanted before leaving him to it. In the end, Zimmer's bag of tricks came out again, and the soundtrack, once again, became as big as the film itself. The Internet has even given this sound the onomatopoeic name of "Braaams," - often spelled out in capital letters. When Zimmer was asked about the braaams, he says it was an effect he stumbled upon as he tried to achieve a sound described in Nolan's screenplay as "massive, low-end musical tones, sounding like distant horns." In 2013, Zimmer told Vulture he made the sound by putting "a piano in the middle of a church and I put a book on the pedal, and these brass players would basically play into the resonance of the piano. And then I added a bit of electronic nonsense." Zimmer added that he found it "horrible" that he had inadvertently created a "[musical] blueprint for all action movies."

Though there is a disupte about where the sound actually came from - "There are several people that claim they came up with it, It's a little weird." Says Bobby Gumm (head of music for Trailer Park). Braams have been kicking around in movie trailers as far back as 2007 for 'Transformers' and were used more definitively in the 2009 trailer for Neill Blomkamp's 'District 9'. But even the creative team behind the latter acknowledge Inception's role in popularizing them. "It was fresh for the time but not something we were thinking would become a trend." Says Carrie Gormley of the music in the District 9. Even if you come to the conclusion that Inception was the conception of the braaam, then you have a few others who may lay claim to the braaam – as the trailers score was composed by Zack Hemsey, who weaved the train sounds from the teaser made by Mike Zarin – who only had the train scene from the movie to work with so laid tracks to incorporate a rumbling sound, said to be the beginning of the braaam. But the sound of the braaam in the singular is a direct derivative of Hemsey's trailer. So maybe Zimmer is laying claim where claim should not be. Regardless, in Hemsey's words: "It certainly made some noise for sure."

So maybe no-one can take sole responsibility, and anyway, that's besides the point. It doesn't really matter where it came from, what matters is that it is certainly here, and appears rooted in the blueprint for blockbuster trailers.

If you watch any mainstream blockbuster trailer of the past 5 years, it's likely that you will hear something reminiscent of the braaam played in it. However, "Nobody wants to sound like they're ripping off Inception, but at the same time everyone still wants that big, loud, attention-getting thing in their trailer." Says Gumm. As a result, trailer companies will craft signature braaams, such as the one made out of a dinosaur roar customized for the Jurassic World teaser. You will hear similar braaams, but not necessarily the braaam from Inception, as this big noise malarkey seems to work, and they don't particularly want a law suit on their hands. The pressure is on to innovate. Everyone wants the 'new' Inception sound, the problem is working out what that new sound is. There are many attempts at this, as digital music sampling and modification has expanded to create sounds which would have been impossible only decades ago – such as techno and dubstep.

If you believe that movie trailers are a reflection of what people want, then what does this braaam say about us? Perhaps the ominous drone is a nod to the inner turmoil of even our flashy action heroes. The sound of the adrenaline as it courses through your veins, the sound of a train on its way to hit you in the face, the sound of encroaching danger and being alerted to it. There’s lots to worry about today, and those thunderous musical cues seem handed down to remind us that we are living in a world where there isn't the realm of real frivolous film-making anymore – but a weaker product designed merely to obtain high profit margins. If they follow suit of what has worked before, then they are largely playing a safe game, though there is little progress without risks. Does the film industry refuse to take risks anymore? As the same characters crop up and the same back stories find their way into all major blockbusters. Popcorn flicks don't have to be so samey – and this is where the drone comes in – establishing a trend which has had 6 years already. It's becoming almost as big a trend as the Wilhelm Scream; which has amusingly featured in films as far back as the mid 50's, though only got really popular in the 90's, and it's featured in virtually every big action film I've seen in the past couple of decades. It's viewed as the holy grail of movie geek sounds as only those in the know will really be able to identify it. It's a shout out to the nerds listening for it. But the thing about the scream is that it becomes a part of the film; and is far less intrusive than the braaams. Maybe it's time to move on...?

However, it appears for the moment, they're here to stay: "There's literally not a bigger sound out there," says Gumm. "They've used horns for ages to warn people. It's the signifier, the call to arms. It punches through to everything — and it's just one note."

Braaamfest examples:

Wilhelm Scream: