How to Make Whoosh Sound Effect

Whether you’ve caught a perfectly timed car racing past you on a wet highway (a particularly rich and effective sound used in post-production) or just the whisking sound of air forcefully blown out of your own mouth, the chances are you’re next going to need a few basic bits of audio tinkering to get things sounding just right – unless you want your videos inadvertently confusing your audience.

The good news is that even the most basic audio editing software (or the platform you use to edit videos) is usually equipped to perform the basic processing needed to elevate your precious audio to professional quality. 

The most effective and basic changes you can make are in the equalisation department; perhaps boosting the bass frequencies to add weight or maybe some shiny high end to help your whoosh cut through the rest of the audio and stand out in the soundtrack. Careful EQing can be an excellent tool in shaping sound but, as with many tools must be used prudently and with a keen ear on what is actually required to actually help the visual narrative. In case you need to brush up on your knowledge of the dark arts of EQing and delve into understanding why certain things sound the way they do, you can check back on our comprehensive post on frequencies in audio.

Another helpful effect that is employed commonly is reverb, which is a great creative and utility tool that provides an intangible sense of depth, fatness, and intrigue; immersing listeners and glueing sounds together.

Trusting your ears is key as you experiment with various parameters and skip through settings in your quest to achieve the desired extra dimension for your whoosh but also balance in your cue. It’s well worth exploring your video editing software’s audio effects capabilities in your in your quest to bring out the best in your SFX.