Writing an apocalypse thing and one of my characters gets bitten by a wild animal. Right through the skin, rips a chunk of flesh out and I don't know what kind of sound it would make. I've been fortunate enough to avoid serious injury or even seeing serious injury occur for the most part so I've got no idea what even bones breaking might sound like which is not ideal given the amount of injuries my characters are going through right now but this one is important to get right and google searches have turned up nothing helpful. Anyone got any suggestions for me?
Between the growling of the animal and the screaming of the character, would anyone even hear the actual sound of the teeth/fangs piercing the flesh?
In addition to what Bruce said, I would add that certain other aspects of getting a body part bitten off might take precedence over the sound it makes, such as the tearing agony. Though once that's mentioned I can see where a character might take a certain perverse abstract fascination in the sickening sound. I forget what movie it was, but just a few days ago I saw in some special features that the foley techs put walnut husks inside the rinds of grapefruits and crushed them together to get the sound of flesh being crushed and bones snapping when someone got their throat crushed. Oh, it was in Star Wars, when Darth Vader did his telekinetic throat-pinch move. Sometimes thinking about things like this can spur weird ways to do it in writing.
Why is it important? Don’t fall into the trap of obsessing over trivial things like this. Just describe the action and your readers will visualise all they need to.
I have been bitten by dogs twice in my life, and I was standing next to my brother when he was bitten by a neighbor's dog. The only sound was "Ow!" The dogs didn't make any sound at all -- they were sneak attacks.
Go to the store, get a steak, rip it in half (before grilling it up) and see if it makes any sound. I'm guessing nothing noticeable.
It's a kind of squishy sound. Blood welling in the tear would make a lot of sickening drama. Muffled popping or snapping would be audible.
Celery is often used for breaking bones. Frozen lettuce is used for crushing heads. I personally liked crushing eggshells for a broken nose. In "The Terminator 2" they simply used digging dog food out of cans for the sound of the T-1000 'melting' through the bars of the psych facility. In LOTR "Fellowship of the Ring" a part of the Balrogs roar was a cinderblock being dragged across the floor (pitched down) merged with a blast furnace and other sounds. In fight films they often use baseball bats similar items smacking into sides of beef, punching bags, etc. for punching sounds. Having personally done lots of Foley work, we (sound folks) create sounds for things that don't make sounds. But the most important thing to remember as a sound designer is that you are trying to elicit an emotional response. So the sounds you hear in film/TV have very little to do with reality.
When I was studying sound for my little animated films I discovered one of the secret weapons in any foley artist's toolbax is apparently a rubber chicken, which they say is capable of creating a plethora of sounds.
As well as roasting in the Easy-Bake oven, occupying the dog, and a stand-in for the dammit-doll (which the dog probably shredded).
My suggestion to the OP is only a variant on what's gone before. Find a book with some strong sound effects. If it's horror, then maybe The Hands of Orlac, 1920 (which is that one where the concert pianist has his hands transplanted with a murderer) Place it on the desk, and open it to a loud bit. Now close your eyes, and lower one ear to the page. This exercise reminds us how important sound is to written art. There is a school of thought that descriptions should utilize all of the characters' senses. But it's one of those very artificial tools that creative-writing industry types reach for when they can't think of anything. The real job is to produce some scary, wild, apocalyptic strings-of-words that the reader would never have thought of and will always remember. Going to the zoo's bear cage with a voice-recorder and your arm covered in honey is often easier.
I can tell you from experience that flesh being cut does not make a sound. Bones breaking - yes. Flesh cutting - no.
Not sure if anyone is a fan of Primal on Adult Swim, but this might help paint a picture for you. Warning, it's not child friendly..
