Many aspiring entertainment professionals enter the business with a specific goal in mind, only to find another area of focus which provides more opportunity for them.  Ric Viers, of the Detroit Chop Shop, planned to be the next iconic film screen writer and director.  Instead, he has become the world’s leading producer of sound effects in the entertainment industry.

Ric left his home town, Sterling Heights Michigan, for Full Sail University in Florida, to pursue his vision.  After graduation, he was exuberant and ready to take the film world by storm.  He soon found his enthusiasm to become a writer/director was not matched by companies seeking to hire.

KDN accepted Ric’s challenge.  He rewired the suite in a day, and within a week, he was doing location sound for KDN, including assignments for ESPN, Inside Edition, Hard Copy, and Good Morning America.

After about a year at KDN, Ric borrowed a DAT recorder and some microphones from the studio to practice at home.

“I was going around recording sound effects for kicks and grins.  I realized one day I had to clear out my hard drive… I had recorded over 1000 sound effects.  I thought somebody might want to buy them.”

Ric searched online for a sound effects publishing company and sent a demo.  Soon afterwards he received a personal call from the company owner.

He told Ric, “We have been dealing with guys in Hollywood for well over twenty years and your stuff is far cleaner and better than the stuff from these guys and we would like to hire you for some work.”

Ric began to sell his sound effect libraries to sound publishing companies and studios and began to pursue sound effect creation - putting his original dream on hold.

“The Detroit Chop Shop is the world’s largest producer of sound effects.  I’ve personally produced more sound effect libraries than anybody else on the planet,” said Ric.

The Chop Shop, and Ric’s sound effect library publishing company,  Blastwave FX, have produced sound effects found all over the entertainment industry including most of the major sound studios globally.  Their sound files can be found in the sound effect bundles in Adobe, Sony, and Apple editing software.  His sounds have appeared in films like Spiderman and Lord of the Rings, TV shows like The Vampire Diaries and Family Guy, Video Games like Call of Duty, radio programs, and a plethora of handheld devices.

The Detroit Chop Shop has grown its business successfully since it was founded, despite economic trends.

“We are trying to create sound effect libraries that fill in the holes, are better in quality and content, and are more sound design based so that people can use them as tools and resources to create cooler sound effects and more unique styles,” said Ric.

Ric is also the author of The Sound Effects Bible: How to Create and Record Hollywood Style Sound Effects.

“Some of the fans of the book are academy award sound designers.  I find that they are teaching at colleges and universities and they are having the book as a required text. There are some major studios that use the book to teach their interns, and then we have the guy who is making a video for YouTube, and everybody in between,” said Viers.

Ric teaches as well, and now provides his training online using live webinars with international participants.

The Sound Effects Bible is an all-you-need-to-know guide to producing sound effects.  You will learn how to create horror effects like the sounds of transforming into a werewolf, or how to create natural disasters like earthquakes and tornados.  You will also be amazed to learn the uses of watermelons, cantaloupes, carrots, and many other fruits and vegetables, for creating realistic sound effects!

Ric is contracted by his book publisher to write two more books.  He is currently writing his second, which deals with production audio and how independent filmmakers can get the best bang for their buck on set with a microphone.

While we patiently await Ric’s next book, he offered some advice on sound for aspiring indie filmmakers.

“Independent filmmakers have to realize that sound is half the experience, because sound sells the realism.  A lot of times they will skimp on sound. They’ll pay the DP a ton of money, they’ll get a decent sound mixer and then, as far as the boom operator goes, they will just grab somebody’s little brother and say, ‘Here - hold this pole’.

“You can have a $2,000 mic on the end of the pole and if the guy that’s holding it is not pointing it in the right direction you are screwed – so I would rather have a $200 shotgun on the end of the pole with somebody who knows how to use it, than to have a PA hold a $2,000 microphone.

“Instead of buying everybody boutique sub sandwiches, just get five dollar pizzas from some joint and take the extra money you save and get a decent sound guy with a good boom operator that has got some experience.”