Artificial imitation of sound to accompany action and supply realism in a dramatic production.
Sound effects were first used in the theatre, where they can represent a range of action too vast or difficult to present onstage, from battles and gunshots to trotting horses and rainstorms. Various methods were devised by backstage technicians to reproduce sounds (e.g., rattling sheet metal to create thunder); today most sound effects are reproduced by recordings. An important part of old-fashioned radio dramas, sound effects are still painstakingly added to television and movie soundtracks.