Most privileged visitors to our main engine room set are duly 
impressed with the sense of Òreally being on the Enterprise.Ó Even so, there 
is still something missing. That ÒsomethingÓ is the almost subliminal 
ambience added through background sound effects. The viewer is rarely 
consciously aware of it, but the characteristic low thrumming sound of the 
engine room or the instrument sounds of the bridge are a powerful part of 
Òbeing there.Ó Sound effects on Star Trek: The Next Generation are the 
province of associate producer Wendy Neuss. Under the supervision of co-
producer Peter Lauritson, Wendy oversees the Emmy award-winning sound 
effects wizardry of supervising sound editor Bill Wistrom, sound effects 
editor Jim Wolvington, and assistant sound effects editor Tomi Tomita. (The 
original development of many Enterprise sound effects was also overseen by 
series creator Gene Roddenberry, along with Rick Berman, Bob Justman, 
and Brooke Breton.)
	These sound effects are usually the product of extensive digital 
processing, but many are built from surprisingly mundane sources. Despite 
the advanced technology available, our sound people generally prefer to 
start with acoustically recorded ÒnaturalÓ sounds because they feel the 
resulting harmonics are much more rich and interesting than purely 
synthesized tones. The bridge background sound includes the highly 
processed sound of an air conditionerÕs rumble. The characteristic 
ÒswooshÓ of the doors opening is based on the sound of a flare gun with a bit 
of the squeak of Jim WolvingtonÕs sneaker on the floor at Modern Sound.
	Most Enterprise sound effects are deliberately reminiscent of the 
sounds from the original Star Trek television series, but with a high-tech 
twist. Some, like the communicators and the shipÕs phasers, are actually 
derived from the first showÕs sounds. Alien sounds can come from a wide 
variety of sources such as the voices of the Bynars (from Ò11001001Ó) which 
was built by programming brief ÒsamplesÓ of the actressesÕ voices into a 
Synclavier, then playing them back with a cadence much faster than normal 
human speech. The sound of ÒTin ManÕsÓ interior was actually based on the 
sound of WolvingtonÕs stomach, recorded through a stethoscope. Notes 
Wolvington, ÒI didnÕt tell anyone where that noise came from until after the 
show was done because I didnÕt want anyone to get sick!Ó  Æ