Beyond just showing the variety of music and sound effects that Getty Images has to offer, we decided to prove it. That’s why we chose a silent film from 1922, which is already in the public domain, and we created sound for it from scratch. The sound design, the soundtrack, the voices, sound effects, the terrifying atmosphere, everything. And we transformed the classic silent film Nosferatu into “Nosferatu – The Non-Silent Film.” The most iconic movie vampire of all time was given a voice. In fact, he got a lot more than that.

Creating the sound for a film is generally a long and complicated process. In this case it was even more so, since it entailed an intense degree of research. None of the sounds were created or produced. All of them were downloaded from Getty Images’ site. Ninety minutes of film was set to thousands of audio files, painstakingly assembled to create a uniquely skin-crawling atmosphere and give the film its own identity. The research, creative, editing, and mixing process took over 3,300 work hours to create the sound of a silent classic: Nosferatu. Users who watch it online are given the option of seeing the sound timeline as the movie plays. When they pause it, the sound files become clickable, and users can listen to the original version. They can also click on “Buy sound” and be taken to the Getty Images website where they can purchase that specific file.

Nosferatu was heard in more than 50 countries. Within 1 week, nonsilentfilm.com received thousands of visits. Traffic of gettyimages.com/music increased by 140%. The highest ever. Given its huge success online, Getty Images is considering partnering with the Museum of Image and Sound in São Paulo to produce two more movies and put together a “non-silent” series, to be shown alongside Nosferatu.