When a character needs to speak over a large crowd and amplify their voice, but there are no megaphones or microphones allowed, what do they do? Create one out of makeshift materials. This is often from material that produces amplified sound when compressed a certain way, such as rolled-up poster paper, traffic cones, paper towel rolls, or funnels formed from one's fists, or something that produces an echo, such as a church bell or an empty room with hollow walls.
A megaphone works by directing and focusing sound waves. When you speak, sound waves emanate in all directions. A cone-shaped device channels these waves, reducing dispersion and directing more sound energy toward the intended audience. This design also minimizes the reflection of sound waves back toward the source, effectively increasing the volume of the voice.
Additionally, the cone shape serves as an acoustic impedance matcher between the vocal cords and the open air. This matching allows for more efficient transfer of sound energy, enhancing the loudness and clarity of the voice.
A form of Bamboo Technology and Homemade Inventions. Compare Everything Is an Instrument, Fantastic Light Source, and Tin-Can Telephone. For instances where a character uses a prop and merely pretends that it's a microphone, that's Mock Microphone.
Examples:
- Fullmetal Alchemist: Ed and Al steal Father Cornello's church bell and transmute it into a giant loudspeaker for his Engineered Public Confession.
- A Bug's Life: To help Princess Atta make a speech during the welcome ceremony for the “warriors”, Flick makes a megaphone from a rolled-up blade of grass. It works and is used throughout the film.
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: While there were magic megaphones in the Harry Potter Universe, the Amplifying Charm was frequently used in this book as a way for Albus Dumbledore to get the students attention after the end of each task of the Triwizard Tournament. The Charm allows the user to amplify its voice to sound like if he/she speaks in a megaphone.
- The Famous Five: In Five Fall Into Adventure, Julian and Dick invade the hideout of their enemy, Red. In a cave, they are startled by a loud and angry voice that demands to know who they are. Julian calls back and makes a funnel of his hands to try to outdo the other voice.
- Fawlty Towers: In "Communication Problems", when the deaf and irritable Mrs Richards demands Basil's presence, he appears with his hands around his mouth, saying "Yes? Testing, testing..."
- NewsRadio: At the beginning of one episode, Beth announces a staff meeting through a rolled-up piece of paper. This annoys Lisa, who is in the middle of a phone call; Beth counters with "But I am on the megaphone. Megaphone wins."
- Ultraman Geed: There's an episode where the Ultras, Geed and Zero, need to get the attention of a juvenile monster. Cue Zero using his Quattro-Sluggers as an impromptu megaphone.
- In scene four of the children's theatre script Porridge
by Craig Hawes, Pip the Paperboy uses a rolled-up newspaper as a megaphone to call out headlines, then continues to project his voice across the stage:
Pip the Paperboy: “Read all about it! Read all about it! Happy Valley not so happy anymore! Crime rate goes through the roof!”
- Dave the Barbarian: Subverted in one episode when Dave constructs a homemade megaphone, "using only some string, a squirrel, and a megaphone."
- Ed, Edd n Eddy: In "Urban Ed", Double D uses a traffic cone as a megaphone to inform Johnny, who's atop a building with Eddy, that Plank has arrived to speak with him.
- Muppet Babies (1984): "Dental Hijinks" begins with the babies pretending they're in an auto race. Rowlf is the announcer, and he talks into a rolled-up newspaper, using it as a megaphone.
- The Simpsons: In "Lisa the Greek", Lisa takes a poster off the wall and rolls it up to use as an impromptu megaphone.
- Truth in Television. In fact, you can even search "homemade megaphone" online and see several DIY tutorials on how to make a megaphone out of materials such as cardboard, construction paper, etc.
