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SOUND
DESIGNERS
BEN
BURTT
Ben Burtt is an American Sound Designer, Editor, Director, Voice Actor and Screenwriter. He was born in New York in 1948. He is well known for creating sound effects for the Star Wars and Star Trek franchises . As well as being a sound designer, he voices R2-D2 in the Star Wars franchise.
He created the voice of ET, after meeting an old lady in a photo shop. Her voice was very low as a result of very heavy smoking. He created the voice of R2-D2, with the beeps and whistles being his vocals. He also created the iconic sound of Darth Vader breathing, by breathing into an old scuba regulator. He also voiced Wall-E in Pixar's Wall-E. He created the robotic sound of Wall-E's voice and voiced other characters in the film.
Ben Burtt has also directed several IMAX documentaries, including Blue Planet, Destiny in Space and Special Effects: Anything Can Happen, which was nominated for an Oscar.
The thing I found interesting about Ben Burr's work is that he created some of the most iconic sound effects of all time, such as Darth Vader breathing and Lightsaber swings. His sound effects are made creatively.
STAR WARS:
THE FORCE
AWAKENS
En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Ben Burtt. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Burtt
IMDb. (n.d.). Ben Burtt - IMDb. [online] Available at: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0123785/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) Film.
Directed by J.J Abrams. USA, Lucasfilm.
WALTER
MURCH
Walter Murch is an American Sound Designer and Film Editor, born in New York city in 1943. His career started in 1969, when he mixed sound and edited Francis Ford Coppola's The Rain People. He then worked with George Lucas on THX 1138 and American Graffiti. He worked with Francis Ford Coppola again on The Godfather and The Conversation, nominated for an Academy Award for sound in 1974. He edited sound for Apocalypse Now, which he won an Academy Award for in 1979.
He directed Return To Oz in 1985. The film failed at the box office and he never directed again. Murch said that he edits standing up, comparing editing to conducting brain surgery or working in a restaurant, since all surgeons and cooks work standing up.
Apocalypse Now was one of the first films to be released in 5.1, with 3 speaker channels, two surround channels and low frequency enhancement.
The thing I found interesting about Walter Murch and his work is that he has edited sound for iconic films such as The Godfather and Apocalypse Now. His sound design still holds its quality to today, over 40 years after its release.
APOCALYPSE
NOW
THE
GODFATHER
En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Walter Murch. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Murch
IMDb. (2019). Walter Murch - IMDb. [online] Available at: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004555/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1 [Accessed 23 May 2019].
Apocalypse Now (1979) Film.
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola. USA, Omni Zoetrope.
The Godfather (1972) Film.
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola. USA, Paramount Pictures.
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