As Lucas fine-tuned the script and began production, Burtt’s library began to take shape. Lucas wanted the sounds to feel “organic”, in keeping with the battered, non-shiny vision of space travel and intergalactic civilisation onscreen. In his quest to create Star Wars’ array of spaceships, he recorded jets taking off from LAX and for alien creatures he looked for bears, elephants and even camels. For Star Wars, Burtt visited Fort Irwin to record artillery in action, and before Empire Strikes Back followed that with a visit to the US Army testing sites at White Sands, New Mexico, to record high explosives and missile launches. Sound designers like Burtt collect and catalogue all sorts of sounds in everyday life for future use, as well as hunting down sounds for specific purposes. I didn’t realise it at the time, but all this audio ‘daydreaming’ was training me for a career as a sound designer.” Sound made the experience interactive and more emotionally involving for me. The culprit was swiftly identified: Ewan McGregor was trying to aurally recreate the classic lightsaber swish and hum with every move, almost unconsciously.
#How ben burrt creates the lightsaber sound effect movie
"I could vividly relive a movie by letting the dialogue, sound effects and music trigger my imagination.
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It was a professor there who recommended Burtt for work on Star Wars when Lucas came looking for a replacement for the unavailable Walter Murch, the sound designer on his previous two features. He was originally a physics grad, planning a career in science, but a childhood love of film prompted Burtt to study film at USC, Lucas’ old school. It was the sound designer’s first proper film. And that’s down to the superlative work of Ben Burtt and his sound design team, who invented alien creatures from everyday sounds.īurtt started work on Star Wars when George Lucas was still tweaking the script. What noise does a lightsaber make The sound of a lightsaber whipping through the air is likely to be spelled with an h or m sounds that you can continue, Broselow said. The buzz of a lightsaber, the whistles and beeps of R2 -D2, the scream of a TIE fighter on approach – they all conjure up precise memories in our head. Sound designer Ben Burtt used an ARP 2600, combined with his own voice, to create the voice of R2-D2 in the Star Wars films. The story sums up rather well how integral sound is to the success of Star Wars. Once the crew had a quiet word, and explained that the noise would be added by trained professionals later, filming proceeded without further delay. The culprit was swiftly identified: Ewan McGregor was trying to aurally recreate the classic lightsaber swish and hum with every move, almost unconsciously. The sound technicians were picking up some unusual humming and buzzing on the set. There is a legend that filming on The Phantom Menace ran into problems during the shooting of the very first lightsaber battle. Why Star Wars wouldn't be Star Wars without the sounds of Ben Burtt The scream of a TIE Fighter Chewbacca's roar R2-D2's babyish beeps and boops.