#Ben burtt sonic charge full#
#Ben burtt sonic charge series#

вЂњThe first film, we were all innocent and made a film that we wanted to see ourselves,вЂќ Burtt says. To celebrate the 40 th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back this year, Burtt digs into his personal archives to share some of his favorite stories behind the sounds that defined the film.ДЇrom the outset, Lucas and everyone else returning for the second film felt the tremendous onus of expectation surrounding the next chapter in what had become a worldwide phenomenon. Sound was not important enough to get documented, and the studios liked to keep their process a trade secret.вЂќДЄnd yet, when George Lucas first brought moviegoers along on a journey into a galaxy far, far away, he knew an authentic audio track, created from real-world sounds artistically manipulated and layered, could help define and create all-new worlds and make them feel entirely lived in and believable. They obviously didnвЂ™t do behind-the-scenes documentaries or interviews. вЂњThereвЂ™s very little behind-the-scenes material going back into the 1940s or 1930s about sound effects, and itвЂ™s extremely rare that any information comes to the surface because no one at the time left a record. вЂњI was always very interested in the history of sound effects in Hollywood in general, everything that led up to my career, and yet I found there was no information saved,вЂќ he says. I donвЂ™t think I was thinking IвЂ™d be doing interviews 40 years later.вЂќД«ut more than a scientific log, BurttвЂ™s notes are a window into his creative process, his passionate energy for capturing sounds and preserving the history of sound in filmmaking. And I was a physics major in college, so I was just trained to keep a record of what I was doing professionally. вЂњI was brought up in a family of scientistsвЂ¦notes and notes and lab coats. вЂњI was thinking I was going to be a science teacher,вЂќ he says.

Raised in a family of scientists, BurttвЂ™s approach to sound design in the late 1970s had a decidedly academic undertone. вЂњSlowed down, it became a terrific tauntaun.вЂќ The name of the animal was Mota, he finds, scrawled next to the date of the recording. вЂњThe sea otter had a very high-pitched squawking and the nice thing about it was that it almost sounded like it was talking.вЂќ For a moment, Burtt slips into his own rendition of the otterвЂ™s chattering, one of many sound effects he intones in his storytelling. More than a quest to create the soundscape to convey the otherworldly ambiance of Dagobah and so many other locations, vehicles, creatures, and sounds in the Star Wars sequel, it was also the chance to capture more than 1,000 individual audio elements to create the basis for what would become Lucasfilm and Skywalker SoundвЂ™s audio effects library.ДЄs for that tauntaun? вЂњIt was an Asian Sea Otter that was recorded at a game farm to the south of ,вЂќ Burtt says from behind his notebook. Among the copious notes and audio tapes from his more than four-decade career is a detailed record of the nine months Burtt, the sound designer on the film, and his team spent on road trips across the United States where they recorded everything from a squeaky dumpster lid in BurttвЂ™s yard to a lion feasting on an animal skull.

#Ben burtt sonic charge full#

Inside Ben BurttвЂ™s home office, heвЂ™s flipping through a notebook from his time working on Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in search of the name of the farm where he recorded the sea otter behind the bleating vocals of HothвЂ™s tauntauns and a bathtub full of raccoons for DagobahвЂ™s unseen wildlife.

#Ben burtt sonic charge series#

To celebrate the classic filmвЂ™s landmark 40th anniversary, presents вЂњ Empire at 40,вЂќ a special series of interviews, editorial features, and listicles.

On May 21, 1980, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back made its theatrical debut.