By Thomas Smith
Source: SonicState , Synthopia , Electronic Musician , CNET

The crack of Indy’s whip, the bleep-blips of R2-D2, and the asthmatic breathing of Darth Vader. These unique and memorable sound effects are all products of an often overlooked art form – the art of sound design. A Sound Designer’s duties include creating, editing and applying sound effects and all non-compositional elements of a film, video game, theater performance, recording or television program in what amounts to a very daunting job.

Ben Burtt is quite possibly one of the most famous sound designers in the history of film. Burtt has worked on all six Star Wars films, the Indiana Jones franchise and most recently, Disney/Pixar’s Wall-E. The man is responsible for creating many of film’s most recognizable sounds, from laser blasts and heroic punches to starships and bleeping androids.

The innovative Burtt has this to say about creating the “voice” for cinema’s sassiest hunk of metal, “R2 was very innovative back in its day because there had never really been a talking robot character that didn’t speak plain and simple English. With R2, we had to come up with sounds that people understood as communication from a charming character that had something on his mind. And it was done with electronic sounds, mostly beeps and whistles. Some of the sounds were made on a synthesizer. Others were little mechanical and motor sounds which were used to allow him to express himself. The whole idea being that the sounds had a sense of communication to them. You understood that he was angry or sad or being rude to 3PO.”

For more with the Academy Award-winning Ben Burtt and a behind the scenes look at how he created the unique sound design and voices for Wall-E, take a look at this short and informative video .



Most audiences believe the most important aspect of film lies within the visuals. Truth is, the picture is only half the story. Try watching television with the audio turned off. Pretty frustrating, isn’t it? Now close your eyes, turn the volume up and just listen for a moment. It’s more akin to a radio drama. You may not be able to see anything but you still get the idea of what’s going on. Without great sound design modern film would be lost. CNET News paid a visit to George Lucas’ Skywalker Sound and picked up a few sound secrets. Watch the video here .




Sound Design for film can be a grueling process. But what about television, it must be easier right? Wrong. In this tour of BANG Studios in Cardiff, Wales, the sound studio responsible for providing sound design, effects and audio post-production for BBC’s weekly Doctor Who and Torchwood television programs in addition to other major feature film and television projects, sound designers walk viewers through the post-production audio process, from dubbing dialog, adding sound effects and performing foley work. Take a look at the video tour here .