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sound design of star wars

Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 6:45 am
by iamallthings
"sounddesigner ben burtt's responsibility on star wars was to create specifically unusual sounds - weapons, vehicles, character and key backgrounds."

"he spent a year recording anything that could be turned upside down and backwards to make lucas world come alive."


laser blasts - the sound of a hammer on an antenna tower guy wire

lightsaber - burtt blended the sounds of his tv set and an old 35 mm projector to create the hum of a light saber

luke skywalker's landspeeder - achieved by recording the roar the los angeles harbor freeway through a vacuum-cleaner pipe.


http://filmsound.org/starwars/

Re: sound design of star wars

Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 7:37 am
by Siderealdb
Those are actually the various sounds that Lucas makes while receiving an old fashioned. Ben Burtt just happened to be in the room with Lucas and Carrie Fisher as it went down, and it only took 3 minutes.

Re: sound design of star wars

Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 7:42 am
by deadly_habit

Re: sound design of star wars

Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 12:27 pm
by EDN
Its all about the slowed down cries of elephants for the tie fighters.
That and the noise at about 55 second in this scene http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d91D5rb3 ... re=related
Skywalker studios just set the bar so high when it comes to sound design.

Re: sound design of star wars

Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 7:25 pm
by alphacat
Another one - for big explosions, they went to second-hand stores and bought all the big crystal punch bowls they could find; they then put 'em on the pavement upside down and slowly backed a car over them. Then they took the recording and slowed/pitched it way, way down.

When I saw this on a documentary about foley work as a kid, it made me aware of the importance (and genius) of sound fx in a movie.

Re: sound design of star wars

Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 7:30 pm
by deadly_habit
http://designingsound.org/2010/03/erik- ... interview/

trying to find the original interview on the og transformers and how the iconic morphing sound was made. i can swear the back on my brain says i read it was originally two styrofoam cups being twisted together

Re: sound design of star wars

Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 7:33 pm
by alphacat
deadly habit wrote:http://designingsound.org/2010/03/erik- ... interview/

trying to find the original interview on the og transformers and how the iconic morphing sound was made. i can swear the back on my brain says i read it was originally two styrofoam cups being twisted together
Shit, one of those old Eventide Harmonizers and some creative EQ & bandpassing... you could make a fart sound like Yo Yo Ma. ;)

Re: sound design of star wars

Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 7:34 pm
by venuq
I think someone once told me the sound of the laser beams were recorded from hitting the inside of a slinky, I remember having a listen, really weird sound.

Re: sound design of star wars

Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 7:40 pm
by deadly_habit
alphacat wrote:
deadly habit wrote:http://designingsound.org/2010/03/erik- ... interview/

trying to find the original interview on the og transformers and how the iconic morphing sound was made. i can swear the back on my brain says i read it was originally two styrofoam cups being twisted together
Shit, one of those old Eventide Harmonizers and some creative EQ & bandpassing... you could make a fart sound like Yo Yo Ma. ;)
you've inspired me...

























































Image
can we has a new production forum meme? :6:

Re: sound design of star wars

Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 8:30 pm
by alphacat
deadly habit wrote:
alphacat wrote:
deadly habit wrote:http://designingsound.org/2010/03/erik- ... interview/

trying to find the original interview on the og transformers and how the iconic morphing sound was made. i can swear the back on my brain says i read it was originally two styrofoam cups being twisted together
Shit, one of those old Eventide Harmonizers and some creative EQ & bandpassing... you could make a fart sound like Yo Yo Ma. ;)
you've inspired me...





Image
can we has a new production forum meme? :6:
Now with 8,000% less Alpacas & Ham!

WIN. :D:

Re: sound design of star wars

Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 8:42 pm
by deadly_habit
one more :6:
Image

Re: sound design of star wars

Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 11:43 pm
by alphacat
This is the best I could do after thinking about it for a day...

Image

:6:

Re: sound design of star wars

Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2010 12:08 am
by aspect-dubz


as requested by legend4ry :t:

Re: sound design of star wars

Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2010 3:04 pm
by PERCEPT
Where can i buy that book?

Re: sound design of star wars

Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2010 3:47 pm
by deadly_habit

Re: sound design of star wars

Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2010 5:12 pm
by Johnst
this thread ftw.

slowed down elephant cries? how the fuck do you think of that?

Re: sound design of star wars

Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 7:43 pm
by alphacat
OK, so I bought the book over the weekend with an xmas gift card I got from my work-

IT'S EVEN COOLER THAN YOU THINK.

At least, I think so.

What's mind boggling is how little gear was available for this stuff compared to now: a Urei filter bank, the aforementioned Eventide harmonizer, some delays and verbs... and physically manipulating the tape it was recorded on. That's about it.

This book is reminding me that I can't find my minidisc recorder for field recording, too. :x

Re: sound design of star wars

Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 7:59 pm
by filthy_
i wonder if ben burtt knows how to make a bass like doctor p ... lolzzzz :6:

Re: sound design of star wars

Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 8:35 pm
by alphacat
filthy_ wrote:i wonder if ben burtt knows how to make a bass like doctor p ... lolzzzz :6:
He could do that in his sleep using only a toaster and a rubber mallet, son.

-r-

Re: sound design of star wars

Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 8:44 pm
by synthless
deadly habit wrote:http://designingsound.org/ ;)
Thank you very much, Ive just found one of my new favourite websites