"That means we collect real sounds that exist out there in the real world.
"The style of Star Wars has always been to use an organic soundtrack," says Burtt. But Burtt's most essential tool is the common tape recorder. You might think the best way to create extraterrestrial sounds would be to invent them on synthesizers and computers. "Each sound is for a specific weapon or a particular robot's head revolving around," Burtt says. But what do laser cannons or a mobbed alien marketplace sound like? This was the challenge faced by The Phantom Menace's sound designer Ben Burtt.īurtt and his crew created up to 1,300 new sound effects for The Phantom Menace. Popcorn time?ĭirectors know that realistic sound is vital to hooking an audience. In a movie, this would immediately distract a viewer. In other words, your senses are in conflict-a phenomenon called cognitive dissonance. Your brain instantly alerts you to the fact that what you hear doesn't match what you see. But what you hear is the churn of motorscycle. Picture a scene where a solitary car races down a stretch of empty highway. Whether or not you're aware of it, sound plays a key role in how you perceive reality.
After all, how believable is a computer-generated invading army of androids when you don't hear a single stomp or whir? In the past few years, powerful computers, advanced software, and synthesizers (keyboard-like instruments that produce electronic sound signals) have elevated sound effects to new heights. Just as dazzling visual effects turn a sci-fi fantasy movie into near-reality, sound effects add the finishing notes. Instead of the thud of fighters' leaps on metal, you hear thumps on a creaky wooden stage set. Now imagine the same scene-but instead of the lethal buzz of lightsabers, you hear cracking wooden sticks. The warriors lunge at each other, yet their footfalls are barely audible on the metal floor. Their sword-like lightsabers flash and sizzle as they clash. HOW DO YOU CREATE SOUNDS FOR A FANTASTIC UNIVERSE?Ī sneak moment from this summer's blockbuster movie The Phantom Menace, the latest installation in the, Star Wars saga: Jedi knight Obi-Wan Kenobi (left) duels with the evil Darth Maul. MLA style: "THE SOUND OF STAR WARS." The Free Library.
0 kommentar(er)
