-SOUND DESIGNER PROFILE-

BEN BURTT

Where would you hear his work?

He is mostly known for his iconic sounds in the star wars franchise, most notably the sounds for the lightsaber and Darth Vader. He is also known for his work in the Indiana Jones films and more recently in 2008, Pixar’s WALL-E. Ben Burtt has also used the stock scream sound ‘the Wilhelm scream’ in many of his films, including Star Wars: Episode IV and Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Why did I choose him?

I chose Ben Burtt for my sound designer profile because of his work in the film WALL-E by Pixar. WALL-E is one of my favourite animated films and is my favourite Pixar animated film. I was particularly interested in his work on the voices of WALL-E and EVE. I consider those to be sounds in the film that really spark interest for the viewer and make them want to know more about these characters. While those are only relatively small parts in an overall production of a film, they are excellent examples of effective and emotive sound design.