Ben Burtt
- Sound
- July 12, 1948 · Jamesville, New York, USA
Biography
Benjamin "Ben" Burtt, Jr. is a sound designer, film editor, director, screenwriter, and voice actor. He has worked as sound designer on various films, including the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film series, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, WALL-E, and Star Trek. He is responsible for creating many of the iconic sound effects heard in the Star Wars film franchise, including the binary speech of R2-D2, the lightsaber hum, the sound of the blaster guns, and the heavy-breathing sound of Darth Vader, which he made by breathing into a scuba regulator. Burtt has a reputation for popularizing a sound effect dubbed the "Wilhelm scream", which was taken from a character named Wilhelm in the 1953 film The Charge at Feather River.
Known for
Filmography
- Ray Gunn · Sound Designer
- LIGHT & MAGIC · Self
- Under the Helmet: The Legacy of Boba Fett · Self
- Star Wars Galaxy of Sounds · Sound Designer
- Jet Jockeys in Love: The Making of CHAIN LIGHTNING ('50) · Self
- Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound · Self
- The Force of Sound · Self
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens · Sound Designer
- I Am Your Father · Self
- The Signal · Sound Designer
- And the Oscar Goes To... · Self
- EditDroid: Rise and Fall · Self
- The Making of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz · Self
- Star Trek Into Darkness · Sound Designer
- Escape from Planet Earth · Sound Designer
- Lincoln: An American Journey · Self
- Lincoln · Sound Designer
- 009 Re:Cyborg · Sound Designer
- John Carter · Sound Designer
- Wings: Grandeur in the Sky · Self
- Red Tails · Sound Designer, Editing
- Michael Curtiz: The Greatest Director You Never Heard Of · Self
- Super 8 · Sound Designer, Supervising Sound Editor
- Star Trek · Special Sound Effects
- WALL·E's Treasures & Trinkets · WALL·E / M-O (Voice)
- Animation Sound Design: Building Worlds from the Sound Up
- BURN·E · WALL·E / M-O (voice) (uncredited), Sound Designer
- RKO Production 601: The Making of “Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World” · Self
- WALL·E · WALL·E / M-O (Voice), Sound Re-Recording Mixer
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull · Sound Designer
- Fog City Mavericks · Self
- Standing on the Shoulders of Kubrick: The Legacy of 2001 · Self
- The Dawn of Sound: How Movies Learned to Talk · Self
- Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon · Self
- Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet · Self
- Munich · Sound Designer, Supervising Sound Editor
- Within a Minute: The Making of Star Wars Episode III · Self
- Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema · Self
- Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith · Editing, Supervising Sound Editor
- Star Wars: Droids - Treasure of the Hidden Planet · Story
- Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy · Self
- When Star Wars Ruled the World · Self
- The Sound of 'Indiana Jones' · Self
- Films Are Not Released, They Escape · Self
- State of the Art: The Pre-Visualization of 'Episode II' · Self
- From Puppets to Pixels: The Making of Star Wars Episode II · Self
- Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones · Wat Tambor (uncredited), Editing
- Manassas: End of Innocence · Director
- George Lucas: Creating an Empire · Self
- R2-D2: Beneath the Dome · Self
- The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Espionage Escapades · Sound Designer
- The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Demons of Deception · Editing
- The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Daredevils of the Desert · Editing
- The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Oganga, the Giver and Taker of Life · Editing, Second Unit Director
- The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Tales of Innocence · Sound Designer
- The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Mystery of the Blues · Second Unit Director
- The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Spring Break Adventure · Second Unit Director
- The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Phantom Train of Doom · Second Unit Director
- The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Masks of Evil · Sound Designer
- The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Trenches of Hell · Editing, Second Unit Director
- Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace · Naboo Courier (uncredited), Editing
- Star Wars: The Magic & the Mystery · Self
- Behind the Scenes with King Kong in Special Effects · Director
- The Making of 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial' · Self
- Special Effects: Anything Can Happen · Director
- The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Travels with Father · Sound Designer
- The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Attack of the Hawkmen · Director, Writer
- Destiny in Space · Director
- The American Gangster · Director
- The True Story of Glory Continues · Director
- Blue Planet · Director
- Always · Sound Designer
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade · Sound Designer
- Willow · Sound Designer
- Howard the Duck · Sound Re-Recording Mixer, Sound Effects Editor
- Star Wars: Droids - The Great Heep · Associate Producer, Writer
- Star Wars: Droids · Story, Creator
- The Adventures of André and Wally B. · Sound Designer
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom · Sound Designer
- From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga · Self