Ben Burtt
Sound
Born July 12, 1948 · Jamesville, New York, USA
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.
Directed (8)
Acting (36)
Under the Helmet: The Legacy of Boba Fett
2021
Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound
2019
The Force of Sound
2018
I Am Your Father
2015
And the Oscar Goes To...
2014
EditDroid: Rise and Fall
2014
The Making of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz
2013
Lincoln: An American Journey
2013
Wings: Grandeur in the Sky
2012
Michael Curtiz: The Greatest Director You Never Heard Of
2012
WALL·E's Treasures & Trinkets
2008
Animation Sound Design: Building Worlds from the Sound Up
2008
BURN·E
2008
RKO Production 601: The Making of “Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World”
2008
WALL·E
2008
Fog City Mavericks
2007
The Dawn of Sound: How Movies Learned to Talk
2007
Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon
2006
Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet
2006
Star Wars: Within a Minute - The Making of Episode III
2005
Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema
2005
George Lucas: Creating an Empire
2005
Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy
2004
When Star Wars Ruled the World
2004
The Sound of 'Indiana Jones'
2003
Films Are Not Released, They Escape
2002
State of the Art: The Pre-Visualization of 'Episode II'
2002
From Puppets to Pixels: Digital Characters in 'Episode II'
2002
R2-D2: Beneath the Dome
2001
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
1999
Star Wars: The Magic & the Mystery
1997
The Making of 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'
1996
From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga
1983
Return of the Jedi
1983
The Making of The Empire Strikes Back
1980
Star Wars: Music by John Williams
1980