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"The Sounds of Star Wars", New Book Written by Ben Burtt and J. W. Rinzler

August 24, 2010 by Miguel Isaza

Sound designers, editors, mixers, geeks and Star Wars fans. Our day has come! Ben Burt has presented “The Sounds of Star Wars“, a new book written with J. W. Rinzler. Inside it you’ll find all the secrets behind the making of the sound effects of Star Wars, and also the book includes a sound module with speaker and external output for playback of 250 different sounds (pretty amazing, huh?).

Guests at Celebration V in Orlando were honored with a rare appearance by legendary sound designer Ben Burtt. Burtt should be a familiar name to fans from his iconic work on all of the live-action Star Wars and Indiana Jones films. His accolades include academy awards for A New Hope, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and nominations for many more. As panel moderator Pablo Hidalgo puts it, “He’s the reason so many of us have high-end surround sound systems in our home theaters.”

Burtt came to discuss his latest book project, The Sounds of Star Wars. Written with New York Times best-selling author J. W. Rinzler, Sounds tells the intimate details behind your favorite Star Wars sound effects. From the majestic hum of a lightsaber to the lowly chitter of a Jawa, every effect has a story. This lavishly illustrated tome is more than just a book, it includes a sound module that lets you listen to over 250 original sounds from the Star Wars series in high-quality stereo as you read along.

And if there’s not enough, check this out:

This book has more than just sounds from the films; it also includes sounds taken from the original recordings that are only available here. It includes all of the growling and snarling recorded for the reptilian bounty hunter, Bossk, most of which was not used in The Empire Strikes Back. Burtt mixed recordings of himself growling into a microphone for most of the effects. “Paul Hirsch, editor on the film, was up to that scene where the bounty hunters are briefed by Vader. He just needed something quickly so I just went down and made that sort of snarly, vomit-producing [growl].”

It’s not just the sound designers themselves being recorded, often it’s the sound designer’s friends and family. After playing a booming, growling sound that reverberated through the auditorium, Hidalgo explained, “That is the sando aqua monster, one of the largest creatures in the Star Wars movies. Where did that sound come from?”

“That’s my lovely daughter, Emma,” Burtt beamed. “When she was about three months old, she had a growly, little cry. Of course, I recorded it because it was interesting. I thought, ‘I have to use this for a monster,’ so I slowed it way down to match the size, the mass of the creature. It’s a performance, it’s her wanting milk… or maybe a diaper change.”

Well, more than a must-have for me. What about you? Do you want to get it? If so, It’s only $60 and it’s available to buy right now at Chronicle Books.

UPDATE! It’s available on Amazon at $37,80!

Via: @usoproject

Filed Under: news Tagged With: ben burtt, book, chronicle books, j w rinzler, sound design, sound effects, star wars, the sounds of star wars

Comments

  1. Anton Woldhek says

    August 24, 2010 at 7:26 am

    So getting this!

  2. mny says

    August 24, 2010 at 10:41 am

    ok, now I know where to spend my money. thx for posting miguel

  3. RichardDevine says

    August 24, 2010 at 12:16 pm

    Dude, awesome ordering my copy now! :)

  4. DIE says

    August 24, 2010 at 1:08 pm

    I pre-ordred mine 2 weeks ago! In the meantime have any of you seen the really cool sound board at starwars.com? You can listen to all sorts of classic star wars sounds and dialog right from the original stems! Enjoy!

    http://www.starwars.com/games/playnow/soundboards/#/?theme=31

  5. charles maynes says

    August 24, 2010 at 2:13 pm

    Its about time……

  6. zeroreference says

    August 24, 2010 at 3:45 pm

    OK, this is awesome!!

  7. Carsten Rojahn says

    August 24, 2010 at 5:12 pm

    oh wow, I have been waiting so long for this to happen :D

  8. dhawken says

    September 17, 2010 at 6:12 am

    This looks great

Trackbacks

  1. “The Sounds of Star Wars” – New Book Written by Ben Burtt and J. W. Rinzler | Box of Toys says:
    August 24, 2010 at 10:47 am

    […] Designing Sound » “The Sounds of Star Wars”, New Book Written by Ben Burtt and J. W. Rinzler. Share/Bookmark This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 24th, 2010 at 3:40 pmand is filed under Caution Nerdy, Fun, Movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. […]

  2. The Sounds of Star Wars – Ben Burtt und J. W. Rinzler « Musikvollzugsbeamte says:
    August 26, 2010 at 6:25 pm

    […] ‘He’s the reason so many of us have high-end surround sound systems in our home theaters.’ Share and Enjoy:   ← Blumengitarre     […]

  3. the sounds of star wars – abulafia says:
    August 27, 2010 at 5:38 pm

    […] [designing sound] Share and […]

  4. Designing Sound » Wired Magazine: Ben Burtt Talks “The Sounds of Star Wars” Book says:
    September 8, 2010 at 4:25 pm

    […] the sound of “Star Wars: Clone Wars” (Matthew Wood and David Acord)  talking about the recently announced “The Sounds of Star Wars” book from J.W Rinzler and the legacy of the Star Wars sounds. […]

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