“Star Trek,” “Transformers” teams draw on past cues

By DAVID JOHN FARINELLA

A generation ago, a brand new sound could be heard on playgrounds around the globe, as kids swung imaginary light sabers during mock battles between the Empire and the Rebels.
That sound became one of the most memorable aural cues from a film that set the world of audio post-production, well, on its ear — and ever since, sound pros have been working hard to develop signature sounds that cue audiences into an imminent event, be it emotional or action-oriented.

Or, as in the case of last year’s “Star Trek,” remind them that while space may be the final frontier, they’ve been there before.

“This film is laced with iconic sounds that are derivative of the original TV series,” remarks supervising sound editor Mark Stoeckinger. “We never included the exact same sound, but we were given inspiration from (the series) or got ideas from it.”

In fact, the “Star Trek” sound team went back and listened to the sounds from the 1960s TV series (the library is available on CD) and the franchise’s previous films to closely mimic door and background aural ambiances in the Enterprise as well as other beep and button sounds.

Then Ben Burtt was brought in. “He was tasked with getting us a little more iconic in our sound and be even more exacting,” Stoeckinger explains. “We had modernized some sounds that sounded great, but we wanted to make sure they made sense for the people that knew the series…”

Read more at variety.com…

Well, here it finally is: my ‘Top 25 Films of the Decade.’ Now, this list is inherently subjective. In the first place, I certainly haven’t seen every single film that’s come out in the last ten years, for the most part I’ve seen films that looked good to me, so my sampling pool for this list is already skewed. So really, this is my top 25 films, my favorites of the decade. Treat this list as my recommendations to you. Now obviously not all of these films are appropriate for everyone, but if a film on this list sounds interesting to you, then check it out. But before I start counting down films, I thought I’d briefly explain what I looked for in the films that I chose to include in this list. Here, summarized in four points, is what I looked for:

Stunning Visuals: I like films that surprise me with how good they look, whether that means the special and visual effects, like V for Vendetta, the cinematography, like in Mongol, or simply how the scenes are shot and edited, such as in Hot Fuzz.

Exceptional Acting: This should be a given, and I don’t mean above average acting, I mean exceptional acting.  I mean acting that really stands out, such as Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, or that connects you emotionally to the character, like Bruce Willis in Unbreakable, or that leaves you in stitches, just like George Clooney in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, or in the case of an antagonist, such as Christopher Lee in The Lord of the Rings, acting that gives you a villain that you love to hate.

Something Meaningful to Say: Not all films need to have a complicated message, sometimes the simplest messages are the best. But a film with an interesting premise, like Sunshine, or an inspiring story, like The Lord of the Rings, have a lot more going for them. Now, not all of the films on my list are particularly strong in this area, at both ends of the spectrum  in fact (X2 and Hot Fuzz namely), but they make up for it by being remarkable in one or more of the other areas.

Entertaining: A film has to be entertaining. Duh. But really, that’s the point of a movie. If I didn’t enjoy watching it, it’s not on this list. And conversely, if a film was lacking in a couple of the other areas, but was nonetheless extremely enjoyable, it can still find itself in my top 25. I wouldn’t call Death at a Funeral ‘visually stunning’ nor does it have anything particularly meaningful to say, but it was so much fun to watch that I couldn’t help but include it.

So, all that said, I hope you enjoy my ‘Top 25 Films of the Decade.’

25. X2 (2003): Bryan Singer does a great job directing this film and handling the X-Men mythos. He really steps it up from the first X-Men film, both in the quality of the special effects and in the storytelling. This is the X-Men at their best. Really my primary reason for including this film in my top 25 list is that it contains excellent film performances from three amazing stage actors. Ian McKellen is perfect as the brooding and imprisoned Magneto and it’s a real treat to watch him play a villain. Patrick Stewart, while a giant of the British stage, hasn’t dominated the cinema in quite the same way, except perhaps in a few films as the indomitable Captain Jean-Luc Picard. So it’s fantastic to see him playing Professor Xavier, another character perfectly suited to his distinctive talents. And while Magneto is under plastic lock and key, another villain, William Sryker, is free to run loose, played expertly by Brian Cox, who gives the character a ruthlessness that only he can deliver. Forget all the other X-Men films, this is the one to watch.

24. Sunshine (2007): Science fiction has always been the prefect show case for special effects, but much more than that, good science fiction is a vehicle for exploring the psychology of the human mind in fantastically hypothetical situations. Sunshine is very intentionally in this category of sci-fi. It explores desperation, heroism, despair, and hope. But the real focus of Sunshine is on a topic that most of science fiction has glossed over: the effect that our own sun has on the human mind. The premise of Sunshine is that our sun is dying and a crew of astronauts, flying a space ship armed with massive bomb, must attempt to restart it. It sounds as bad as The Core, I know, but all the science is at least plausible and it’s handled as realistically as it can be. And again, this film isn’t about the science, or the special effects (though they are quite good), it’s about what goes on in the minds of the characters as they get closer and closer to the single most powerful type of object in the universe. Some become more and more desperate to complete their mission while others become more and more detached from reality. This film isn’t perfect and the first half is a lot better than the second half, but Danny Boyle’s directing is spectacular and Sunshine gives you plenty of food for thought.

23. Equilibrium (2002): This was a film that flew under the radar because of a limited release and was also somewhat dismissed as a rip off of The Matrix. But don’t let that fool you, this film is ridiculously awesome in it’s own rite. In a future where emotions are outlawed and the cops shoot puppies, if you’re Christian Bale and you’ve got a crazy title like “Tetragrammaton Cleric” and a pair of oversized pistols and a samurai sword, there’s only one thing to do: kill 118 people. Ok, all kidding aside, this film does have some interesting things to say about human emotions and a few very well acted scenes, but the action is undoubtedly the star. While it does have its flaws and doesn’t stand up to too many rewatches, I guarantee that it will blow you away the first time you see it.

22. Shaun of the Dead (2004): I hate zombie movies. So it obviously says something when I put one on my ‘top 25’ list. Shaun of the Dead is the cinematic antithesis of zombie movies. It’s filled, even fueled, by contradictions and juxtapositions. It’s a parody and it pokes fun at all the slow shuffling, gore splattering, and strangled moaning of the genre, by doing it all in the most absurd and over-the-top ways possible. And yet it’s punctuated by unexpected moments of heartfelt emotional connection to the characters, and these moments far surpass the half-hearted drivel most zombie films achieve. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are hilarious, and Edgar Wright’s directing is top-notch.

21. Death at a Funeral (2007): This quirky British comedy comes from the mind of Frank Oz, who you probably know as the hand and the voice behind Fozzie Bear, Cookie Monster, Yoda, and Miss Piggy. But he’s also directed a number of unique and genuinely hilarious comedies, such as What About Bob?, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Little Shop of Horrors. Death at a Funeral is his latest piece of comedy gold. Matthew Macfadyen and Peter Dinklage are both hilarious, Macfadyen for his deadpan delivery and Dinklage for his psychotic bouts of drug induced rage. My favorite performance though is undoubtedly Alan Tudyk’s: butt-naked, sitting on a roof, and high as a kite, he steals the show (if you haven’t noticed yet, accidentally ingesting hallucinogenic drugs is kind of a running gag is this film).

20. Apocalypto (2006): To quote the opening words of the film “A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within.” The story is simple and personal, a young man is violently taken from his home and separated from his family and is brought into the heart of the darkness and corruption of the ancient Mayan empire. What follows is his disparate attempt to escape and to evade his relentless hunters. There an unmistakably theme in Mel Gibson’s directing, both Braveheart and The Passion of the Christ, as well as Apocalypto, are epic films about events that have far reaching consequences, yet all are for the most part very intensely focused on one specific character and his struggle in the midst of these events. Gibson’s other distinctive feature, almost in contrast to his narrow focus on a single character, is his ability to recreate historical settings on a grand scale. He has an eye for detail and authenticity in every aspect of the film. With such dedicated world building, Apocalypto completely takes you in. Gibson, as always, does not shy away from intense violence, but in his films it’s never gratuitous, it always serves the message of the film, in this case the almost demonic-like corruption and obsession of the Mayan empire immediately before it’s conquest. Combine all these elements and you have a film that is as haunting and disturbing as it is thought provoking and breathtaking.

19. 28 Days Later… (2002): And another zombie flick makes it on my top 25 list, by now you might be doubting what I said about hating zombie movies, but trust me, I hate them. They’re plotless gorefests with the most inane, incompetent, and annoying characters in cinema history (barring Scarlett O’Hara of course). 28 Days Later… however is above and beyond any zombie movie that I’ve seen. Yes there is blood, as well as guts. This is a disturbing film that more than earns its ‘R’ rating. Yet this zombie film isn’t about random, violent deaths at the hands of the undead (or the ‘infected’ if you want to be politically correct), or even about the zombies really. It’s about how the survivors cope. The film focuses on few specific individuals and how they react emotionally, how they keep going, and how they find their courage, or for some, how they lose control. In this zombie flick you have heroes to cheer for and you feel an emotional connection to the characters (even if Cillian Murphy is inherently creepy). Besides this, the film also gets points for Danny Boyle’s pitch perfect directing, haunting cinematography, and brilliant pacing.

18. Mongol (2007): This was my favorite foreign film of the decade, and I’m certainly not including it simply for the sake of having a foreign film on my list, it’s here by it’s own merits. It depicts the rise to power of Genghis Khan, beginning with his childhood and ending as he consolidates the entire Mongolian nation under his banner. Mongol is a truly epic film. It is shot on location and the cinematography is breathtaking. The battle scenes are expertly and uniquely shot. And the final battle is massive, with over 1500 extras all riding horseback. Far from just a blood fest, this film is well acted and has unique and memorable characters. While certainly taking some narrative liberties, this film strives to be as historically realistic as possible. I could easily go on an on, but I’ll leave you to discover how amazing this film is for yourself.

17. Sherlock Holmes (2009): I love Guy Ritchie, and if Sherlock Holmes wasn’t on this list, you can be sure that another one of his films would be, either Snatch or Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. Although this film is different than anything he’s done before, Ritchie’s style is unmistakable, from the pacing to the plot twists, from the excellent score to the obligatory slow-mo fistfight. This film never pretends to be a remake of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original stories; it is thoroughly a re-imagining, but it stays true to the spirit of those originals: mystery, intrigue, and suspense that in the end are explained away by the careful observation of the brilliant, though slightly eccentric, mind of Sherlock Holmes. Robert Downey Jr. fits the bill perfectly, and Jude Law is equally fitting as the perpetual straight man to Downey’s antics. Mark Strong also does a fantastic job as the villain, Lord Blackwood (one of the most ominous sounding villain names since Dr. Regis Blackgaard). This film is still in theaters and it’s certainly worth seeing on the big screen, so go see it! Oh, and extra points to anyone who can name another movie in which Robert Downey Jr.’s character builds an unsuccessful silencer.

16. Zodiac (2007): When I got out into the lobby of the theater after seeing this film I couldn’t believe that over two and a half hours had just gone by. While watching this film I’d completely lost track of time because it had so utterly taken me in and kept me entranced until the very end. This is possibly the most well paced film that I have ever seen. Which is amazing, because even though there are several edge-of-your-seat, chills-down-your-spine moments, the majority of the film is simply people talking. Zodiac is about the real life serial killer of the same name, or more specifically it’s about a young newspaper cartoonist, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, who becomes obsessed with discovering the true identity of the Zodiac. It has a lot in common with All the President’s Men, another exciting film about people talking, but be warned, it is not about a white collar criminal. Zodiac is about a very real serial killer; a shooting and a stabbing are depicted in the film. That said, it’s a very intelligent, thought provoking film and not a mindless horror flick. David Fincher (Se7en, Fight Club) does a brilliant job directing and the cast is chalk full of great actors, Robert Downey Jr., Brian Cox, Mark Ruffalo, and others.

15. Lars and the Real Girl (2007): This sleeper-hit flew in a little under the radar, but there’s no reason not to check out Lars and the Real Girl. This film certainly has a quirky premise: the setting is a nondescript, small, northern-Midwest town in the winter, where a very shy, but very amiable and courteous young man has a mental break down. It’s nothing too extreme, he just orders an ‘anatomically correct’, life-size doll off the internet and believes that ‘she’ is a real person. What begins as a quirky, understated comedy develops into a heartfelt drama about love, acceptance, mortality, and community. Ryan Gosling is perfect as the lead, as is Emily Mortimer as his expecting sister-in-law. For me the setting and the sentimentality of the film really strike a cord, since a “nondescript, small, northern-Midwest town in the winter” is essentially home for me and the warmth of the characters accurately captures that friendliness and hospitality which is uniquely Midwestern.

14. Son of Rambow (2007): You probably haven’t heard of this film, which is truly a shame. Unabashedly a kid’s film for adults, Son of Rambow is about two misfit boys who attempt to film their own sequel to First Blood. It’s got it’s own quirky and somewhat dry sense of humor, which is no surprise since this comes from the same studio that brought us The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The movie is heartwarming and hilarious without being sappy thanks to the two leads, Bill Milner and Will Poulter. With schools plays the only exception, neither of these two boys had ever acted before this film, which is unbelievable given the completely natural way in which they portray their respective characters, even in some difficult and emotional scenes. What I love most about this film is how it so effectively takes you back to when you were just a kid, to when movies first cast their magic spell over you and captivated your imagination.

13. WALL·E (2008): An amazing Pixar film, and one that certainly deserves to be on this list. WALL·E has all the earmarks of a Pixar production: a positive message, emotional connections to the characters, and a great sense of humor. Yet what truly blew me away when I saw WALL·E was the absolutely gorgeous animation. This truly is a beautiful film. The scenes of the two lead robots ‘dancing’ together in space really are amazing. Now, I can’t end a review of WALL·E, even an unofficial review such as this one, without giving credit to the foley guru that is Ben Burtt. No matter who you are, I guarantee that you have heard dozens of sounds that have been created by Burtt, the hum of a lightsaber: Burtt, the crack of Indy’s whip: Burtt, and the chirps and squeals of the many robots in WALL·E: the answer should be rhetorical by now. In fact Burtt did nearly all the sounds for Star Wars and the Indiana Jones series. His talent lies in thinking outside the box when it comes to producing the foley sounds for a film. For example, he created the deep, metallic engine noise of the gigantic Star Destroyers by tweaking the recording of an old squeaky air conditioner unit that was in his motel room. The animating genius of Pixar wasn’t quite enough to anthropomorphosis a dusty old garbage robot into a hero that we could both laugh at and cheer for, they needed the audio talents Burtt, who had done the same thing already, years ago, with a little astromech droid named R2-D2.

12. Star Trek (2009): This film could have been a disaster. But leave it J.J. Abrams to take a series known for obtuse pseudo-science exposition, dry, awkward acting, and painfully long takes of modal ships flying past matte paintings, and instead create a film that has been universally recognized as ‘totally frickin’ awesome.’ Don’t get me wrong though, the original Star Trek at it’s best, Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home namely, was never about the action nor the special effects, it was about the characters and the strange and exciting situations that they found themselves in. The beauty of Abrams’ Star Trek is that these elements are still present and are at the core of the film. What he added were amazing action scenes and a fast paced story that appeals to modern audiences. Much more than just another sci-fi action flick, the script is witty, intelligent, and relatively devoid of the plot holes that so often plague this genre. While this is thoroughly Abrams’ film, much of the credit for its success goes to the perfectly cast crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, John Cho, and Anton Yelchin are all perfect as their respective characters. Each actor makes the character their own while staying true to the spirit of the character in the original series. This film is a must see, even for those who haven’t ever watched a single episode of Star Trek before, and if you already saw it in theaters it’s out on DVD and ready for a rewatch. If you are watching it on DVD, be sure to watch the behind-the-scenes, it really gives you an appreciation for the creative talents that Abrams brought to the film. Oh, and check out the gag reel too.

11. A Knight’s Tale (2001): This is a film with no qualms about being anachronistic, in fact it revels in it. This film is, above all else, simply a ton of fun. From singing “We Will Rock You” at the jousting tournament to the training montage, and from the over the top introductions by the herald to the lance-exploding blows, this film is meant to entertain and it certainly delivers. Far from being nothing but a spectacle though, the dialogue is witty and clever. Heath Ledger is fantastic as the rags-to-riches squire who “changes his own stars.” Yet it’s Paul Bettany as Chaucer who really steals the show. Alan Tudyk and Mark Addy also generate a significant amount of laughs as the two sidekicks of the film. While it’s not perfect and there are actually a number of things I could criticize it for, it’s not worth spoiling the fun. Watch this film in just that mindset and you’ll agree.

10. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000): The Coen brothers have made a lot of very unique and very original films. O Brother, Where Art Thou? is my personal favorite and it perfectly exhibits the Coen’s strange, surreal, and subtle sense of humor. Very, very loosely based on the Odyssey, it’s about a man trying to get home before his wife marries someone else. The journey is fraught with peril, from a cyclops and sirens to the KKK and the devil himself. The lead roles are cast perfectly, George Clooney as Everett, the self elected leader with “the gift of gab,” John Turturro as Pete, the wide-eyed, slack jawed half-wit, and Tim Blake Nelson as Delmar, the slow but lovable eternal optimist of the group. Also cast perfectly are John Goodman, as Big Dan the KKK Bible salesman cyclops, and Charles Durning, as Pappy O’Daniel the grumpy, crass, and opportunistic incumbent governor of Mississippi. The film itself if beautifully shot and very finely crafted. Really it’s hilarious no matter how many times you watch it thanks to the Coen brothers’ ability to weave multiple levels of humor into each scene. And also because of the way that all the actors have taken ownership of their characters and filled every line of dialogue and even every look and every pose with something to laugh at.

9. Monsters Inc. (2001): Everyone loves Pixar (except maybe Dreamworks) and everyone has a favorite Pixar film, Monsters Inc. is my favorite. Most animated films for children these days forgo the usual touchstones of filmmaking, such as character development, a compelling plot, and an emotional connection to the characters and the events around them. Most go for cheap slapstick laughs and in an attempt to entertain the poor adults who have to watch these films with their kids, they throw in one cultural reference after another, most of which go completely over the kid’s heads. Pixar on the other hand has some of the highest production values of any studio in cinema today and Monsters Inc. is evidence of that. John Goodman as Sully and Billy Crystal as Mike Wazowski are both hilarious, and the little girl, ‘Boo’, is, quite honestly, absolutely adorable. The core comedic value of the film comes simply from the interactions between these three characters. Steve Buscemi and James Coburn also voice excellent villains. It’s a rare thing when a kid’s movie is as smart, funny, and touching as this film is, but that’s Pixar for you.

8. Gladiator (2000): Since the release of Gladiator there have been many films that have tired to replicate the epic cinematic style of this film. While there have certainly been older films that have followed the same formula, such as Braveheart, and even older films that literally created the genre, Seven Samurai in particular, Gladiator set the standard for historical epics of its decade. It is now officially ten years old, but it still looks like it could have come out this month. The battles are expertly staged, the characters are well acted, and the score is phenomenal. This film is required viewing for everyone.

7. The Dark Knight (2008): What list of the top films of the decade would be complete without including The Dark Knight. There have been a lot of very good super hero films in the last ten years but Christopher Nolan took the genre to another level with The Dark Knight, just as Frank Miller did for comics with Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. It’s true that there have been comic book films before this that were equally dark and brooding, such as V for Vendetta, but Batman in The Dark Knight was the first truly mainstream superhero to star in a film that challenged the critics’ and the public’s preconceptions of the superhero movie genre. Nolan did a lot more than simply make the film dark and brooding, The Dark Knight is an intelligent, dramatic, and suspenseful film. He also used CGI as little as possible to make the film less like your typical flashy superhero flick and more like a dramatic crime/action film set in the real world. Christian Bale again makes an excellent Batman, Michael Cain an excellent Alfred, Gary Oldman an excellent Commissioner Gordon, and Aaron Eckhart is cast perfectly as Harvey Dent. But, as I’m sure you know, it’s Heath Ledger as the Joker that steals the show. Before The Dark Knight was released I wondered how Ledger’s and Nolan’s Joker could be original and not simply a copy of one of Joker’s other incarnations. When I saw the film I was completely blown away. Ledger’s Joker was completely original while still true to everything that makes the Clown Prince of Crime such a unique and layered villain. Apparently Ledger spent over a month by himself in hotel room working on the voice and the physical nuances of the character. One can’t help but think what a shame it is that this is one of the last films of such a brilliant and devoted actor. At least Heath Ledger left us with a film that is an undisputable display of his amazing abilities.

6. V for Vendetta (2005): This film finds itself on my list for a number of reasons, but primarily because, quite simply, it’s unbelievably awesome. The Wachowski brothers atone for their The Matrix sequel sins with this film, but the real reason for its epic level coolness is the antagonistic protagonist, known simply as V. The enigmatic character, originally conceived by Alan Moore, is given a voice and movement by none other than Hugo Weaving. From his smiling Guy Fawkes mask and a penchant for daggers, to soliloquies and fine art, V is certainly one of the most interesting and unique characters in film or print. The message of the film, while delivered in a much less nuanced way than the comic book and often misunderstood as simply bashing American right-wing conservativism, is really that the last and best defense against an oppressive government are the citizens themselves.

5. Signs (2002): Now when Signs was released there were a lot of people who misunderstood it. They expected it to be a horror film, which it certainly isn’t, and even though one could call it a thriller, the best moments of the film aren’t the ‘thrills.’ Really the interactions between the individual characters are what drives the film. The entire cast, including the two children, give excellent performances. Mel Gibson is, as always, a perfect father figure with a depth of emotion that few other actors can give. The other gross misunderstanding about this film is the assumption that it’s even about the aliens. At the core of this film is Gibson’s character’s struggle with his fractured faith in God. I don’t want to give too much away to anyone who hasn’t seen this film yet (revealing the ending of an M. Night Shyamalan film is a mortal sin), but the message of this film is, as unlikely as it sounds, about the providence of God, and it delivers this message in a powerful way.

4. Unbreakable (2000): Two in a row for Mr. Shyamalan. He’s made a couple of highly praiseworthy films, and for me Unbreakable stands out as my personal favorite. This film is very finely crafted. The color, the camera pans, the ambient sounds, the lighting, the score, everything comes together to create an almost palpable mood in this film. The acting is also phenomenal. Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson are both generally cast in ‘action’ roles, yet both are undoubtedly superb dramatic actors whose talents shine in Unbreakable. This is, in my opinion, Samuel L. Jackson’s best performance. I also appreciate the message of the film: everyone was meant to do something, and it almost hurts to not be doing that thing. To quote Samuel L. Jackson’s character, “Do you know what the scariest thing is? To not know your place in this world, to not know why you’re here.” While in the guise of the story of a real life superhero, this film is about finding just that purpose.

3. Hot Fuzz (2007): Like Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz is a rare film. It’s an absolutely hilarious ‘buddy-cop’ comedy, and yet it’s filmed and edited as well as, if not better than, ninety percent of the serious cinematic films that have been released this decade. The humor is primarily absurd and over-the-top, and yet the plot will keep you guessing and excited to see what happens next. It’s a parody of action movies and pokes fun at all the tropes of the genre, and yet it is at the same time itself a very successful action movie. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are brilliant and handle each aspect of the film expertly. The laughs in Hot Fuzz aren’t cheap; it’s a well crafted, well acted, and well written film, and it’s a shame that most comedies don’t even consider trying to meet the cinematic quality exhibited in this film.

2. Little Miss Sunshine (2006): I first saw Little Miss Sunshine while on a plane, and I was so impressed by the quality of this film that I watched it again on the flight back. Little Miss Sunshine is a comedy, albeit a black comedy, that has a very interesting message to it. On one level it’s about failure. Each of the main characters fail at something that supposedly defines who they are as a person. Yet through the events of the film each of them finds their place and finds themselves. And each are redeemed through acts of unconditional love toward each other. The film doesn’t make everything ‘magically’ work out in the end, nor does it gloss over their problems, and the moral is all the more relevant because of it. While watching this film you might both love and hate these characters, but they’re more human because of that. Pay attention to how each character redeems, and redefines, his or herself through the community and camaraderie of their family. Little Miss Sunshine is really about self-identity and the touchstone by which you define yourself. The message of the film is not to define yourself by your failures, but rather by the people closest to you, the people in your life who love you unconditionally. Add excellent acting by every primary cast member, beautiful visuals and stunning cinematography, and a soundtrack featuring Sufjan Stevens and DeVotchKa, and you have my second favorite film of the decade.

1. The Lord of the Rings (2001, 2002, 2003): This is no contest. The sequential release of the three Lord of the Rings films was the greatest cinematic event of the last decade. These films excel on so many levels that I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that all loyalties to J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels aside and all geeky fanboy glee aside as well, these films stand side by side with all the other greats of cinema history. Peter Jackson handled the source material for these films with respect and his directing brought out both the epic quality of The Lord of the Rings as well and the intensely personal struggles of the individual characters. The amount of work that went into the details of the special and visual effects is staggering. And the acting, particularly by Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Ian McKellen, and Andy Serkis, is phenomenal; you feel that you really know and understand and even feel for their characters. I think this gets at the real strength of the films, which is that in the midst of this elaborate fantasy setting and this epic struggle between good and evil itself, are very real people. There are a lot of themes that these three films touch on, such as friendship, love, loyalty, and maturity, but I believe that the main theme of these films is finding courage in the face of overwhelming adversity. Gandalf expresses just this when in the mines of Moria he says to Frodo, “All you must do is decide what to do with the time that is given to you.” If you live in an age when evil runs rampant then you must find the courage to defy it. If you haven’t seen each of the Lord of the Rings films yet then start watching them tonight. And if you haven’t seen the extended editions find someone who owns them and become their friend. And if you’ve already seen the extended editions, I bet it’s about time to watch them again.

Was watching an incredibly bad action flick the other night when my pal Denis commented “Why don’t Eastern European terrorists ever make that ‘Ayeeeeee’ scream when they die? You know… the Arabic terrorist scream?”.

And the sad thing is I knew exactly what he was talking about. Though it’s also been the dying shriek of Nazis, Storm Troopers, Indian cult leaders, Vampires, Buzz Lightyear and several passengers aboard the Titanic.

It’s called the Wilhelm Scream, and it friggin rocks.

It was originally recorded for a movie called ‘Distant Drums’ almost 60 years ago, a series of shrill screams that were subsequently re-used several times throughout various 50’s flicks. But it wasn’t until film Sound Designer Extraordinaire Ben Burtt re-discovered the scream on a reel labeled “Man being eaten by alligator” and threw it into the original ‘Star Wars’ (as the sound of a Storm Trooper falling off a ledge) that the Cult of Wilhelm was born.

Burtt has subsequently used the scream in almost every film he’s worked on since for Spielberg or Lucas, and if you pay attention you’ll catch it in practically every action film made during the last 25 years, including…

• The ‘Indiana Jones’ trilogy
• The ‘Star Wars’ prequels
• ‘Batman Returns’
• ‘Planet of the Apes’
• The ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy
• ‘Kill Bill Vol.1′
• The ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ trilogy
• ‘King Kong’
• ‘Sin City’
• ‘Transformers’
• ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’
• ‘Watchmen’
• and ‘Norbit’ (no, seriously, it’s in there).

Die and scream 'Ayeeee', you Thuggee bastards...

For a detailed list of the films and television shows to have used the Wilhelm Scream, check out this link.

Legend has it that the scream itself was actually the voice of a character actor named Sheb Wooley, who starred in ‘Distant Drums’ and also sang the 50’s craptacular novelty song ‘Purple People Eater’.

Probably unavailable on iTunes

Truth truly is stranger than fiction…

Ayeeeeeeeeeeeeeee,

BPM

Time to praise (and not-praise) crew contributions to cinema in 2009. A quick caveat: though it probably renders these “awards” moot, I’d like to give a shout-out to all of the crewmembers and professionals who are about to win Worst whatever awards or dishonorable mentions. For the most part, I know that these men and women are very talented people whose contributions to other movies have been worthy of praise. It’s very rare that I think someone who worked on a film is completely beyond hope, and that’s certainly the case here. I just think that their work has been compromised by some bad choices or decisions by those higher up, and have only attached their names to the ignominious Worst awards for clarity.

Case in point: last year I selected Anthony Dod Mantle’s work on Slumdog Millionaire as the Worst Cinematography of the year, knowing full well that he is a remarkable cinematographer with a long list of great projects behind him. However, I thought his work on Slumdog was hideous. That was either because of choices he made, or because of decisions made by director Danny Boyle. Saying someone’s work represented the worst cinematography or editing of the year is not meant as a diss against them personally. It’s just a way of saying that their work here was not up-to-scratch, for any number of reasons. I’m sure this little Get-Out Clause will make everyone feel so much better about what I say. [/delusion]

Another thing. Some of the technical categories such as Production Design and FX are there to praise more than one person or FX company, but for brevity’s sake, I’ve chosen to mention just the most prominent names responsible. Certainly, big FX movies feature work from dozens of different FX houses, and I feel really bad for just choosing to mention the one or two biggest names involved. If the movie is on the FX list or the Production Design list, rest assured I liked all of the work done on those movies, and everyone who worked on them deserve praise. My apologies for not going through every name. Just know that I am filled with respect and gratitude for all of the work done on those movies.

Right, on with the show, and I start with a completely unsurprising choice…

Best Director: Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)

Honorable Mentions:

Gaspar Noe (Enter The Void)
Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
Armando Iannucci (In The Loop)
Sam Raimi (Drag Me To Hell)
Jacques Audiard (A Prophet)

Best Screenplay: Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Ian Martin, Tony Roche (In The Loop)

Honorable Mentions:

Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)
Scott Z. Burns (The Informant!)
Greg Mottola (Adventureland)
Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Thomas McCarthy (Up)
Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach (Fantastic Mr. Fox)

Best Editing: Jeffrey Ford, Paul Rubell (Public Enemies)

Best Soundtrack: Joe Hisaishi – Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea

Honorable Mentions:

Elliot Goldenthal (Public Enemies)
Alexandre Desplat (A Prophet)
Michael Giacchino (Star Trek)
Michael Giacchino (Up)
Mark Mothersbaugh (Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs)

Best Use of Music: Street Fighting Man - Rolling Stones (During the Terrible Tractors segment of Fantastic Mr. Fox)

Best Visual Effects: WETA / ILM (Avatar)

Honorable Mentions:

Uncharted Territory / Digital Domain / Many many many other FX workshops (2012)
BUF (Enter The Void)
Digital Domain / ILM (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen)
ILM / Digital Domain (Star Trek)
Image Engine / The Embassy Visual Effects / Zoic Studios (District 9)

Best Production Design: Rick Carter / Robert Stromberg (Avatar)

Honorable Mentions:

Scott Chambliss (Star Trek)
Jess Gonchor (A Serious Man)
David Wasco (Inglourious Basterds)
Alex McDowell (Watchmen)
Denise Pizzini (Black Dynamite)

Best Cinematography: Anthony Dod Mantle (Antichrist)

Honorable Mentions:

Dante Spinotti (Public Enemies)
Robbie Ryan (Fish Tank)
Benoît Debie (Enter The Void)
Morten Søborg (Valhalla Rising)
Steve Yedlin (The Brothers Bloom)

Funniest Cinematography: Shawn Maurer (Black Dynamite)

Most Gimmicky Cinematography: Dan Mindel (Star Trek)

I’m not sure whether I liked or disliked Mindel and Abrams’ insistence on using lens flares in about 89% of the movie. All I know is nothing else looked like it this year, for better or worse.

Best Cinematography Wasted On A Terrible, Uncinematic Movie: Caleb Deschanel (My Sister’s Keeper)

Best Sound Design: Ben Burtt (Star Trek)

Burtt, who last year excelled himself with his incredible work on Wall-E, did another great job this year in redesigning the sound effects from the original series of Star Trek. At once retro and futuristic, familiar and new, his work here was a joy to listen to. Here’s a fascinating interview with the great man.

Runner-Up: Ken Yasumoto / Thomas Bangalter (Enter The Void)

Immersive, ambient, constantly in flux. Yasumoto and Bangalter’s audio work here is as impressive as the visual work done by the rest of the crew.

Worst Director: Phil Claydon (Lesbian Vampire Killers) (The rest of the movie is exactly like this except more blue, to denote night-time.)

Dishonorable Mentions:

Lee Daniels (Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire)
Steve Carr (Paul Blart: Mall Cop)
Robert Luketic (The Ugly Truth)
Chris Columbus (I Love You, Beth Cooper)
Richard Curtis (The Boat That Rocked)

Worst Screenplay: David Benioff / Skip Woods (X-Men Origins: Wolverine)

Dishonorable Mentions:

Paul Hupfield / Stewart Williams (Lesbian Vampire Killers)
Justin Marks (Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li)
Brandon Camp / Mike Thompson (Love Happens)
Brian Helgeland (The Taking of Pelham 123)
Richard Curtis (The Boat That Rocked)

Worst Editing: Jeff Freeman (Paul Blart: Mall Cop)

Worst Use of Music: Sabotage – Beastie Boys (Star Trek)

Worst Cinematography: Russell Carpenter (The Ugly Truth)

Dishonorable Mentions:

David Higgs (Lesbian Vampire Killers)
Ken Seng (Obsessed)
Tim Suhrstedt (All About Steve)
Robert McLachlan (Dragonball Evolution)
Danny Cohen (The Boat That Rocked)

Most Annoying Sound Design: Chang-seop Kim and Suk-won Kim (Thirst)

No offense to either sound designer. They did exactly what was asked of them by director Chan-park Wook. Unfortunately that meant two hours of slurping sounds. After about five minutes it became unbearable. Then came the gristly snapping sounds. ::feels ill remembering it::

Worst Directorial Decision: The Nigerian Gangsters – Neill Blomkamp (District 9)

Blomkamp and co-screenwriter Terri Tatchell hobbled their movie with the controversial decision to depict the Nigerian gangs ruling the District 9 slum as cannibalistic criminals. The Nigerian government took steps to ban the movie in their country, and debate over the potentially racist overtones of this depiction detracted from Blomkamp and Tatchell’s message about the venality of all humans no matter what their race. Certainly the cannibalism of Nigerian gangs is meant to be equated with the white South African’s fondness for vivisection, and Wikus’ treatment by both his white compatriots and the dreadful gang leader Obesandjo is similar, but did Blomkamp have to make them specifically Nigerian? Wouldn’t he have managed to make the same point if he had just had a generic gang in District 9? Or is that just a mealy-mouthed way for me to feel a bit better about this depiction, by making it diffuse instead of specific?

When I left the cinema my overall positive experience of the movie was tempered by this one directorial decision. Though Blomkamp has been bluff about it (to this blogger’s disgust), his choice — whether wrong in my eyes or right in his — has lingered in my mind ever since. I don’t think I’ll ever be comfortable with it. Maybe that was the point, to shock this liberal out of his complacency instead of just giving me an easy, toothless fix of self-congratulatory righteous anger against the evils of racism, as the utterly empty Blind Side did. Nevertheless, it left a bad taste in my mouth. He got so much else right, but I can’t help but fear he went too far on this one point.

Runner-Up: Endless Starfuckery, Nepotism, and Navel-Gazing – Judd Apatow (Funny People)

There’s a really good 105-minute-long movie hidden inside Funny People. A really good movie that manages to capture the exact James-L.-Brooksian aura that Judd Apatow was trying for. Sadly it’s buried under endless, pointless cameos, home videos, and poorly edited introspection. Some critics complained that the movie changes tone and direction too drastically once Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen turn up on Leslie Mann’s doorstep, and Apatow should therefore cut a lot out of those scenes, but to be honest there is more interesting and funny material in the final hour than there is in the previous six months or however long that shit is. If Apatow had tightened the first part of the movie up, he could still have retained the observations about the uncertain and insecure life of the comedian and still have that entertaining plot about chasing your past. It was a movie we liked a lot, but damn if it wasn’t a frustrating experience.

Best Poster:

Runner-Up:

Worst Poster:

Most Sexist Poster:

Runner-Up:

Best Response To Said Sexist Poster: From The Frisky…

Strangest And Worst Poster Change: First poster for Moon…

…and the second, uglier poster for Moon

Nastiest But Most Accurate Poster That Reduces A Complex Work Of Art Down To A Single Controversial Moment: The Australian poster for Antichrist

Best Promotional Campaign: District 9

Now lauded as the movie launched by Twitter, it was a perfectly judged idea to screen the entire movie to fans and journalists at the San Diego Comic-Con. Journalists were forced to observe an embargo on full reviews, but the word spread via Twitter and Facebook, and it wasn’t long before the film rolled into theatres on a tidal wave of viewer-generated hype and enthusiasm. Paramount did a similar thing by showing Star Trek at the Alamo Drafthouse to an audience primed for a screening of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, but that was a film that owed much of its success to a typical PR blitz on top of a bunch of very enthusiastic reviews. Sony Pictures used a smaller promotional budget with greater skill, building word of mouth through that first screening, creating funny teaser posters (a necessity considering how the movie had no name recognition and no well-known stars), and airing thrilling and mysterious TV spots. District 9 is a good enough movie to deserve its high box-office take, but it was the beautifully judged PR campaign that really pushed it over the edge.

Worst Promotional Campaign: Inglourious Basterds

Hey look everyone! Quentin Tarantino has made another of his mad pastiches of genre cinema from the past! There’s a comedy Hitler and Brad Pitt’s all silly and there’s gonna be a ton of violence of action all the way through! It’ll do for WWII movies what Kill Bill Vol. 1 did for martial arts movies! Yeeeeeeeee-hah! Except not. Tarantino’s maturity has been hidden behind some entertainingly silly post-modern pyrotechnics for a while now, but his intellectualism has been bubbling up to the surface. The most dramatic example of this is the difference between the Grindhouse and non-Grindhouse cuts of Death Proof. While the former moves faster and works well enough as an exploitation piece with a nifty sting in the tale, the longer version features much subtext about both groups of women targeted by Stuntman Mike and their relationship to him. It’s a slower movie but a much richer one.

Inglourious Basterds is richer still, and looks and feels nothing like the action-packed diversion the trailers and posters make it seem. The PR campaign also plays up the Basterds as the main characters when in fact they’re mostly secondary to the main plots involving Landa, Dreyfus, Hicox, and Zoller. Though enough people liked it enough to make it a reasonably sized hit, who knows whether it might have made even more money if it had pre-empted the oft-heard complaint that Brad Pitt wasn’t in it enough. Or maybe it worked perfectly in getting bums on seats? What do I know? I’m just a shlub with a blog.

Okay. If there is any more list-making to be done, it’ll be haphazard, even more trivial, and will arrive whenever I can get around to it. I’d forget about it but the world must know what I considered to be the best insult of the year.

I just ran across this amazing web site which features great video interviews conducted by Michael Coleman:  soundworkscollection.com

WALL•E è un film del 2008, il nono lungometraggio d’animazione realizzato da Pixar Animation Studios in coproduzione con Walt Disney Pictures, diretto da Andrew Stanton (già regista per la Pixar di Alla ricerca di Nemo, con il quale vinse il premio Oscar come miglior film d’animazione).Il protagonista del film è il robot WALL-E, unico abitante di un pianeta Terra inquinato, pieno di immondizie e di conseguenza abbandonato dall’umanità. Il compito di WALL-E è proprio quello di ripulire il pianeta, compito a cui adempie diligentemente per più di settecento anni, finché un giorno non scende dal cielo una robot di nome EVE che lo farà innamorare, e in nome di questo amore vivranno un’avventura che cambierà il loro destino e quello dell’umanità.

Leggi altre notizie su: | Animazione | Fantascienza | Avventura | Commedia | Andrew Stanton | Ben Burtt | Elissa Knight | Jeff Garlin

MILD SPOILERS AHEAD

I know it’s a bit late to talk about Wall-E since it’s already been released in 2008. But I saw it the last weekend again. Don’t ask me how often I’ve seen it. All I can say is countless times (like the original Star Wars episodes).

Wall-E is such an endearing, lovable and funny movie. The lead character Wall-E behaves like one of those old silent film characters: kind of naive, clumsy, funny, not saying much (if all) and hoping to find love.

Wall-E pays some homages to Apple, other movies and the scientific world. Some of the ones I noticed are: After Wall-E powers himself with a solar cell you can hear the Apple Macintosh start-up sound. Inside Wall-Es abode is an iPod. When Wall-E flies into space and through the debris belt around Earth you can spot the very first artificial satellite ‘Sputnik’ as it gets stuck on his head. While Wall-E and the spaceship pass the Moon you can see the descent stage of the Apollo lunar module and the Lunar Rover.

The absolutely grand sound effects were created by Academy Award winner Ben Burtt, whom you might know from Star Wars. Fred Willard performed the role of the Buy ‘n Large CEO Shelby Forthright. I always liked Fred, though I can’t remember the movies in which I saw him.

I laughed tears, when the Captain of the Axiom, probably for the first time of his life, tried to stand on his own two feed and attacked the autopilot. At the same time Richard Strauss’ ‘Also sprach Zarathustra’ played. This time it was a salute to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.

I don’t have much to say about the visual art Pixar designed for this movie. Just gorgeous, splendid, superb, wonderful, grand, impressive, awe-inspiring, awesome, amazing, stunning, breathtaking (that’s all my Thesaurus spits out).

Pixar, what a great animation studio! I love their movies.

Matthew Wood : Supervising Sound Editor at Skywalker

I’ve just watched these 2 videos from HDFilmtools.com. Actually there should be 3 parts of this interview but there’re only 2 so far. It’s Matthew Wood, Supervising Sound Editor at Skywalker Sound, talked about his career. He also talked about gears he used. Many things he used in his early day I’ve never known before. That because I grew up in digital age.

In the second part of this interview, Wood talked more about his role for Wall-E which he worked together with Ben Burtt, and for Star Wars : The Clone Wars. These are interesting videos for those who are interested in sound design for animation and game.

Links :

• Part 1 : http://hdfilmtools.com/2008/10/matthew-wood-supervising-sound-editor-skywalker-sound/
• Part 2 : http://hdfilmtools.com/2008/10/matthew-wood-supervising-sound-editor-skywalker-sound-part-ii/

Building Worlds From The Sound Up

WALL-E Special Features Animation Sound Design: Building Worlds From The Sound Up. This is the name of video clips in Youtube I’ve just watch. It’s behind-the-scene documentary from Wall-E. It reveals who Ben Burtt is, how he works, the history of sound design and many many more.

These videos make me fall deeper in passion of sound design. It’s not only to make sound that suits. But understanding everything on screen is a must. And again, there’re a lot of “The Art of Lie” showing in these videos. What those guys did at Disney almost 70 years ago still attract me today. Spending 20 minutes watching these 2 videos is worthwhile, inspired and educative.

Unfortunately, the videos can’t be embedded. Please have a look following these links.

• Part 1 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A6z8QkVHk4
• Part 2 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl7lFPZeIOE

By far, I’d say that my dream job is being a sound designer for animation, game and other visual media.

Wall-e e Eve

Il pianeta Terra è desolato e deserto. Della civiltà umana restano solo città disabitate e immense torri fatte di rifiuti. Gli esseri umani sono fuggiti, vivono su una grande astronave con tutti i comfort, coccolati da robot premurosi. Sulla terra si muove un robottino, forse ultimo abitante rimasto, che pazientemente svolge il suo ormai inutile compito: prende i rifiuti, li comprime trasformandoli in cubi e usa i cubi per costruire delle grandi strutture. È Wall-e, macchina dotata di un cuore poetico e dolce. Wall-e vive in un container che ha trasformato in una sorta di magazzino dove accumula cose utili e cose che, semplicemente, gli sembrano belle. Così, tra pezzi di ricambio che egli usa per sé, troviamo forchette e cucchiai di plastica, accendini, bambole e ogni sorta di rimasuglio della civiltà. Con lui vive un animale domestico inconsueto: uno scarafaggio. Un giorno Wall-e trova una piccola pianta. Alla pianta sembra interessata anche Eve, un robot-sonda di cui il nostro eroe si innamora follemente. L’amore per Eve porterà Wall-e nello spazio e gli permetterà di salvare la Terra facendola rinascere. Naturalmente Wall-e troverà dei nemici da affrontare come il perfido pilota automatico dell’astronave, ma incontrerà anche una serie di amici, robot e umani.

Wall-e è un film poetico. I dialoghi sono ridotti al minimo, ma lo spettatore non fatica a capire le emozioni dei

la locandina del film.

protagonisti grazie a una colonna sonora eccezionale. Tra le varie cose segnaliamo il fatto che saranno i robot guasti, quelli che non funzionano secondo i canoni, a salvare la Terra. Forse un’allusione a chi non si adatta alle regole imposte dal potere? Sicuramente un messaggio chiaro che dice come gli esclusi e gli emarginati siano in realtà un’immensa ricchezza.

La grafica è bella, elegante. Stupenda la robottina Eve dalla siluette slanciata e raffinata e bello il protagonista che con la sua forma cubica e i suoi occhi a goccia riesce ad esprimere pienamente il suo dolce e tenero carattere.

Il film è del 2008 ed è stato diretto da Andrew Stanton per la Pixar Animation Studios in collaborazione con la Walt Diney Pictures. Nel DVD poi ci sono contenuti speciali interessanti tra cui un bellissimo reportage sugli effetti sonori del film (realizzati dal suond designer Ben Burtt) e due cortometraggi, uno ispirato al film stesso e uno che narra le disavventure di un prestigiatore alle prese con il suo coniglietto arrabbiato.

Consigliato a tutti, ma forse soprattutto agli adulti perché Wall-e fa riflettere.

Il cinema è un medium visivo ma anche sonoro, e a parte le roboanti colonne musicali di solito ci dimentichiamo quanto siano importanti gli effetti sonori e, in generale, i suoni in un film per completare la nostra esperienza di immersione. Se l’universo di Star Wars è così ricco, un grande merito va anche al sound designer Ben Burtt che tirò fuori dal cilindro tutta una serie di effetti prima inesistenti, dai motori delle astronavi ai linguaggi degli alieni. E che dire dell’inconfondibile ronzio della spada laser? Burtt ne racconta la genesi qui:

Dell’importanza di sonorità caratteristiche se ne sono ricordati anche Michael Bay e il suo producer Steven Spielberg al momento di creare l’universo di Transformers. Quel ronzio basso, graffiante, metallico che accompagna le esplosioni è diventato un marchio di fabbrica – al punto da essere già imitato più o meno in Terminator Salvation.

p.s. no, non parlerò male di Transformers 2 – la vendetta del caduto. Una visione veramente estenuante e mi viene mal di testa solo a pensare di scriverne.

Title: Wall-E
Year: 2008
Director: Andrew Stanton
Writers: Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon, story by Stanton & Pete Docter
Starring: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin
Music: Thomas Newman
Distinctions: Oscar for best animated feature; currently #42 on IMDb’s Top 250
Length: 98 minutes
Synopsis: a trash-compacting robot falls in love
How I saw it: in the theater, June 2008; on video (have on DVD)
Subjective Rating: 10/10 (Favorite of my favorites).
Objective Rating: 10/10 c. 4.0/4 (Great).

Amazing. After seeing it the first time I wrote: “Probably the perfect movie.” Maybe that’s a bit strong (but maybe not). It is a bit strange that I seem to be the target audience; someone making a movie that is exactly the movie I want to see is pretty much the last thing I would have expected to ever happen.

O HAI, I IZ A KAML. MY MOUF LOOKZ LIK A PUPPIT.

Who knew camels were adorable and hilarious? Here we have a fantastic photo essay of a baby camel trying to kill a Tupperware. Really, click this one. It’s great. (BTW, “cushing” means lying down, and the reason the owner hasn’t ridden the camel yet is because his joints are too soft to safely bear extra weight. But she sits on him while he’s cushing to socialize and gentle him).

Also, did you know camels make a really unpleasant and hilarious sound when you shove them into a car? It’s true!

WHY ARE THOSE CAMELS IN THAT CAR, you may be saying. Well, according to the YouTube blurb, “A Bedouin resident of the Negev managed to complete the inconceivable feat when he stuffed two camels into his car in order to transport them to the West Bank Judea.” Obviously.

Apparently Ben Burtt (I had to look that up; originally I typed Burtt Bird) used sped-up camel braying as the sound of Tauntauns in Star Wars.

If you need more, there are many more camel photos here.
All via Metafilter.

Der Tontechniker und Sounddesigner Ben Burtt ist für viele “klassische” Filmeffektsounds verantwortlich. Diese entstanden in der Regel ohne Synthesizer oder Computer. Klar, wer hatte sowas schon in den Siebzigern und Achtzigern? Also musste er Sounds mit dem Tonband aufnehmen und anschliessend mischen, um etwas so futuristisches wie ein Lichtschwert hinzukriegen.

Das summt übrigens wie ein alter Fernseher zwischen zwei Kanälen plus ein Filmprojektor im Leerlauf. Chewbacca dagegen wurde aus Hunden, Löwen und Bären zusammengemischt. Der TIE Fighter mit seinem charakteristischen Heulen verdankt sein furchteinflössendes Fluggeräusch einem trompetenden Elefanten, plus dem Fahrgeräusch von Burts Auto auf einer nassen Strasse.

Wall-E spricht dagegen schon mit Burtts eigener Stimme, plus sehr viel Verfremdung via Computer.

(moviesonline via neatorama)

Ben Burtt is the sound designer behind some of cinema’s most iconic sounds – the light saber, Darth Vader’s voice, the X-Wing fighter, Chewbacca, and all the other brilliant effects from Star Wars.

Not only that, but he’s also worked on many other Hollywood films from the Dark Crystal to Wall-E. When a friend suggested we went to a talk at the National Film Theatre given by Burtt I leapt at the chance.

Ben showed how the sound design for Star Wars had come about, not just through his own personal interests, but through the overall evolution of film in the 20th century.

He started with a truly strange clip made by Edison in 1894 – showing a man playing a violin with two men waltzing together in front of him – which apparently is the earliest surviving film that has synchronised sound. Being cumbersome and expensive it didn’t go mainstream until the late 1920’s. Everyone knows The Jazz Singer was the earliest talkie, but Burtt showed a clip from a Don Juan film dating from a couple of years earlier with synchronised sword clash sounds in a fight sequence. Ok, they sounded like knitting needles clashing, and the whole picture was absurd to the modern viewer, but it was a small seed leading to the modern action movie genre.

After that, Burtt presented some of the influences and ideas behind Star Wars: a magnificant 70mm excerpt from Lawrence of Arabia (man, that film needs to be seen on that scale on that print – absoutely extraordinary. With regard to Star Wars – think Tantuine), some Tarzan clips of Cheetah (think Chewbacca), and Ray Harryhausen’s Jason and the Argonauts (fantastical and alien creatures)

Then we got into how he actually made the sounds for Star Wars. Now, we’ve all read bits and bobs about the sound of the light saber, etc, but this is what he said during the talk and therefore pretty much the definitive methods for creating these iconic sounds:

The Light Saber
Is in fact comprised of two sounds: 1) The flywheel from a film projector Burtt used to operate. This flywheel which when interfered with would slow down and speed up, producing a very musical change in pitch. On it’s own sounded very much like the hum of a transformer, but very smooth. Burtt said it was a nice sound but too smooth to match the aggression of the lightsaber so required another sound layered with it: 2) the rasp of a transformer from a tv set. A very buzzy, clicky transformer sound that sits over the top of the sound: you can hear the discrete clicks of it in the film layered over the top of the smooth swooping noises of the flywheel. This layered sound was then played by an amp in front of which Burtt waved a microphone mimicking the swoop of the lightsabers in the film, producing a doppler effect on the original layered sound. Voila!

Darth Vader
Excitingly Burtt recreated this for us on the spot using a scuba oxygen tank. The intense breathing sound of Darth Vader is the microphone placed inside the respirator while breaths are taken through the respirator. Produces that distinctive electronic rushing of air. Talking through it sounds just like Darth Vader! We applauded! Apparently lots more sounds were produced to accompany Darth Vader to simulate all aspects of his life support system, but were deemed too much, and the respirator sound is the only one that made it through to the final cut.

Chewbacca
This was a young bear in a Californian zoo that had been deprived of food for a day and then teased with food. The mournful and pitiful sounds of Chewbacca are that bear! We heard the original recordings and they are really not that different from how they ended up in the film. Poor bear – we saw a little film of him. But it suffered only a little to contribute to a great film.

Laser weapons
If you’ve ever twanged taut metal or been near railway tracks when there’s an approaching train, you’ll know that long stretches of metal resonate sound in a very pleasing way. Burtt auditioned many high tension metal guylines of pylons, and found the perfect one somewhere in the desert. Tapped with a wedding ring, it produces that lovely recoiling sound as the impact zaps up and down the metal. Recorded using a contact microphone.

Mosquito man
You know – the funny alien creature who tells the storm troopers where to find Luke. He has a sort of extended gas mask affair like a snout. Anyway, it’s a vocoder seeded by some Harrison Ford out-takes that Burtt found on the cutting room floor (or rather the bin of discarded audio)

R2-D2
Giving a robot a tangible character when it’s really just a glorified wastepaper bin is a challenge. It was solved using great sound design. Burtt avoided synthesizers for the most part on Star Wars, but used one for R2-D2. He said that he would come up with equivalent lines in English for what R2-D2 would be ’saying’ and twiddle the filter and other knobs of a synth whilst reading the lines out loud, to try and articulate the words using the synth. He obviously got quite good at it! A similar challenge was required for the voice of Wall-E, which Burtt also produced. That seems to have been created using a formant/pitch correction type process.

Space-ships
Burtt and his team spent lots of time at vintage air shows recording turbo-prop aeroplanes (one of which crashed – I think he said no one was killed). Those recordings were then processed and pitch-shifted down to produce most of the spacecraft noises. For the record I think the hollow open roar of the X-wing fighter is one of my favourite sounds ever. I must pitch shift some turbo prop plane recordings!

I think one of the reasons the sound effects are so successful in Star Wars – and Ben Burtt certainly says this was their intention – is that they are mainly based on real-world sounds. This gives them a root in the world and a richness that can’t always be achieved by electronic means alone (certainly not in the mid 70’s anyway) Chewbacca sounds like a real creature because he’s really a bear, and spaceships sound like spaceships because they’re real military aircraft*.

*apart from the fact that spaceships wouldn’t make a noise in the vacuum of space. But then Burtt also pointed out that tyres always screech in the movies – even when driving through oil or mud. Film is hyper-reality, so let’s not split hairs…

Of course, the sound design is just one element of many that makes Star Wars the epoch defining film that it turned out to be – John William’s score, the primal tale of good vs evil, cool spaceships, maverick pilots, etc, etc – but it is an often overlooked factor – without good sound design we simply wouldn’t believe the fantastical things presented on screen.

Following Ben Burtt was a brief talk by Norman Wanstall, who is the British sound designer behind the early Bond films (Dr No, Goldfinger, etc), which Burtt said was a big influence on his work. Norman is a pleasing old school boffin type you could imagine working in the BBC Radiophonic workshop whilst wearing labcoat and tie. By a fun co-incidence, I’d just watched The Ipcress File the night before and then here was Norman who turned out to have also done the sound design on that too!

A Good Night Out!

Conversations by the water cooler at work usually tend to revolve around the previous night’s tv line-up or the latest headlines – depending on where you work.  Even at my office, those are formidable topics at any given moment.  But, one afternoon last week the topic up for discussion was memorable Family Guy one-liners which some how evolved into sound effects used in television shows and movies.  Interestingly enough, we were all on the same page before the first example was even thrown out – we all were about to reference those crazy sound effects that you think you hear in just about every single thing you’ve ever seen.  The one I’d noticed and triggered the next phase of conversation with was that female voice you hear on a police radio as the squad car pulls up to scene X.  Then someone mentioned the Star Wars scream (as he referenced) it, so out of curiosity, we turned to Google so that we could bring what we were referencing to life (and also just to confirm that we weren’t a. crazy and b. hearing things).

Turns out, that Star Wars scream is actually called the Wilhelm scream and sure enough – we weren’t crazy.  The search revealed that not only was it used multiple times; it was used so often that people have enough material to compile two and a half to four minute long montages!  Films like Sin City, Batman, Lord of the Rings, Team America, Toy Story, Kill Bill and to bring it full circle, even Family Guy has paid tribute to the Wilhelm scream.

So where did the name come from?  To find out, you need to go back to the 1950’s.  The first film, of the now 140 which use the effect, was made in 1951 and was called Distant Drums, which eventually saw a number of soldiers get attacked by an alligator slinking around in the murky everglade waters.  A total of six screams were recorded after the scene to be cut in later, under the recording title “man getting bit by an alligator, and he screams.”  Ultimately, it would be the fifth of the six recorded that would be used in that part, though takes four and six, along with a repeat of five were used earlier in the same movie.

The Wilhelm’s fame came along with Ben Burtt who was the sound designer for the Star Wars films.  Burtt re-discovered the sound effect mislabelled as, “Man being eaten by alligator,” and decided it was perfect for how a Stormtrooper would sound falling off a ledge in Star Wars IV: A New Hope.  For the sake of reference, it was renamed the Wilhelm scream after Private Wilhelm, who was a character in 1953’s The Charge at Feather River.  But that still doesn’t answer who’s voice it is.

Burtt took it a step further to find out and after going through papers at Warner Brothers, was able to determine that it likely belonged to singer/actor Sheb Wooley who had an uncredited role in Distant Drums but was also called back in a small group of actors to record a series of vocal additions during post-production.

Bird's Nest Soup

Later this same day, over some celebratory cake for a colleague, the conversation turned to rare delicacies that were really ‘bizarre’ (not the disgusting delicacies – everyone talks about those).  One of the folks in our office happens to have an Asian background being originally from Hong Kong and a long time ago, enlightened me about Bird’s Nest soup.  So, this is what I decided to offer up to the group during this conversation.  This soup has been made for 400 years and what’s a bit bizarre about it, besides its name?  The fact that it’s actually made from a bird’s nest!  The swiftlet to be exact.  They’re mostly collected throughout Thailand from White-nest and Black-nest swiftlets who live in caves and can generate a nest in 35 days.  The highest destination markets for these nests are Hong Kong and the United States where a kilogram of the white nest would go for about $2,000.00 USD and the red-blood nest would be about $10,000.00 USD.  Per serving, that translates to $30.00 – $100.00 a bowl!

Swiftlet Nesting House, Thailand

The industry has become so huge that concrete nesting houses have been built to give more venues for the birds to make the valuable nests in.  While it’s appearance looks somewhat like a prison, investigating the species of bird revealed that they’re not the least bit endangered.  The soup is said to have health benefits as well that include aiding digestion, raising libido, improving voice, alleviating asthma, and improving overall focus and immune support.

From screams to soup, there’s a lot more that you can talk about with your coworkers now around the water cooler besides the most recent episode of your favourite primetime show.

But, if these two items aren’t good enough conversation starters, you could combine them.  How does that make sense?  Check out this bird that has the vocal range to mimic everything around it.  It’s called the Lyre Bird, and this clip was around the office following the swiftlet / bird’s nest soup discussion as another ‘interesting bird’.  The debate is still continuing at work as to whether or not the chainsaw stretches the truth too far beyond belief, but I think this bird’s legit and awesome either way!

Yet another parody, this one coming from two of my favourite films… – Jason

Many years ago I dragged the honey to a talk given by Ben Burtt, a top film sound designer best known for his work on the Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies. Even though he’s uncredited, Burtt even worked on the original Death Race 2000 film released in 1975. The upshot is, if you ever chased a sibling around the house with a simulated laser rifle going, “kewww…kewww,” you owe Ben a debt of gratitude.

After his talk he made himself available for anyone who wanted to ask a question of him or make a comment. Since I was a big Star Wars fan, I queued up with the intention of  thanking him for all the wonderful work he did on those films. Unfortunately, I was at the end of the line, and Burtt had spent a lot of time greeting and talking with other audience members. By the time I got to him he just wanted to go back to the hotel, and he gave me one of those, “What the hell do I care for your gratitude?” looks. Even now I know the man was tired, but instantly my enthusiasm for his work cooled.

Of course, Burtt’s career didn’t need my approval, and he even went on to win an Academy Award for his work on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. So, when he lost out to The Dark Knight during this year’s ceremony, I gave an inward “serves him right” shrug. That is, until listening to a discussion on This Week In Tech set me straight. Burtt was up for sound editing on Wall-E, you know, the movie with the cute little robots. The movie that begins with about 30 minutes in which you enter a world created not only by fantastic visuals but also by what you hear. All of that beautiful animation, brought to life with all of the clicks, whirrs, and pings created by Ben Burtt. Oh, and he voiced the damn robot to boot.

So, I’m now willing to think more kindly about Ben Burtt and his obvious talent as illustrated in the clip below. And, hey, Mr. Burtt, now that we’re friends again, if you’ve still got any pull with the folks at Pixar, I’d love to talk with them about any upcoming editing projects they might have.