We are in the mid-1970s, a young man in his thirties is climbing a mountain in Pennsylvania with a backpack on his back and is about to make a special discovery.
Ben Burt has allowed himself a few days off before returning to work on a still-rather-unclear sci-fi project: a Star Wars movie that appears to be set in a galaxy far, far away.
He is a sound engineer and has just started his career. His mission is to create an entire sound environment from scratch to embody the acoustics of a world that can only exist on the big screen. Bring to life the roar of a spaceship, the vibration of an imaginary weapon, the roar of an alien monster.
Ben Barth doesn’t know it yet when he undertakes to walk under a large radio tower perched atop a mountain he overlooks, but that day, he’s about to discover one of cinema’s most legendary sounds.
The sound you all know and which has probably been ringing in your ears since early childhood when you discovered your first Star Wars. The laser weapons of Luke, Han Solo and the Imperial Stormtroopers roar as they clash in the halls of the Death Star.
The phenomenal success of the first feature film in the saga after many years Star WarsIn the audio commentary for the Blu-Ray box, Ben Bart explains how he created this special sound, starting with the famous hiking challenge:
“I was walking on top of a mountain in the Pocono Mountains and I passed under a radio tower that had big cables attached to the ground.”she said. “My backpack got caught in one of these cables, and as I was walking past, I heard an unusual sound. And immediately I thought, ‘That’s a laser gun!’ It was a sound from another world.”
After receiving this revelation, as soon as his leave was over, Ben Bart then addressed himself to repeat the voice he had heard.
“When I got back to California, I went for a walk around the Los Angeles area, hitting the wires of different radio towers to get the perfect sound. I finally found the right radio tower in the Mojave Desert near Palmdale.”He explained, noting that he focused on a particular cable that lacked the large polystyrene balls normally used to reduce wind pressure.
“I found a specific cable on this tower, beat various pieces of metal on it and got the basic sound of a laser gun.”
After its creation, this special echo, used hundreds of times in each episode of Star Wars, quickly became one of the symbols of the saga. In addition to this blaster noise, Ben Bart is also the inventor of the legendary lightsabers, Chewbacca’s roar or the buzz of TIE fighters.
(Re)discover our video dedicated to Chewbacca…
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
