Benjamin Burtt Jr. (born July 12, 1948) is an American sound designer, film director, film editor, screenwriter, and voice actor. As a sound designer, his credits include the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film series, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), WALL-E (2008), and Star Trek (2009).
Burtt is notable for popularizing the Wilhelm scream in-joke and creating many of the iconic sound effects heard in the Star Wars film franchise, including the 'voice' of R2-D2, the lightsaber hum, the sound of the blaster guns, the heavy-breathing sound of Darth Vader, and creating the Ewoks’ language, Ewokese. Burtt was also the sound editor for WALL-E and performed the vocalizations of the titular character as well as other robots in the film.
Burtt has won four Academy Awards, two of which are Special Achievement Academy Awards. He has also directed numerous documentary films for IMAX and most notably the television series Young Indiana Jones on the episode "Attack of the Hawkmen." He also served as the editor on multiple episodes of the show and the Star Wars prequel trilogy.
Early life Burtt was born in Jamesville, New York, on July 12, 1948. The son of a chemistry professor at Syracuse University and a child psychologist, Burtt made films as a child, and later studied physics at Allegheny College, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1970.
Career
Early career Burtt made films during his time in college, and in 1970 won a National Student Film Festival for his war film entitled Yankee Squadron, reputedly after following exposure to classic aviation drama. He had previously made an amateur film at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, a living aviation museum in Red Hook, New York, under guidance from its founder, Cole Palen.
For his work on the special-effects film Genesis, Burtt won a scholarship to the University of Southern California, where he earned a master's degree in film production.
Sound designer Burtt pioneered many aspects of modern sound design, especially in the science-fiction and fantasy-film genres.Holman, Tomlinson. Sound for Film and Television. New York: Focal Press, 2010, p. 145. Before his work in the first Star Wars (now known as Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope) in 1977, science-fiction films tended to use electronic-sounding effects for futuristic devices. Burtt sought a more natural sound, blending in "found sounds" to create the effects. The lightsaber hum, for instance, was derived from a film projector idling combined with feedback from a broken television set, and the blaster effect started with the sound acquired from hitting a guy-wire on a radio tower with a hammer.
In the Star Wars series, part of R2-D2's beeps and whistles are Burtt's vocalizations, also made using an ARP 2600 synthesizer, as are some of the squawks made by the tiny holographic monsters on the Millennium Falcon spacecraft. In Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), Burtt's provided the voice for Lushros Dofine, captain of the Invisible Hand cruiser. The heavy breathing of Darth Vader was created by recording Burtt's own breathing in an old Dacor scuba regulator.
Burtt used the voice of an elderly lady that he had met in a photography shop for the voice of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. The woman's low pitch was the result of very heavy smoking, specifically Kool cigarettes. Burtt created the "voice" of the title character and many other robots in Pixar's film WALL-E (2008), about a lonely garbage-compacting robot. Additionally, Burtt is responsible for the sound effects in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008).
Burtt has a reputation for including a sound effect dubbed "the Wilhelm scream" in many of the movies he has worked on. Taken from a character named "Wilhelm" in the film The Charge at Feather River, the sound can be heard in a large number of films, including in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope when a stormtrooper falls into a chasm and in Raiders of the Lost Ark when a Nazi soldier falls off the back of a moving car.
One of Burtt's more subtle sound effects is the "audio black hole". In Attack of the Clones, Burtt's use of the audio black hole involved the insertion of a short interval of absolute silence in the audio track, just prior to the detonation of "seismic charges" fired at the escaping Jedi spaceship. The effect of this short (less than one second) of silence is to accentuate the resulting explosion in the mind of the listener. Burtt has recalled the source of this idea as follows: "I think back to where that idea might have come to me...I remember in film school a talk I had with an old retired sound editor who said they used to leave a few frames of silence in the track just before a big explosion. In those days they would 'paint' out the optical sound with ink. Then I thought of the airlock entry sequence in 2001. I guess the seeds were there for me to nourish when it came to the seismic charges."
Burtt was among the golden ears that critically reviewed the various audio compression systems that were proposed for the ATSC 1.0 digital television system.
A tongue-in-cheek homage to Burtt appears in the 1997 Activision PC game Zork: Grand Inquisitor - the spell 'Beburtt', which 'creates the illusion of inclement weather', plays dramatic thunderclap and rainfall sounds when cast.
Director, editor, and writer Burtt has directed several IMAX documentary films, including Blue Planet, Destiny in Space, and the Oscar-nominated Special Effects: Anything Can Happen. He edited the entire Star Wars prequel trilogy, and several episodes of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. Burtt also wrote several episodes of the 1980s Star Wars cartoon Droids.
Cameo appearances Burtt makes a cameo appearance in two of the Star Wars films as an extra. In Return of the Jedi, he appeared as Colonel Dyer, the Imperial officer who yells "Freeze!" before Han Solo knocks him off a balcony. The scream as Burtt falls is his own imitation of the Wilhelm scream that he popularized. In Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Burtt appears in the background of the scene where Palpatine arrives on Naboo; his character is named Ebenn Q3 Baobab, a reference to a Droids character.
Filmography
Film Title Year Credited as NotesDirectorWriter EditorSound designer OtherDeath Race 20001975 UncreditedThe Milpitas Monster1976 Special effects artistStar Wars1977 1997 & 2004 versionsSpecial dialogue and sound effectsInvasion of the Body Snatchers1978 Special sound effects creatorMore American Graffiti1979 Supervising sound editorThe Empire Strikes Back1980 1997 & 2004 versionsSupervising sound editorRaiders of the Lost Ark1981 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial1982 E.T. voice designerThe Dark Crystal Special sound effects creatorReturn of the Jedi1983 Appeared as Commander Dyer and voice of Tortured Power DroidIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom1984 The Adventures of André and Wally B. Short filmThe Dream Is Alive1985 Short filmSupervising sound designerHoward the Duck1986 Sound effects editorNutcracker: The Motion Picture Niagara: Miracles, Myths and Magic Short filmWillow1988 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade1989 Always Blue Planet1990 The True Story of Glory Continues The American Gangster1992 Destiny in Space1994 Co-directorSpecial Effects: Anything Can Happen1996 Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace1999 Supervising sound editorAppeared as Naboo CourierStar Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones2002 Supervising sound editorStar Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith2005 Supervising sound editorProvided voice for Lushros DofineMunich Supervising sound editorIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull2008 Supervising sound editorWALL-E2008 Provided voice for WALL-E / M-O / RobotsSupervising sound editorBURN-E Short filmProvided voice for WALL-EUp2009 UncreditedSpecial sound effects recordistStar Trek Sound editorSuper 82011 Supervising sound editorRed Tails2012 Supervising sound editorJohn Carter Sound consultationLincoln Star Trek Into Darkness2013 Supervising sound editorEscape from Planet Earth Additional sound designThe Signal2014 Star Wars: The Force Awakens2015 Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound2019 As himselfRay Gunnhttps://x.com/skywalkersound/status/20977570257323010982026
Television Title Year Credited as NotesDirectorWriter EditorSound designer OtherStar Wars Holiday Special1978 Television filmStar Wars: Droids1985–1986 Associate producerStory editorStories for 4 episodesTeleplay for episode "The Great Heep"Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers1988–1990 UncreditedSound effects editor (65 episodes)The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles1992–1996 Second unit director (2 episodes)Directed and teleplay episode "Attack of the Hawkmen"Star Wars: Forces of Destiny2017–2018
Video games WALL-E (2008) - WALL•E / M-O / Robots Lego The Incredibles (2018) - WALL•E Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (2019) - BD-1 Disney Dreamlight Valley (2023) - WALL•E Disney Speedstorm (2023) - WALL•E
Awards
Academy Awards Best Sound Effects Editing in 1989 for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Best Sound Effects Editing in 1982 for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Special Achievement for Sound Effects Editing in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Special Achievement for the creation of the alien, creature and robot voices in Star Wars (1977) Nominated for: Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing in 2008 for WALL-E Best Sound Effects Editing in 1999 for Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace Best Documentary Short Subject in 1996 for directing Special Effects: Anything Can Happen Best Sound in 1989 for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Best Sound Effects Editing in 1988 for Willow Best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing in 1983 for Return of the Jedi
Annie Awards Nominated: Voice Acting in a Feature Production in 2008 for WALL-E
Honorary awards Burtt was awarded the Doctor of Arts, honoris causa, by Allegheny College on May 9, 2004.
The Hollywood Post Alliance awarded him with The Charles S. Swartz Award for outstanding contributions to the field of post production.
In 2024, Burtt was recognized with the Vision Award Ticinomoda at the 77th Locarno Film Festival.
References
External links Skywalker Sound
Site detailing the history of The Wilhelm Scream Interview with Ben Burtt on Silicon Valley Radio Interview with Ben Burtt on Studio 360 about his career CineSource Magazine - Ben Burtt and the Sound of WALL-E