Iconic Moments In Sound Design
(4 min read)
Sound design is one of the many aspects of filmmaking that has been under the radar for a long time. Sure, there’s an Oscar for it, but for people waiting to see who is going to win Best Picture, it’s one of those “skippable” categories with speeches that get played off by the orchestra.
We’re big sound design appreciators and aficionados here at The License Lab and take any opportunity to share that love for the craft of cooking up the previously unimagined. Just check out our post on the work of Dallas Taylor and his glorious podcast 20,000 Hertz called “Exploring the Sonic World of Story.” We investigated select episodes that explained sounds from Star Wars and Seinfeld while geeking out over legend Ben Burtt’s inspired, emotion-driven sounds and Jonathan Wolff's rule-breaking sitcom music. (We did not, however, make any comments about the shared repetition of the last letter in their respective last names. Opportunity missed.)
Enter INDEPTH Sound Design, another show that shares the stories behind incredible sound design by breaking down these tales into digestible bits for directors, screenwriters, aspiring sound designers, and anyone who finds this kind of auditory experience interesting.
One of the goals of INDEPTH is to “remove the mystique from the abstract art of sound design.” This is accomplished by adding the visual component to the integral sound design and experiencing these iconic moments in conjunction with a deep dive into their sonic DNA.
The first one that caught our eyes (and ears, of course) is the Jurassic Park episode, as explained by award-winning sound designer Gary Rydstrom.
He takes us, quite literally, step-by-step through the entrance of the terrifying Tyrannosaurus Rex while the unsuspecting likes of Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill, some annoying kids, and the guy who gets eaten off the toilet all sit in their unpowered electric cars. From the first sonic boom step of the T-Rex to the addition of a baby elephant scream, Rydstrom details each pivotal moment while giving equal credit to Steven Spielberg for understanding how sound was instrumental in building the tension of the scene. Witnessing the narration along with the visuals allows for a deep appreciation of the marriage of the two mediums.
With numerous other episodes available featuring films like Saving Private Ryan, Inception, Indiana Jones, and so many others, we’d be remiss if we didn’t also mention the episode involving our friend Ben Burtt and his dissection of sounds from The Empire Strikes Back.
Star Wars fans are treated to more of Burtt’s ridiculous stories, like… recording LA traffic by sticking a microphone in a vacuum for snowspeeders on Hoth, making his father jump in the snow during the holidays to authentically capture the sound of a tauntaun collapsing and freezing to death, and so much more.
These stories only scratch the surface of the rich and creative decisions that have gone into the sound design for countless memorable productions. The impact may seem subtle for casual moviegoers as they stare at the screen and the performances of the actors, but without the ingenuity and story-driven art of sound designers like Rydstrom and Burtt, iconic moments in film lose their emotional impact and our collective cinematic experience would never be the same.
INDEPTH Sound Design is a one-man-operation from Mike James Gallagher, a sound designer and post-production professional in LA. If you love the content he’s creating, consider contributing to his Patreon page for the show.
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