As legendary and memorable as so many aspects of the Star Wars franchise are, it can be easy to gloss over some of the most important bits. No, not that one obscure character in the background of 2 scenes that a handful of fans insist is actually the most powerful and fearsome creature in the galaxy. This is about that oft-overlooked aspect of nearly every piece of media: the sound effects.
The team at Skywalker Sound may be some of the most crucial members of the Star Wars family, and even beyond. As the studio responsible for the sound effects heard in a galaxy far, far away as well as an ever-growing number of other projects and franchises, fans might not notice when they do everything right, but they definitely notice when they slip up. In a bittersweet irony, this means that this particular crew is hardly recognized. They're just that good. Also, they worked on Spaceballs. Yes, that Spaceballs.
They also absolutely adore the work they do, as shown by a new behind-the-scenes featurette released by Apple. The short documentary offers a glimpse at not only how many of these sounds are created and used, but just how passionate the team members are. Take, for instance, Bonnie Wild, whose work with Skywalker Sound includes The Mandalorian, The Last Jedi, and even Marvel Studios' recent Disney Plus hit Moon Knight. She takes a moment to share her own giddy enthusiasm for the work with viewers, pointing out a quirky sound effect she specifically tries to insert into every project. The unbridled smile she sports throughout the segment is infectious. "I think it's every little girl's dream," she says with an affectionate laugh, "to go make Star Wars sounds."
Other team members include Randy Thom, who worked on The Empire Strikes Back. He shows off a familiar-sounding metallic effect heard prominently during the AT-AT walker scene on Hoth. Ryan Frias brings up some R2-D2 sounds, at least one of which was likely heard during the character's brief cameo in Rogue One. But it's not all Star Wars. André Fenley, one of the minds behind the audio of Jurassic Park, proudly showcases one of the chilling dinosaur roars he came up with. This just further proves how important these aspects are to film and television, even if fans don't necessarily notice at the time.
"Sound designers actually create sounds from nothing," Fenley explains over footage of various sound designers capturing audio out in the world. "They're just playing, they're having fun. They're going out and recording the most weird things that you could think of, and they take those raw sounds and manipulate them and bend them and break them and turn them upside down and see what they get." The process described here is known as Foley, which is where sound designers basically find whatever they can in the real world to create sound effects that match what's being seen on the screen. It's how iconic sounds like laser blasts in Star Wars were created simply by striking the kinds of metal cables found around power lines and telephone poles.
The whole video is absolutely worth watching. If the addictive love for the art form shared by all the Skywalker Sound team members isn't enough, then surely the footage of the actual sounds being captured should be enticing to the average viewer. Skywalker Sound is responsible for making countless movies sound "right," and that's more than enough reason to give them some mad respect.
The Star Wars saga is now available on Disney Plus.
Source: Apple/YouTube