Soundman, Ben

My son, Geoffrey, is THE gift giver, especially for his female friends. Yesterday is no exception. He arranges with his friend, Lauren, who turned fourteen last week, to pick her up. He’s taking her to see Wall-E for her 2008 birthday present. I have learned that in this arena Geoffrey, all of eleven, knows best and it behooves me to follow his lead. However, much to his dismay I invite his sister, Nicole. She and I over the past month have been discussing our need to see this flick. He will live.

We pass between the four of us popcorn and soda. After the previews we’re looking at emptiness, thank goodness for free re-fills. We sit back in our seats, ready for entertainment. This film is no exception; Pixar, again, takes us to a place where the line of reality and animation are blurring.

I come home. I have to read about the birth of this film. Relationships, love, a craving for leisure and it’s ill effects, need to care for our surroundings are obvious thoughts fueling this film. But what is in Jim Morris’ head or Andrew Stanton of “Nemo” fame? What is their message? I read a polished newsfeed and I’m distracted from my pursuit. I am rabbit trailed down another path- the creation of the sounds for the film.

Sounds fascinate me and my boys as well. My older son, Chris, marvels me with his depiction of sounds indicative of keen listening. His brothers are following suit. There’s a lot of sound in this household of eight.

Though sounds intrigue me, when I watch movies I think nothing of them. The sounds accomplish their goal in augmenting, highlighting, and supporting the message of the film. While watching a movie I could care less about their origins. Sound happens. Or so I thought.

Have you heard (pun intended) of Ben Burtt, the sound man? Of course you have not and if you have your one of those interesting people who I need to invite for dinner. Most of the “iconic noises” in Star Wars and E.T. were his creation. I read this about him and I envision him in front of a computer pushing buttons. I am a product of Suburbia. Milk comes from supermarkets, sound comes from computers. Sad state of affairs.

E.T.’s “guttural grunts," are from Ben recording his wife, suffering from a cold, sleeping! Did she know this? Fun Beans! For R2D2’s bleeps he enlists the aid of water pipes and whistles. Ben huffs and puffs into a scuba diving mask and unlike the wolf doesn’t destroy but creates Darth Vader’s heavy breathing.

This man amazes me. He has recordings from his childhood that he uses in every Sci-Fi film, recordings of his grandfather’s shortwave radio. Oh, for a world of curious children. We benefit from a little boy’s fascination and exploration of sound. Oh, for mothers who allow their children to follow their interests.

Ben Burtt, for all the bizarre, sci-fi sounds he creates would be passed by on a street. There is nothing about his persona, his look that would attract attention. Listening to a YouTube interview of sounds from StarWars made me smirk at this average guy. His speech was close to monotone. But his sounds intrigue, inspire, and I need to find out more.