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. įor 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.īurtt pioneered many aspects of modern sound design, especially in the science-fiction and fantasy-film genres. 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. Career Early career īurtt 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. The son of a chemistry professor and a child psychologist, Burtt made films as a child, and later studied physics at Allegheny College, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1970. He has also directed numerous documentary films and was the editor of the Star Wars prequel trilogy.īurtt was born in Jamesville, New York, on July 12, 1948. 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.īurtt has won four Academy Awards, two of which are Special Achievement Academy Awards. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), WALL-E (2008) and Star Trek (2009).īurtt 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. As a sound designer, his credits include the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film series, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), E.T.
(born July 12, 1948) is an American sound designer, film editor, director, screenwriter, and voice actor.