Have you ever wondered how the sound effects were created when Star Wars first came out in 1977? Newly discovered vintage footage shows how sound effects pioneer Ben Burtt came up with the ship's recognizable sound and it's quite impressive.
The footage was shared on Twitter and features Burtt talking about how he created the sound effects for the Millennium Falcon. Watch the video below.
It's certainly amazing how Burtt had to create the sound effects using several different giant reels of tape. The footage is certainly an eyeopener for people who always thought it was as easy as pressing a button.
Burtt is truly a pioneer in sound design. He is known for popularizing the use of the Wilhelm scream in-joke, leading to the scream being employed in over 300 films. Burtt also provided R2-D2's trademark beeps and Darth Vader's heavy breathing sounds and has worked with George Lucas on several projects.
Star Wars is not the only popular movie Burtt had worked on. He is also responsible for the sound effects in films like Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., and WALL-E. Interestingly, he had a brief cameo in Return of the Jedi where he played an Imperial officer who gets knocked off a balcony by Han Solo. Burtt's scream in the movie is an imitation of the Wilhelm scream.
Not surprisingly, Burtt continues to work on Star Wars projects up to this day. His most recent work appears in the animated web series Star Wars Forces of Destiny.
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