San Francisco Gate: ALL EARS ON ‘WALL-E’
“The best sounds have been accidental encounters,” Burtt says. “I suppose part of the curse of having this job is that you’re always listening, and maybe not paying attention to your family at a dinner table or on a trip. ‘Wait, I hear something! Let’s record it!’ “
Mr. Burtt is one of those people I have never met, but is more responsible for my mindset than most that I have. I’m not ashamed to admit it: listen to Star Wars without looking at the screen and imagine what that can do to a little kid: R2-D2, lightsabers, blasters, the whole shebang. His work in WALL-E is incredible… and about time he received actor’s credit for one of his designs. He had more to do with R2-D2’s personality than any of the engineers who made the props or Kenny Baker being inside it for some of the shots.
Incidentally, reading these articles about him make me all the more anxious for some of the developments coming down the pike, which hopefully will allow me to engage in more creative location recording….
Update: Make sure to also check out this interview from last week’s Studio360….