Making Waves: the Art of Cinematic Sound

The thump of boxing glove against head in Raging Bull; the pinging pistol recoil in a classic western; the roar of a prehistoric lizard created for the 1933 King Kong... these are all successes of the sound recordist's art. Midge Costin's crowd-pleasing film infuses dry technical material with unfettered geeky excitement. As David Lynch observes, "People always talk about the look of a film, not so much about the sound." A potted history takes in Edison, The Jazz Singer, the radio apprenticeship of Orson Welles, and Robert Altman's assiduous wizard Jim Webb, who intricately layered Nashville. Meanwhile, Making Waves showcases the likes of Walter Murch (who speaks of "going into the unknown" on Apocalypse Now), Ben Burtt (Star Wars lifer and "voice" of R2-D2) and Spielberg's ears Gary Rydstrom, who downplays his work on Jurassic Park as "subliminal". In demystifying sound design, Foley and ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement), this fan-friendly film looks as good as it sounds. Spielberg confirms that when he first heard Jurassic Park's T-rex, "I did literally fall off my chair." Thump!