Skywalker Sound

Skywalker Sound
Division
Industry Sound effects, Sound editing and Remastering
Founded 1975
Headquarters Lucas Valley, near Nicasio, California.
Key people
 George Lucas
Josh Lowden (General Manager of Skywalker Sound)
Leslie Ann Jones
Number of employees
 160
Parent Lucasfilm
(The Walt Disney Company)
Website Skysound.com

Skywalker Sound is the sound effects, sound editing, sound design, sound mixing and music recording division of George Lucas' Lucas Digital motion picture group. Its main facilities are located at Skywalker Ranch in Lucas Valley, near Nicasio, California.[1] It began as Sprocket Systems in San Anselmo, California and its name officially changed to Skywalker Sound in 1987 after the company moved to Skywalker Ranch.

While located in San Anselmo, Sprocket Systems came into contact with the local residents from time to time. For instance, Kentfield resident Pat Welsh was 'discovered' while shopping at a camera store and went on to provide the voice for E.T.. During the sound recording of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Harrison Ford could be spied practicing his bullwhip technique in the parking lot.[2]

Sprocket Systems moved from San Anselmo following a disastrous flood in January 1982.

Its staff of sound designers and re-recording mixers have either won or been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound and Best Sound Editing every year since Star Wars in 1977 (in that year Ben Burtt was given a Special Achievement Award, since the category for Sound Editing had not yet been established).

Mixing stages, editorial services and scoring stages are all located in a central 'Tech Building', with dining areas and living quarters in the vicinity but separate from the main work area.

Staff

Many of these people started working in post production sound at The Saul Zaentz Film Center and American Zoetrope, and have worked or still work in conjunction with Skywalker Sound. Dennie Thorpe for example started on Apocalypse Now as an apprentice sound editor at the Saul Zaentz Film Center before working there and later Skywalker Sound as a foley artist.

Sprocket Systems

1975-1987

Sprocket Systems is a sound editing, sound FX, sound design and sound mixing company established by George Lucas. In 1987, the crew moved to the Skywalker Ranch, and changed the name to Skywalker Sound.

1987-present

Skywalker Sound hires anywhere from 80 to 160 employees (depending on workload), and provides sound and music production services for movies, commercials, TV, IMAX and other large format films, theme park attractions, and video games. Their scoring stage records and mixes music ranging from solo piano pieces to works using full 130-piece orchestras. Each year, they work on 20 to 30 different films; since 2014 they've worked on more or less 100 projects. They've won a total of 18 Academy Awards.

References

  1. ↑ Lev-Ram, Michal (November 1, 2015). "Behind the scenes at Lucasfilm's Skywalker Sound". Fortune. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  2. ↑ San Anselmo Historical Museum: 1970: Approaching the 21st Century

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, February 01, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.