Ben's Open Road

  • INTERVIEWED BY:

    Design Roadtrip

BEN BURTT

Sound Designer
Skywalker Sound

“It's important to have clear goals in mind...but you can always change a goal. There's no need to suffer if something isn't working out.”

INTERESTS:

Film Technology

THEMES DISCUSSED:

Acceptance Experience Failure Success Passion Talent Desire Determination Opportunity Doubt Fear Courage Goals Struggle Planning Inspiration Instincts Self-Reflection Education

FOUNDATION:

Being Creative

BIOGRAPHY:

  • As a teen, he'd make movies with his friends; says going into the movie business would be a way of "not growing up."
  • When he went to college, he studied physics-thought he wanted to be involved in the moon landings-but kept making movies on the side.
  • One of these side films won him a scholarship to USC's film school; he moved to L.A., was preparing to start school, then chickened out and moved home.
  • After freaking out and thinking he'd blown his one chance, he started doing some sound work for local stations near his home.
  • Once he'd gained some more experience, USC said he could try again, so this time he went for it; got his master's degree in film production.
  • Got the call from Lucasfilm; realized in his interview that this Star Wars job would synthesize his interests-aerospace, physics, electronics.
  • Says you have to be okay with rejection-one of his sounds was rejected from Alien so he used it in an Indiana Jones film, won an Academy Award.
  • Gets anxious when he thinks about his twenties, when he felt "stuck," but says feeling stuck is a "rite of passage" everyone experiences at some point.

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