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Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound

World Premiere

USA | 94 MINUTES | English |

MAKING WAVES: THE ART OF CINEMATIC SOUND

Documentary
As much as we all love Steven Spielberg’s films, so many of them wouldn’t be the same without the efforts of sound mixer extraordinaire Gary RydstromJurassic Park’s dinosaurs wouldn’t be so breathtakingly authentic, and Saving Private Ryan’s opening Omaha Beach battle sequence wouldn’t be so visceral. The same can be said for every other great director, all of whom depend on their most trusted sound designers to enhance their film’s visuals and bring emotions and spectacle to sonic life. Yet for all of the universal adoration given to those who work behind the camera on sets, cinema’s sound experts have gone largely unnoticed, overseeing a project’s most potentially memorable work with anonymity.

Until now. Through interviews with acclaimed directors (including David Lynch, Ryan Coogler, Sofia Coppola, George Lucas, and Barbra Streisand) and their most trusted sound partners, including Walter Murch, Ben Burtt, Alan Splet, and Ludwig Göransson, documentarian Midge Costin’s Making Waves puts the long-overdue spotlight on film’s audible magic, both breaking down the creative process and offering firsthand anecdotes about the making of several all-time classics.

—Matt Barone

After the Premiere Screening: A master class conversation with director and producer Midge Costin and sound designers and editors from the film including OscarⓇ- winners Walter Murch, Ben Burtt and Gary Rydstrom. Moderated by Director of the Dolby® Institute Glenn Kiser. Presented by THE DOLBY INSTITUTE.

CAST & CREDITS

Directed by Midge Costin

Midge Costin has been a sound editor in Hollywood for over 25 years. Her work is featured in Academy Award®-nominated films for Sound Editing. She is the Kay Rose Professor in the Art of Sound at USC School of Cinematic Arts, and lectures internationally on the transformative power of sound.
Director
Midge Costin
Producer
Bobette Buster, Karen Johnson, Midge Costin
Screenwriter
Bobette Buster
Cinematographer
Sandra Chandler
Composer
Allyson Newman
Editor
David J. Turner
Executive Producer
RoAnn Costin, David Green Ahmanson, Jot Turner, Marietta Turner, Carla Brewington
Supervising Editor
Thomas G. Miller, ACE
Supported By
California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities
Cast
Walter Murch, Ben Burtt, Gary Rydstrom, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Barbra Streisand, Ryan Coogler

PANELISTS

Ben Burtt

Ben Burtt

Ben Burtt has more than 35 years of experience as a writer, director, film editor, sound designer, and sound mixer. Burtt received Academy Awards® for Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Burtt is the voice of Pixar’s robot, Wall-E. Burtt’s IMAX films as director include Blue Planet, Destiny in Space, and Special Effects: Anything Can Happen. Recently Burtt served as sound designer for Star Trek, Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, Munich, Super 8, Lincoln, Star Trek Into Darkness, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Midge Costin

Midge Costin

Producer/Director Midge Costin holds the Kay Rose Endowed Chair in the Art of Sound Editing at University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. She has been a sound editor in Hollywood where her work is featured in Oscar-nominated films for Sound Editing such as Crimson Tide and Armageddon. Costin worked her way up editing sound at a time when very few women were cutting FX in Hollywood. As a passionate teacher and advocate for creative use of sound in the cinematic arts, Costin has traveled internationally to lecture on sound design and her experience editing in Hollywood.

Gary Rydstrom

Gary Rydstrom

At Skywalker Sound, Gary Rydstrom has sound designed and mixed many films, including Terminator 2, Jurassic Park, A River Runs Through It, Toy Story, Quiz Show, Titanic, Saving Private Ryan, Punch-Drunk Love, Finding Nemo, and Ready Player One. He has won seven Academy Awards® for sound and Career Achievement Awards from both the Cinema Audio Society and Motion Picture Sound Editors. For Pixar, he directed two shorts, the Academy Award®-nominated Lifted and Toy Story Toons: Hawaiian Vacation. Rydstrom is a native of Chicago and a graduate of the School of Cinema at the University of Southern California.

Walter Murch

Walter Murch

Walter Murch began editing sound on Francis Ford Coppola's The Rain People, then George Lucas’ American Graffiti and Coppola’s The Godfather: Part II. He won his first Academy Award® nomination for The Conversation and his first Academy Award® for Apocalypse Now. And then an unprecedented double Academy Award® for Best Sound and Best Film Editing on The English Patient. On Apocalypse Now, Murch coined the term sound designer, and along with colleagues such as Ben Burtt, helped to elevate the art and impact of film sound to a new level. For his latest film, Coup 53, he is the editor, writer, and plays himself.

Glenn Kiser

Glenn Kiser

Glenn Kiser is Director of the Dolby® Institute, an initiative to educate and inspire filmmakers and content creators about the creative use of sound and image in storytelling. Previously, Kiser ran Lucasfilm’s Skywalker Sound, where he oversaw sound work on films including Avatar, Wall-E, The Social Network, and the Star Wars prequels. Before joining Skywalker, Kiser was a post production executive at Propaganda Films, where he worked with directors including David Fincher, Spike Jonze, and Jane Campion. Kiser is also a filmmaker, and his latest short film, Sabbatical, won numerous awards and played over 40 film festivals around the globe.


CONTACTS

Print Source
Jason Ishikawa
Cinetic Media
New York, NY 10004
Phone: 808 277 6195
jason@cineticmedia.com
International Sales Contact
Ana Vicente
Dogwoof
London, EC1V 3QN
Phone: 207 253 6244
ana@dogwoof.com
Press Contact
Susan Norget
Susan Norget Film Promotion
New York, NY 10010
Phone: 917-833-3056
susan@norget.com
US Sales Contact
Jason Ishikawa
Cinetic Media
New York, NY 10004
Phone: 808 277 6195
jason@cineticmedia.com