No introduction needed. In fact, you can already hear it in your head: the hum, the pitch shift with movement, the explosion of contact. The Star Wars lightsaber produces one of the most spectacular sounds in science fiction... but not everyone knows how it was created. Fortunately, its mastermind Ben Burtt shared several details about the exact process, and just like with other famous Star Wars sounds, the lightsaber was based on a rather strange combination...
Death Race 2000, E.T., The Dark Crystal, the franchise of Indiana Jones, WALL-E, Star Trek, John Carter. All those films have a common name: Ben Burtt, one of the best sound designers in the film industry, with over 40 years of career and four Oscars under his belt. However, naming Ben Burtt is naming Star Wars. Do you remember the Wilhelm scream? Burtt himself was the one who popularized it in Star Wars and traced its true origin.
But the list of effects associated with Burtt is much broader: Darth Vader's breathing, the blasters, R2-D2's "dialogue", TIE Fighter engines... and the lightsabers. What did he use to create one of the most important and impactful sounds in film history? Fortunately, Burtt is not reluctant to share his tricks...
How was the lightsaber sound made in Star Wars?
Burtt explains that the lightsaber was "the first sound" he created in Star Wars. Although his initial job was looking for voices for Chewie and R2-D2, he became fascinated with the lightsaber after reading the script and seeing the fantastic concept art created by Ralph McQuarrie. With such inspiration, Burtt managed to imagine sounds (or rather, "hear them in his head") that matched that visual style.
Another interesting fact is that at that time, Burtt was still a student and projectionist at the University of Southern California. The projection room was composed of old Simplex equipment. Those projectors had a special motor that connected them to the system, and when they were "on standby" they made a fabulous hum.
However, that hum was not enough: The lightsaber needed something more, a "sparkling" element in Burtt's own words. He found that by accident at the back of a television that was on the floor, turned on but with no volume. Basically, his microphone picked up the entire broadcast of the running TV. Burtt took that "bzzzt", combined it with the projector's hum, and that mix became the basis of the lightsaber. The final step was to create the sensation of movement: For this, Burtt placed a speaker with the new sound, and started moving a microphone over it, moving away and closer. The final result... is unforgettable.
