The sounds of Star Wars

Bruce Lacey is the man behind the "zap"s and "zoom"s of the upcoming "Star Wars Episode II."\nLacey grew up in Lawrence, Kan., where his father was a partner in a small film company that made 16mm educational and industrial films. He was involved in the business from an early age.\nAfter attending the University of Kansas, he moved to Los Angeles in 1975 where he earned his bachelor of arts degree at Loyola Marymount University in film and television production, with an emphasis in screenwriting. \nHis post-production sound career began when he secured a position as a foley artist at Neiman-Tillar Associates, one of the pioneers in digital sound technology for film and TV. He returned to school and received his masters degree in professional writing from the University of Southern California's esteemed program. In addition to extensive work in sound effects for feature films, he has written several screenplays, sold scripts to television (including Showtimes' "Outer Limits"), and has co-written and produced a digital format feature, "The Gas Cafe." Lacey is a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He now lives in the San Francisco area and works primarily at Skywalker Sound.\nQ: Lately you've worked on the two new "Star Wars" prequels, "Episode I" and "II"; how did you wind up working on them, and what exactly did you do?\nA: Laurel Ladevich, who did dialog and ADR work (re-recording actors' lines that don't sound good enough) on two of the earlier "Star Wars" films, was a friend from L.A. and was my entree to Skywalker. Through her, I was introduced to Ben Burtt when I first arrived in the Bay Area. I did the dialog and ADR on an IMAX film, "Special Effects," which Ben directed. \nWhen "Episode I" came around, Ben wanted me to work on it. One of the foley editor jobs was available and he offered me that. (Foley is mostly footsteps and small props sounds.) Working with the foley crew, we had fun doing all the different surfaces and putting all the different sounds for the robots, etc., and it was a good experience overall. I guess I did okay, because when they were crewing "Episode II" up last summer I was asked to work on it. I was given my choice of jobs and thought doing the sound effects would be the most challenging and interesting. I was a sound effects novice on "Star Wars" movies -- I had to learn a lot in a hurry, but I made my way through and had a great experience.\nQ: What was the most challenging part of working on "Star Wars Episode II"?\nA: Because the every shot of "Episode II" is a visual effect, the shots take a long time and a lot of work on ILM's part to get them into final form. That means they don't even reach us in their final form until late in the game. It difficult to get it all done in time. Sound effects-wise, there's quite a speeder chase early in the film that was a big challenge. Ben Burtt, as sound designer, created a wonderful palette of sounds for the various vehicles. It was up to me to take that material and cut it together in a way that is exciting throughout and is varied enough so as not to become repetitious. It was a similar experience cutting laser swords, though all the elements exist from earlier "Star Wars" movies. The idea is to combine them in a way that is true to the original, but also is fresh and alive.\nQ: You also worked on the critically acclaimed "Saving Private Ryan", which received academy awards for both sound and sound effects. As a foley editor, you were responsible for: \nA: Foley covered everything from footsteps on the beach -- in sand and water -- to soldiers' equipment rattle to dirt spraying down after explosions. There were hundreds of tiny details and we did our best to make sure it was all there and correct. Veterans who viewed the film said it was the most accurate depiction in a film of what it was like to actually be there.\nQ: On any of these films, did you work with or meet the directors? If so, who, and how would you characterize them?\nA: The directors are always involved in the final sound mix, and so I have contact with them there. As to how much personal contact, that depends on the project and how hands-on involved the director is. Spielberg basically left the sound crew alone to mix the reels and then would come for playbacks and give feedback then. Because he was there so briefly, I didn't have any real personal contact -- though I was there to hear what he had to say. He's a very bright man and has a sophisticated enough ear to know that if he wants the rifle fire louder, that maybe the solution is to lower the music or the other sound effects elements, rather than trying to make a loud sound even louder.\nGeorge Lucas would listen to all the pre-mixed tracks first, give some feedback, and then come back later to listen to what the mixers had come up with. \nMany directors want to be there for every minute of the mix.\nQ: How important do you feel audio is to the cinematic experience?\nA: Cinema itself is definitely a visual medium. Sound's contribution is often relegated to a secondary role. But those of us who see the films in parts before they become whole, know sound is half the experience. And with new sound systems in theaters showing Dolby 5.1… it makes a huge difference. The other evolving phenomenon is that digital images are made to seem far more REAL when they have good sound linked to them. The dinosaurs in "Jurassic Park" don't have nearly the impact if one views them without sound.