Sound Designer Profile!

Gary Rydstrom!

Who is Gary Rydstrom?!

Gary Roger Rydstrom is a well established

sound designer and director originally from
America. So far in his career, Rydstrom has
been nominated for seven Academy Awards
for his work in sound within films, and has
won three. !
He was born in Chicago, Illinois and
graduated from the University of Southern
California of Cinematic Arts in 1981. After
this he promptly began working at
Skywalker Sound, before being offered a
job by a college professor and having the
opportunity to work with his mentor, Ben
Burtt, the sound designer for Star Wars. !

Work!

Rydstrom began by gaining experience as a sound

technician working on Indiana Jones and the Temple
of Doom as well as ground-breaking film, Terminator
2: Judgment Day. In addition, he mentions that the
sound effects from Backdraft are used in other films
such as The Lord of the Rings film trilogy and Shrek. !
!

His work on Jurassic Park included him and his team

taking numerous animal sounds and mixing them
together to make the dinosaur have a menacing roar.
He also went on to work on dynamic films: Titanic,
Saving Private Ryan, Minority Report and Finding
Nemo. !
!

As well as being a sound designer, Rydstrom

directed his first film: Lifted; a short Pixar film. He
also had a feature film planned to be released, but it
never was. It was called: Newt. !
In addition, Rydstrom served as an English language
director for Japanese animation company, Studio
Ghibli, and he worked on Tales From Earthsea,
Arrietty, From Up on Poppy Hill and The Wind Rises. !

Notable works!

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

A Bugs Life (1998)

Jurassic Park (1993)

Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace (1999)

Toy Story (1995) !

Wreck It Ralph (2012) !

Quotes!
The movie that got me interested in
filmmaking was Charlie Chaplins The Gold
Rush, he says. I love silent film comedies. I
think its so amazing to tell a story and be
funny in a silent film. Isnt that ironic?!

"The reason I think I can be audacious

enough to direct is that I use sound to tell a
story," he continues. "I like to articulate the
sound and keep it focused on whats
important. The really great directors know
how to use sound. Hitchcock knew how to
use sound. Steven Spielberg thinks about
sound early on. !

In the opening of Private Ryan, we go below

water and Tom Hanks is so shell-shocked he
cant hear, and then the sound comes back,
he says. Andin Jurassic Park, T. rexs
appearance is beautifully set up for sound. We
hear it before we see it.!