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Ben Burtt redeems himself...he doesn't like CG effects replacing a good story

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It's good to hear him say this.

 

It should be remembered, though, that Ben Burtt helped George Lucas screw up Episode II, almost single-handedly ruining John Williams' score and doing a horrible editing job.  

Episode II: Shroud of the Dark Side

Emperor Jar-Jar
“Back when we made Star Wars, we just couldn’t make Palpatine as evil as we intended. Now, thanks to the miracles of technology, it is finally possible. Finally, I’ve created the movies that I originally imagined.” -George Lucas on the 2007 Extra Extra Special HD-DVD Edition

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Ben Burtt's one of the prequels biggest faults IMO, but at least he seems to be aware of the position he was in. You know, a lot of these people have had professional and personal relationships with Lucas for decades so they aren't going to slam him in the media because then people (like us) will just fixate on it and it'll look bad for himself, but its interesting how subtle little bits tactfully slip out:

"I do feel a bit critical even of films that I've been connected with in recent times to some extent, because time and technology allow film-makers to postpone choices or not make choices and therefore you end up with less focus in the storylines and so on. I guess that's a pretty harsh criticism but that's how I see it."

Of course, Burtt hasn't worked on anything but Star Wars for the last decade.

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I like the little security buffer he left for himself, "I guess that's a pretty harsh criticism but that's how I see it".

Didn't seem like harsh criticism at all to me,

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

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zombie84 said:

Of course, Burtt hasn't worked on anything but Star Wars for the last decade.

 

 Hey, don't forget about Wall-E!

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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 (Edited)

Yes, Wall-E is the reason he's here doing press in Australia, but the article also mentions Indiana Jones 4 and Munich as other projects Ben has worked on in recent years. I like how the article mentions it's not Munich that his criticism is being directed at.

Poor Ben Burtt, when I hear his name I no longer think of the voice of R2-D2 or the inventor of the lightsaber hum, but the dejected guy in the editing room inventing 'split screen two different takes' editing.

"Well here's a big bag of rock salt" - Patton Oswalt

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I didn't even realize he had done more than sound for movies until Good Musician started complaining about how he ruined the score for Episode II.  Where do we find evidence of him in the editing suite?

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doubleofive said:

I didn't even realize he had done more than sound for movies until Good Musician started complaining about how he ruined the score for Episode II.  Where do we find evidence of him in the editing suite?

 

 Um, in any documentary on the making of the prequels.

 

Plus, he's the EDITOR.

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zombie84 said:
doubleofive said:

I didn't even realize he had done more than sound for movies until Good Musician started complaining about how he ruined the score for Episode II.  Where do we find evidence of him in the editing suite?

 

 Um, in any documentary on the making of the prequels.

 

Plus, he's the EDITOR.

I guess I never paid attention because most of the time that I saw him in the documentaries, he was mixing the sound, which makes sense to me.  Sorry I don't have the prequel credits memorized.

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see you auntie said:

Poor Ben Burtt, when I hear his name I no longer think of the voice of R2-D2 or the inventor of the lightsaber hum, but the dejected guy in the editing room inventing 'split screen two different takes' editing.

Seconded. I applaud Lucas for taking the risk to let Burtt edit, but, also, perhaps every other experienced editor knew to avoid the prequel shows.

I get the impression that Burtt was "button presser" for Lucas.

 

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miker71 said:

I get the impression that Burtt was "button presser" for Lucas.

 

That's how I saw alot of his editing.  It's fairly visible in the behind the scenes footage.