Ben Burtt Receives the Charles S. Swartz Award from Director JJ Abrams

HPA Awards – November 12th, 2009

Mr. Burtt’s credits and accomplishments are the stuff of legend; his contributions integrally woven into a number of iconic and Oscar® winning films. Showing a rare fluency across many disciplines, Mr. Burtt has worked in every facet of film production for over 35 years.  With numerous credits on films such as; Star Trek, WALL-E, Indiana Jones franchise, E.T., and numerous Star Wars episodes,  Mr. Burtt’s skills include directing, producing, sound design, sound editing, editing, voicing, and voice design in motion pictures, television, specialty, educational and documentary.

He was the Sound Designer for the Star Wars and Indiana Jones series, has been nominated for 12 Academy Awards for sound effects work and has won four Oscars®. He has created globally and instantly recognized sounds like the light saber and characters like Wall-E, and R2-D2.  He designed ET’s voice, and wrote the Ewok “FreedoMr. Burtt’s credits and accomplishments are the stuff of legend; his contributions integrally woven into a number of iconic and Oscar® winning films. Showing a rare fluency across many disciplines, Mr. Burtt has worked in every facet of film production for over 35 years.  With numerous credits on films such as; Star Trek, WALL-E, Indiana Jones franchise, E.T., and numerous Star Wars episodes,  Mr. Burtt’s skills include directing, producing, sound design, sound editing, editing, voicing, and voice design in motion pictures, television, specialty, educational and documentary.  He was the Sound Designer for the Star Wars and Indiana Jones series, has been nominated for 12 Academy Awards for sound effects work and has won four Oscars®. He has created globally and instantly recognized sounds like the light saber and characters like Wall-E, and R2-D2.  He designed ET’s voice, and wrote the Ewok “Freedom” song.  His contributions as director and collaborator are extensive and cover the entire range of creative filmmaking; from animation, documentary, television series and feature films.

HPA Awards co-founder and committee chair Carolyn Giardina said, “We are thrilled to recognize Ben Burtt with the Charles S. Swartz Award, an honor that represents everything that the HPA stands for; creativity, technical excellence, and limitless thinking.  From R2 D2 to WALL-E, Ben Burtt has helped create some of the most unforgettable characters of our generation. We are honored to present this award to him.”

About the Hollywood Post Alliance:
The Hollywood Post Alliance (HPA) serves the professional community of businesses and individuals who provide expertise, support, tools and the infrastructure for the creation and finishing of motion pictures, television, commercials, digital media and other dynamic media content.

About the The Charles S. Swartz Award:
The Charles S. Swartz Award was created to honor individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the field of post production; an industry in a state of an expanding creative palette and of dynamic transition as a result of digital technologies and societal changes.  The award was named in honor of the late Charles Swartz, who led the Entertainment Technology Center at the University of Southern California from 2002 until 2006 and helped to build it into the industry’s premiere test bed for new digital cinema technologies.  In addition to a long and successful career as producer, educator and consultant, Mr. Swartz served on the Board of Directors of the HPA.  Leon Silverman, President of the HPA noted that “Ben Burtt’s career and accomplishments speak to the true spirit of this award, which recognizes impactful contributions. Ben Burtt’s impact to the art and craft of post production and to our cultural legacy should be celebrated. ”

About the HPA Awards:
The HPA Awards were created to foster awareness of post production, promote creative and technical excellence, recognize the achievements of post production talent, and build involvement in the Hollywood Post Alliance.

Photo Credit: Ryan Miller, Capture Imaging