The Sound of Avatar

February 02, 2010 - 12:00 AM

The groundbreaking technical and directorial abilities of Director James Cameron can be experienced in his breathtaking visual world of Pandora in “Avatar”. This never before seen world is filled with landscapes, creatures, and civilizations that have also never been heard before by audiences.

Bringing to life the sounds of Pandora include the talent of Skywalker Sound’s Supervising Sound Editor, Sound Re-recording Mixer, and Sound Designer Chris Boyes in this SoundWorks Collection sound for film exclusive profile.

MOVIE STUDIO

20th Century Fox

SOUND STUDIO

Skywalker Sound

DIRECTOR

James Cameron

ORIGINAL MUSIC

James Horner

Synopsis

AVATAR takes us to a spectacular world beyond imagination, where a newcomer from Earth embarks on an epic adventure, ultimately fighting to save the alien world he has learned to call home. James Cameron, the Oscar®-winning director of “Titanic,” first conceived of the film 15 years ago, when the means to realize his vision did not yet exist. Now, after four years of production, AVATAR, a live action film with a new generation of special effects, delivers a fully immersive cinematic experience of a new kind, where the revolutionary technology invented to make the film disappears into the emotion of the characters and the sweep of the story. We enter the alien world through the eyes of Jake Sully, a former Marine confined to a wheelchair. But despite his broken body, Jake is still a warrior at heart. He is recruited to travel light years to the human outpost on Pandora, where a corporate consortium is mining a rare mineral that is the key to solving Earth’s energy crisis. Because Pandora’s atmosphere is toxic, they have created the Avatar Program, in which human “drivers” have their consciousness linked to an avatar, a remotely-controlled biological body that can survive in the lethal air. These avatars are genetically engineered hybrids of human DNA mixed with DNA from the natives of Pandora… the Na’vi. Reborn in his avatar form, Jake can walk again. He is given a mission to infiltrate the Na’vi, who have become a major obstacle to mining the precious ore. But a beautiful Na’vi female, Neytiri, saves Jake’s life, and this changes everything. Jake is taken in by her clan, and learns to become one of them, which involves many tests and adventures. As Jake’s relationship with his reluctant teacher Neytiri deepens, he learns to respect the Na’vi way and finally takes his place among them. Soon he will face the ultimate test as he leads them in an epic battle that will decide the fate of an entire world.

Sound Credits

Marco Alicea digital sound transfer
Christopher Boyes sound designer
Christopher Boyes sound re-recording mixer
Christopher Boyes supervising sound editor
Tim Burby digital sound editorial services
Frank Clary sound effects assistant
Ryan Cole sound recordist
John Countryman digital sound transfer
Luke Dunn Gielmuda foley editor
Sean England foley recordist
Ken Fischer sound effects editor
Kim Foscato dialogue editor
Thomas Giordano boom person
Tim Gomillion recordist
Kyle Griffiths cable operator
Howie Hammerman sound engineering services
David Hunter digital sound editorial services
Richard Hymns adr editor
Tony Johnson production sound mixer
Jesse Kaplan boom person
William B. Kaplan production sound mixer
Noah Katz sound editor
Tom Lalley sound re-recording engineer
Mike Lane sound client services
Davis Lee production sound mixer
James Likowski foley editor
Stuart McCowan adr editor
Shannon Mills sound effects editor
Steve Morris chief sound engineer
Steve Morris facility designer
Cheryl Nardi dialogue editor
Andy Nelson sound re-recording mixer
Gordon Ng sound client services
Timothy Nielsen sound effects editor
Stacey Parish cable operator
Paul Pavelka sound re-recording engineer
Juan Peralta additional re-recording mixer
Eva Porter sound client services
Frank Rinella foley mixer
Renee Russo post-production sound accountant (as Renée Russo)
Christopher Scarabosio sound effects editor
Dee Selby field recordist
Tony Sereno sound mix technician
Steve Slanec adr editor
James Spencer recordist
Sam Spicer boom operator
William Stein sound re-recording engineer (as Bill Stein)
Gary Summers sound re-recording mixer
James M. Tanenbaum production sound mixer (as Jim Tanenbaum)
Addison Teague additional sound designer
Addison Teague supervising sound editor
Dennie Thorpe foley artist
John Torrijos sound video services
Jana Vance foley artist
Mark Williams boom operator
Marshall Winn dialogue editor
Gwendolyn Yates Whittle supervising sound editor
Neil Aldridge adr recordist (uncredited)
Petra Bach sound recordist (uncredited)
Sean Byrne sound re-recordist (uncredited)
Derek Casari stage sound engineer (uncredited)
Sean England foley mixer (uncredited)
Paul Froula sound mixer (uncredited)
Daniel A. Greenwald boom operator (uncredited)
Doc Kane adr mixer (uncredited)
David Lee sound mixer
Scott R. Lewis mix technician (uncredited)
Rhys Maitland-Jones sound mix technician (uncredited)
Dana McCommon additional adr recordist (uncredited)
Jim Ridgley boom operator (uncredited)
Brian Seagrave audio post-conform (uncredited)
Mark Sheffield sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Clint Smith sound recordist (uncredited)
John Soukup sound transfer (uncredited)
Greg Steele adr mixer (uncredited)
James Wright sound consultant

Copyright © 2026 SoundWorks Collection

Colemanfilm Media Group LLC

All names, trademarks and images are copyright of their respective owners.