The Sound Design of  Star Wars Episode 1  -  3  -

Sound on Teaser Trailers
Much of Burtt's time lately was spent finishing the sound mix for the Episode I teaser trailer. Despite the fact that it's much shorter than an actual movie, a trailer presents unique and interesting sound challenges. "During the last few years, the trend has been to build trailers with very short shots, tightly linked together, maintaining a very quick pace," Burtt says.

"This trend is hard on sound, because while the brain can process visuals this way -- a quick succession of different images -- it can't do the same thing with sound. 

Short samples of sound take a longer time for the brain to decipher. If they're bundled together too tightly, they don't make any sense at all." 

The sound can't be as choppy as the stream of images, but at the same time it must follow the action and move at the same pace. Burtt and his team strive to get just the right balance of clarity and speed. 

"The team is new, and we're still learning to work together. We're getting a sense of what we can do, what we cannot do, and just how far we can push ourselves before our concerted efforts start losing effectiveness. So the work we did on the trailer is a great shakedown for us. We're sort of gearing up for the final mix of the actual movie."

Episode 1 is  filled with activity, people, and places. "There's always something going on in the foreground, the middleground, the background -- even off-screen. It's a wonderful environment in which to let the sound go wild, expand, and completely fill all this world."