Gary Rydstrom
Sound designer
Re-recording mixer
Supervising sound editor
Film director
1984–present
Life and career[edit]
Rydstrom was born in Chicago. He graduated from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts in 1981.[1] He began his career at Skywalker Sound, Northern California in 1983. Offered the job by a college professor, he received the opportunity to work with his mentor, Star Wars sound designer Ben Burtt.
After gaining invaluable experience as a sound technician in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Rydstrom went on to do sound design for the comedy Spaceballs. The sound design for Backdraft, prepared from scratch, would become the precursor for his sound for Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The original sound effects from Backdraft are constantly referenced and have been used for numerous other films including The Lord of the Rings film trilogy and Shrek.
He won an Academy Award for his work on Terminator 2: Judgment Day, for which he pioneered techniques still used today for creating realistic sound effects. Rydstrom also worked with Terminator 2 director James Cameron on a new 5.1 surround sound mix for the original Terminator.
His sound work on Jurassic Park led to further innovations, as he and his team set out to create dinosaur sounds by mixing together numerous different animal vocalizations[2] to make the audience feel as though giant bellowing prehistoric beasts surrounded them. The Oscar-winning film was the first motion picture to be presented in DTS.[3] The T.RexrRoar created by Gary was later re-used for Dim in A Bug's Life, Thanator in Avatar and the Hydra in Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief.
He subsequently went on to work on sound for numerous films including Titanic, Saving Private Ryan, Minority Report and Finding Nemo. He won an MPSE lifetime achievement award, and regularly speaks at various sound design forums sharing his extensive knowledge and enthusiasm with aspiring sound design artists.
He made his directorial debut with the Pixar short Lifted, for which he received his fourteenth Academy Award nomination. It was included in the Animation Show of Shows in 2006. His debut feature film for the studio, Newt, which was supposed to be about the adventure of two blue-footed newts, and their struggles to work together, was announced in 2008. It supposedly reached the early stages of production, until it was cancelled by Pixar in early 2011 due to story issues. He has also directed the Pixar short Hawaiian Vacation and the Lucasfilm animated feature Strange Magic.[4][5]
Rydstrom has also served as English language director on Tales From Earthsea, Arrietty, From Up on Poppy Hill, and The Wind Rises, all of which were produced by the Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli.
(1984) audio technician
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(1985) audio technician
Ewoks: The Battle for Endor
(1985) Foley
Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins
(1986) sound designer
Luxo Jr.
(1987) sound designer
Red's Dream
(1987) sound designer
Spaceballs
(1987) sound designer
Colors
(1987) sound designer
Captain EO
(1988) sound designer
Tin Toy
(1988) Foley
Willow
(1989) re-recording mixer
Always
(1989) sound designer
Knick Knack
(1989) re-recording mixer
The Neon Empire
Mars Navigator (1990) sound design/re-recording mixer (interactive video)
[15]
(1991) sound design/re-recording mixer
F/X2 The Deadly Art Of Illusion
(1991) sound designer/re-recording mixer
Backdraft
(1991) sound designer/re-recording mixer
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
(1992) sound designer/re-recording mixer
Single White Female
(1993) sound designer/re-recording mixer
Mrs. Doubtfire
(1993) sound designer/re-recording mixer (with Gary Summers and Shawn Murphy)
Jurassic Park
(1994) sound designer/re-recording mixer
Baby's Day Out
(1995) sound designer
Casper
(1995) sound designer/re-recording mixer
Strange Days
(1995) sound designer/re-recording mixer
Toy Story
(1995) sound designer
Jumanji
(1996) sound designer/re-recording mixer
James and the Giant Peach
(1996) re-recording mixer
Mission: Impossible
(1997) sound designer/re-recording mixer (with Gary Summers and Shawn Murphy)
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
(1997) re-recording mixer/sound designer
Hercules
(1997) sound designer (uncredited)/re-recording mixer
Titanic
(1998) sound designer/re-recording mixer
Saving Private Ryan
(1998) sound designer/re-recording mixer
A Bug's Life
(1999) sound designer (uncredited)/re-recording mixer
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
(1999) sound designer/re-recording mixer
Toy Story 2
(1984, 2000s DVD release) sound designer consultant: sound restoration and re-mixing
The Terminator
(2000) sound designer consultant/re-recording mixer
102 Dalmatians
(2000) sound designer/re-recording mixer
Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport
(2001) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor
Atlantis: The Lost Empire
(2001) sound designer/re-recording mixer
Monsters, Inc.
sound designer (uncredited)/re-recording mixer
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
(2002) sound design consultant/re-recording mixer
Minority Report
(2002) sound designer consultant/re-recording mixer
Punch-Drunk Love
(2003) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor
Finding Nemo
(2003) sound designer/re-recording mixer
Hulk
(2003) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor
Peter Pan
(2004) special thanks
Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation
(2006) director/writer/sound
Lifted
(2010) director/ADR director (English-language version)
Tales from Earthsea
(2011) director, screenplay
Hawaiian Vacation
(2011) sound designer
Bully
(2011) additional sound designer
Super 8
(2011) sound designer consultant
The Adventures of Tintin
(2011) sound designer/re-recording mixer
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
(2011) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor
War Horse
(2011) voice director
From Up on Poppy Hill
(2012) director (American English-language version)
The Secret World of Arrietty
(2012) sound designer/re-recording mixer
Brave
(2012) sound designer
Wreck-it Ralph
(2013) director (English-language version)
From Up on Poppy Hill
(2014) director (English-language version)
The Wind Rises
(2013) sound designer consultant
The Face of Love
(2015) sound designer/re-recording mixer
Tomorrowland
(2015) sound designer/re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Jurassic World
(2015) sound designer (uncredited)/re-recording mixer
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
(2016) re-recording mixer
The BFG
(2017) sound designer/re-recording mixer
The Post
(2018) sound designer/re-recording mixer
Ready Player One
(2018) sound designer
Ralph Breaks the Internet
(2019) re-recording mixer
Ad Astra
(2020) re-recording mixer
Come Away
(2021) sound designer/re-recording mixer
West Side Story
(2022) sound designer/re-recording mixer
The Fabelmans
(2022) sound design consultant
Luck
(2023) sound consultant (uncredited)