Star Wars: New Documentary Explores the Sound Effects of 'The Last Jedi'

Whether it be a screeching TIE Fighter or the hum of a lightsaber, the Star Wars saga has given [...]

Whether it be a screeching TIE Fighter or the hum of a lightsaber, the Star Wars saga has given audiences iconic and recognizable sounds for more than 40 years. Despite the vast library of sounds, The Last Jedi still needed all-new effects, forcing sound designers to go to great lengths to breathe life into the incredible world. The new documentary from ABC News The Force of Sound chronicles the creation of the film's amazing effects, which will be streaming on February 20.

One of the new sounds that had to be created was the squawks made by the porgs, the residents of Ahch-To. Sound designer Ren Klyce confirmed that it required the sounds of chickens and doves to convey the animals' attitude.

"That was one of the first sounds we were assigned to do," Klyce told D23. "[Writer/director] Rian [Johnson] gave us a bunch of adjectives as to what he didn't want it to be. He didn't want them to sound screechy, or irritating, or squawky. It was a matter of experimenting through four or five versions of the sound."

Luckily, the sound designer didn't have to travel far to snag the sounds necessary.

"At Skywalker Sound there's a chicken coop with these little chickens, and Coya Elliott, our first assistant, went down and recorded those chickens," Klyce shared. "And then we took that sound and slowed it down and stretched it out and found little chirps."

Conversely, one of the most emotional moments came from all sound dropping out, which accompanied a shot of Admiral Holdo's ship jumping to hyperspace to destroy the First Order's fleet.

"The John Williams score and the sound effects, they're building to this full-throated crescendo, and then everything goes away, and it's just the tiniest atmosphere," editor Bob Ducsay detailed to Collider. "Sort of a low-end space sound, and you can just feel the audience because of that incredibly significant contrast in both sound and imagery. I mean it's amazing. And by the way, it's all Rian. He had that in his head, how that thing was going to work, and even though we made tweaks on it, this was always where he was headed."

The Force of Sound will begin streaming on February 20. The Last Jedi is in theaters now.

[H/T YouTube, ABC News]

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