To make R2-D2's “voice,” Burtt recorded sounds with his own voice and played them back at higher speeds.Then, he combined those recordings with sounds he made on a synthesizer. It's hard to say whether Ben Burtt heard or recorded the songs of a bobolink when designing sounds for R2-D2.
(born July 12, 1948) is an American sound designer, film director and editor, screenwriter, and voice actor. As a sound designer, his credits include the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film series, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), E.T.
It's a blend of Burtt's voice and the manipulation of a synthesizer that birthed the R2 unit's sounds. As for the scream? It was pretty much just Burtt screaming himself, perhaps motivated by stress.
Sound designer Ben Burtt used an ARP 2600, combined with his own voice, to create the voice of R2-D2 in the Star Wars films. Burtt also used the synth to also create the sound effects of the Ark of the Covenant in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Astromech droids are a series of versatile utility robots generally used for the maintenance and repair of starships and related technology. These small droids are often equipped with a variety of tool-tipped appendages that are stowed in recessed compartments. The R2 unit is a popular example of an astromech droid.
To understand why R2-D2 does not speak Basic, we must appreciate that his primary function doesn't necessitate it. Instead, he communicates through beeps and boops, efficient for his role as a starship repair and navigational unit.
C-3PO, his robot companion, could speak 6-million languages including excellent English with a hint of a British accent and all R2-D2 could muster were beeps and whistles. Clearly the technology was there to let him speak, but whoever designed him intentionally decided to stick with the beeps and whistles.
The decision to take R2-D2's voice out of the equation was a genius call that helped make the character more memorable than through voiced dialogue. The beeps and whistles managed to convey emotions uniquely and endearingly. For example, when Artoo is annoyed, his beeps become louder and more frantic.
R2-D2 appeared in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, with actor Jimmy Vee taking over the role from Kenny Baker, who retired from the role due to his age and health. Baker died in August 2016.
However, most droids, including R2-D2 and BB-8, "speak" a droid language through sequences of beeps and whistles. It is known as "Binary," and several humans in the Star Wars universe can understand it. Here are the handful of the humans who can and an explanation for why they're able to do so.
A reliable and versatile astromech droid, R2-D2 has served Padmé Amidala, Anakin Skywalker, and Luke Skywalker in turn, showing great bravery in rescuing his masters and their friends from many perils.
The Wilhelm scream became iconic in popular culture when motion picture sound designer Ben Burtt, who had come across the original recording on a studio archive sound reel, incorporated it into the scene in Star Wars (1977) in which Luke Skywalker shoots a Stormtrooper off a ledge.
In the first act of Phantom Menace, after the heroes' ship is damaged while escaping the Trade Federation blockade over Naboo, the crew of astromech droids succeed in the repairs; however, there are no survivors. R2-D2 is blasted off of the hull just as he finishes patching up his section.
R2-D2 was present when Padmé gave birth to Leia and Luke, so he knew Luke was Anakin's son – but what he didn't know was that Anakin became Darth Vader. In addition to that, Anakin's fall was surely a painful event in R2-D2's life, one that he definitely wouldn't like to remember or even talk about.
Summary. Obi-Wan's seeming inability to remember R2-D2 in "A New Hope" was a deliberate choice to downplay the droid's arrival and avoid revealing too much too soon.
To make R2-D2's “voice,” Burtt recorded sounds with his own voice and played them back at higher speeds. Then, he combined those recordings with sounds he made on a synthesizer. It's hard to say whether Ben Burtt heard or recorded the songs of a bobolink when designing sounds for R2-D2.
But only a few of the human characters in Star Wars can understand droids; Luke Skywalker wasn't the only one. Obi-Wan Kenobi was another human who could speak Binary, as well as Anakin, who shared the strongest relationship with R2-D2, as seen in the prequel trilogy and Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
John Paul Jones used his VCS3 on many important Led Zeppelin tracks, as well. The VCS3 was a semi-modular analog synthesizer; that is, it had patchable routing using a small matrix panel. The player would insert metal pins in this panel and connect sections of the synthesizer together.
They aren't abbreviations — they're model and serial numbers. R2 is a second generation R-series astromech, serial number D2. * And C-3PO is a C-series protocol droid with the serial number 3PO.
