Academy Award for Best Sound facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Academy Award for Best Sound |
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| Presented by | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) |
| Country | United States |
| First awarded | 1930 |
| Currently held by | Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett, and Doug Hemphill Dune: Part Two (2024) |
The Academy Award for Best Sound is a special prize given out at the Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars. This award celebrates the best sound in movies. It recognizes how well the sound is mixed, recorded, designed, and edited. Think of all the sounds you hear in a movie, from quiet whispers to huge explosions. This award is for the people who make those sounds perfect!
For a long time, the award went to the sound departments of big movie studios. But in 1969, the rules changed. From then on, the award went directly to the talented people who worked on the sound. The first individuals to win were Murray Spivack and Jack Solomon for the movie Hello, Dolly!. Today, the award usually goes to the production sound mixers, re-recording mixers, and supervising sound editors. Before the 93rd Academy Awards, there were actually two separate awards for sound: one for "Best Sound Mixing" and one for "Best Sound Editing."
Contents
What is Sound in Movies?
Sound in movies is super important! It helps tell the story and makes you feel like you're really there.
Sound Mixing
Sound mixing is like being a DJ for a movie. It's about blending all the different sounds together. This includes dialogue (what characters say), music, and sound effects. The goal is to make sure everything sounds balanced and clear. Imagine a scene with talking, a car chase, and dramatic music. A sound mixer makes sure you can hear all of it perfectly.
Sound Recording
Sound recording is capturing all the sounds on set. This means recording the actors' voices clearly. It also involves recording sounds happening around them. Good recording is the first step to great movie sound.
Sound Design
Sound design is like painting with sound. Sound designers create or find all the sounds for a movie. This can be anything from the rustle of leaves to the roar of a dragon. They decide what sounds will make the movie feel real or exciting.
Sound Editing
Sound editing is putting all the sounds in the right place. Sound editors take the recorded sounds and the designed sounds. Then, they cut and arrange them to match what's happening on screen. They make sure a door creaks exactly when it opens.
Winners and Nominees: A Look Through Time
The Academy Award for Best Sound has been given out since 1930. Over the years, many talented people have been recognized. Here are some of the winners and nominees from different decades. The winner for each year is always listed first.
Early Years: 1930s to 1950s
In the very beginning, for the 1930-1931 and 1931-1932 awards, only the names of the movie studios were listed as winners. Paramount Publix Studio Sound Department won both times! Later, individual sound engineers started getting recognized alongside the studios.
The 1960s: Sound Mixing and Sound Effects
In the 1960s, the Academy Awards sometimes gave out two separate sound awards. One was for "Best Sound" (which was mostly about mixing), and another was for "Best Sound Effects." This showed how important both aspects of sound were becoming.
| Year | Film | Nominees | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 (36th) |
Best Sound | ||
| How the West Was Won | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Franklin E. Milton | ||
| Bye Bye Birdie | Columbia Studio Sound Department, Charles Rice | ||
| Captain Newman, M.D. | Universal City Studio Sound Department, Waldon O. Watson | ||
| Cleopatra | 20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, James P. Corcoran; Todd-AO Sound Department, Fred Hynes | ||
| It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World | Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department, Gordon E. Sawyer | ||
| Best Sound Effects | |||
| It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World | Walter Elliott | ||
| A Gathering of Eagles | Robert Bratton | ||
| 1969 (42nd) |
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| Hello, Dolly! | Jack Solomon and Murray Spivack | ||
| Anne of the Thousand Days | John Aldred | ||
| Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | William Edmondson and David Dockendorf | ||
| Gaily, Gaily | Robert Martin and Clem Portman | ||
| Marooned | Les Fresholtz and Arthur Piantadosi | ||
Modern Era: 1970s to Today
The 1970s brought more focus on individual sound professionals. Movies like Star Wars and Apocalypse Now won for their amazing sound. These films showed how much sound could add to a movie's experience. In recent years, the award has gone to films like Dune and Top Gun: Maverick, highlighting their incredible soundscapes.
| Year | Film | Nominees | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 (50th) |
Best Sound | ||
| Star Wars | Don MacDougall, Ray West, Bob Minkler and Derek Ball | ||
| Close Encounters of the Third Kind | Robert Knudson, Robert Glass, Don MacDougall and Gene Cantamessa | ||
| The Deep | Walter Goss, Dick Alexander, Tom Beckert and Robin Gregory | ||
| Sorcerer | Robert Knudson, Robert Glass, Richard Tyler and Jean-Louis Ducarme | ||
| The Turning Point | Theodore Soderberg, Paul Wells, Douglas Williams and Jerry Jost | ||
| Special Achievement Award (Sound Effects Editing) | |||
| Close Encounters of the Third Kind | Frank E. Warner | ||
| 2020/21 (93rd) |
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| Sound of Metal | Nicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michelle Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés and Phillip Bladh | ||
| Greyhound | Warren Shaw, Michael Minkler, Beau Borders and David Wyman | ||
| Mank | Ren Klyce, Jeremy Molod, David Parker, Nathan Nance and Drew Kunin | ||
| News of the World | Oliver Tarney, Mike Prestwood Smith, William Miller and John Pritchett | ||
| Soul | Ren Klyce, Coya Elliott and David Parker | ||
| 2021 (94th) |
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| Dune | Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill and Ron Bartlett | ||
| Belfast | Denise Yarde, Simon Chase, James Mather and Niv Adiri | ||
| No Time to Die | Simon Hayes, Oliver Tarney, James Harrison, Paul Massey and Mark Taylor | ||
| The Power of the Dog | Richard Flynn, Robert Mackenzie and Tara Webb | ||
| West Side Story | Tod A. Maitland, Gary Rydstrom, Brian Chumney, Andy Nelson and Shawn Murphy | ||
| 2022 (95th) |
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| Top Gun: Maverick | Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor | ||
| All Quiet on the Western Front | Viktor Prášil, Frank Kruse, Markus Stemler, Lars Ginzel and Stefan Korte | ||
| Avatar: The Way of Water | Julian Howarth, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Dick Bernstein, Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers and Michael Hedges | ||
| The Batman | Stuart Wilson, William Files, Douglas Murray and Andy Nelson | ||
| Elvis | David Lee, Wayne Pashley, Andy Nelson and Michael Keller | ||
| 2023 (96th) |
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| The Zone of Interest | Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn | ||
| The Creator | Ian Voigt, Erik Aadahl, Ethan Van der Ryn, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic | ||
| Maestro | Steven A. Morrow, Richard King, Jason Ruder, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic | ||
| Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One | Chris Munro, James H. Mather, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor | ||
| Oppenheimer | Willie Burton, Richard King, Gary A. Rizzo and Kevin O'Connell | ||
| 2024 (97th) |
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| Dune: Part Two | Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett and Doug Hemphill | ||
| A Complete Unknown | Tod A. Maitland, Donald Sylvester, Ted Caplan, Paul Massey and David Giammarco | ||
| Emilia Pérez | Erwan Kerzanet, Aymeric Devoldère, Maxence Dussère, Cyril Holtz and Niels Barletta | ||
| Wicked | Simon Hayes, Nancy Nugent Title, Jack Dolman, Andy Nelson and John Marquis | ||
| The Wild Robot | Randy Thom, Brian Chumney, Gary A. Rizzo and Leff Lefferts | ||
Sound Experts with Many Awards and Nominations
Some sound engineers have won or been nominated for this award many times. This shows their amazing talent and hard work in the movie industry.
Multiple Awards for Best Sound Mixing
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Multiple Awards for Best Sound Editing
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See also
- BAFTA Award for Best Sound
- Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Sound
- Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel Awards
- List of Academy Award–nominated films
