ElleW Sound: Assignement 2

Walter Murch

D.O.B: Born on July 12^th, 1943.

Career: Film editing and sound design

Personal History:

Married to Muriel Ann also known as “Aggie” with four children; Walter Murch, Beatrice Murch, Carrie Angland and Connie Angland.

Murch attened The Collegiate School in 1961 and graduated 1965 in the Liberal Arts. Before enroing into the University of Southern California, a film school which he became friends with George Lucas, Hal Barwood, Robert Dalva, Willard Huyuck, Don Glut and John Milius they would become known as friends The Dirty Dozen and all of would go on to be successful filmmakers

“I think every age has a medium that talks to it more eloquently than the others. In the 19th century it was symphonic music and the novel. For various technical and artistic reasons, film became that eloquent medium for the 20th century.”

Quoted by Walter Murch.

Publishing History:

1969 – Editing and mixing sound with Francis Ford Coppola’s The Rain people. Murch also worked on Gorge Lucas’s THX 1138, a fellow student from University of Southern California, edited Coppola’s American Graffiti and The Godfather.

1974 – The Conversation, which he won an Academy Award for edited sound, Murch also released in the same year The Godfather Part II in which he mixed the audio of this title.

1979 – Apocalypse Now, most famous sound design work which won Murch his first Oscar for the sound mix. It was the first multi-channels film to be mixed using a computerized mixing board.

1985 – In this year Walter Murch directed a film called Return to Oz which Murch co-wrote with Gil Dennis.

1990 – Ghost is one of the most well remembered movies of its time, even to this day.

1996 – The English Patient based on Michael Ondaatje’s novel won Murch two Oscars for both Sound mixing and editing. Murch was the first person to be awarded an electronically edit film (using Avid system) and was the only person to win a Oscar for both sound mixing and film editing

1997 – In a documentary the Return to Oz: The joy that got away would be dedicated to Murch.

2003 – Murch edited Cold Mountain another Anthony Minghella film.

“Film editing is now something almost everyone can do at a simple level and enjoy it, but to take it to a higher level requires the same dedication and persistence that any art form does.”

Quoted by Walter Murch.

Innovations:

Walter Murch is considered one of the three fathers in Cinema because of his ability as a editor, to create films using different systems in order to create that sound effect:

· Julia (1977) using Moviola.

· Apocalypse Now (1979), Ghost (1990) and The Godfather, Part III (1990) using KEM flatbed.

· The English Patient (1996) using Avid.

· Cold Mountain (2003) using Final Cut Pro

For more information about Walter Murch visit

Walter Murch Interview:

http://designingsound.org/2009/10/walter-murch-special-interviews/

Walter Murch video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_py6jVyOqUY

Bibliography:

Walter Murch History

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Murch