Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound, a new documentary film that reveals the hidden power of sound in cinema, will World Premiere at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival on Monday, April 29. Following the screening, the festival will present a special Tribeca Talks Master Class, “The Art of Cinematic Sound,” with director Midge Costin and Oscar-winning sound designers Walter Murch, Ben Burtt and Gary Rydstrom who are featured in the film.

Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound reveals the hidden power of sound in cinema — and our lives. Through film clips, interviews and vérité footage, the film explores the impact and creative process of this overlooked art form through insight from legendary directors such as George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, David Lynch, Barbra Streisand, Christopher Nolan, Sofia Coppola and Ryan Coogler, and their wildly creative sound designers.

We see and hear from the key players — including multi-Oscar winners Walter Murch (Apocalypse Now, The Godfather), Ben Burtt (Star Wars. E.T.) and Gary Rydstrom (Saving Private Ryan, Jurassic Park) — who, in pursuing their art and desire to push the medium, will go down in the history of cinema as developing sound into the immersive storytelling force it is today. 

Director Midge Costin has been a sound editor in Hollywood for over 25 years. Her work is featured in Academy Award-nominated films for Sound Editing. She is the Kay Rose Professor in the Art of Sound at USC School of Cinematic Arts, and lectures internationally on the transformative power of sound.