Anyone's who's reached this short subject on the second disc of the A.I. DVD will have noticed that documentary film maker Laurent Bouzereau likes to focus on a different member of the crew for each of the 17 different segments. This time it's sound designer Gary Rydstrom's turn, who got involved with much earlier in production than he usually does, looking at the designs and characters. He proceeds to explain how he created a feeling in sound for each of the film's three distinct sections. A lot of the mechanical sounds were created with a Synclavier keyboard, including a children's choir that was incorporated into the under water sequences.
However, for most of the 7 minute running time Rydstrom doesn't really get into the sound effects at all. Instead he talks about the celebrity voices that were used for the different Mecha's such as Chris Rock, Robin Williams, Ben Kingsley and Meryl Streep. For the most important voice over, that of Teddy, Spielberg wanted a very calm and adult tone, not unlike Winnie the Pooh's depressed pal Eeyore. The voice had to be a counterpoint to all the craziness around him. Instead of choosing another big name star (sadly Gary neglects to mention who were on the list, voice actor Jack Angel was chosen. Choosing a relative unknown actor also meant they could have him be on set all day to record extra lines or redo existing ones. But of course all that was covered in "The Robots of A.I." already.
6 out of 10
However, for most of the 7 minute running time Rydstrom doesn't really get into the sound effects at all. Instead he talks about the celebrity voices that were used for the different Mecha's such as Chris Rock, Robin Williams, Ben Kingsley and Meryl Streep. For the most important voice over, that of Teddy, Spielberg wanted a very calm and adult tone, not unlike Winnie the Pooh's depressed pal Eeyore. The voice had to be a counterpoint to all the craziness around him. Instead of choosing another big name star (sadly Gary neglects to mention who were on the list, voice actor Jack Angel was chosen. Choosing a relative unknown actor also meant they could have him be on set all day to record extra lines or redo existing ones. But of course all that was covered in "The Robots of A.I." already.
6 out of 10