How Creative Research enriches the work of a designer
- Alisha Gupta
- Mar 8, 2022
- 3 min read
Gary Rydstrom, sound designer for Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park had an insightful approach to bringing the iconic T Rex roar to life, on screen for audiences in 1993. This franchise inspired me growing up, for multiple reasons from the pacing of the direction it followed, to the stunning visual effects and production design involved. Although an area few speak of is the sound design.
T Rex breakout scene. (1993) Available at https://www.britannica.com/topic/Jurassic-Park-film-by-Spielberg
His approach involved spending months to create distinctive sounds, for each of the species featured that nobody really knew, what it sounded like. That gave him creative freedom to explore a multitude of possibilities. I find that this form of creative research where the designer is given a level of freedom to approach a task at hand in their own way, opens up plenty of scope for them to strengthen the outcome because it would naturally be, authentic to their practice.
As he broke down sequences in the film, he revealed that the sound he created of the raptors communicating to one another that, includes a pulsating roar is actually the sound of tortoises mating that he recorded, on a visit to Marine World. The raspy heavy breathing used frequently for opening shots of the T Rex and other dinosaurs are from a horse. The violent scene where the park’s warden Robert Muldoon is killed showcase a chilling hiss of the velociraptor, was in fact the hiss of a goose.
Raptors in the kitchen. (1993) Available at https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/raptors-didnt-gang-up-on-prey-but-went-it-alone
The most important and unlikely sound added to create the T Rex roar was of a baby elephant. Once the origin of these sounds are known it simplifies the process far more and proves the length of possibility that can be taken from the ordinary around us.
The majority of this creative process involved layering a number of inter related sounds that overlapped each other, to carry the weight of a scene and deliver the impact needed to audiences. A core factor that I find they executed flawlessly was – believability. Since these species were long dead, it really left the designers with the creative freedom to challenge their understanding and perception of what they would sound like, in an outdoor environment built to contain them.
Sound designer, Gary Rydstrom describes his creative process, September 2020. (Available at https://jurassicoutpost.com/new-interview-with-jurassic-park-sound-designer-gary-rydstrom-and-jurassic-park-3-cinematographer-shelly-johnson/)
A key element he added was by slowing the sound down.
It’s one of the secrets of sound design that if you slow something down, something small, it brings out elements of the sound that you could probably never get if you recorded something big.” -Rydstrom, 2011
He followed this statement by giving a humorous example of having recorded his dog playing with his rope toy, that was the inspiration to the very dog like animation of the T Rex ripping its prey apart.
I find that the craft of suspense was truly mastered in this film because the director paid close attention to creating the anticipation in audiences, over shock value and this allowed for tension to be built, that expanded on existing knowledge and introduced an explorative method to this practice.
Bibliography
Buchanan K, (2015) You’ll Never Guess How the Dinosaur Sounds in Jurassic Park Were Made. Available at:
(Accessed 3rd March 2022)
Isaza M, (2011) An Interview with Gary Rydstrom. Available at:
(Accessed 5th March 2022)
Movieclips (2011) Jurassic Park (1993) – Raptors in the Kitchen Scene. Available at:
(Accessed 3rd March 2022)
Jurassic World (2021) The T Rex Escapes The Paddock. Available at:
(Accessed 3rd March 2022)
I loved reading this, it was so insightful. I feel as though sound design is often overlooked and this essay really highlights the importance of it in film and the research that goes into it.
This was such a cool read, something I've never considered before. Movies like Jurassic Park are so popular and recognised that I suppose it's easy to forget that they've had to recreate these animals from the little knowledge we had of them. I especially found the part about them sampling baby elephants really interesting. You've definitely found an interesting topic to talk about, with insightful references! Florence <3
I never usually think of sound design, especially when it comes to this franchise, so it's really interesting, especially from the perspective of them having the creative freedom to explore all avenues for designing the sounds.