Sound design is the process of specifying, acquiring, manipulating or generating audio elements. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including filmmaking, television production, theatre, sound recording and reproduction, live performance, sound art, post-production and video game software development. Sound design most commonly involves the manipulation of previously composed or recorded audio, such as music and sound effects. In some instances it may also involve the composition or manipulation of audio to create a desired effect or mood. A sound designer is one who practices the art of sound design.

The use of sound to evoke emotion, reflect mood and underscore actions in plays and dances began in prehistoric times. At its earliest, it was used in religious practices for healing or just for fun. In ancient Japan, theatrical events called kagura were performed in Shinto shrines with music and dance.

Plays were performed in medieval times in a form of theatre called Commedia dell'arte, which used music and sound effects to enhance performances. The use of music and sound in the Elizabethan Theatre followed, in which music and sound effects were produced off stage using devices such as bells, whistles, and horns. Cues would be written in the script for music and sound effects to be played at the appropriate time.

Benjamin "Ben" Burtt, Jr. (born July 12, 1948) is an American sound designer who has worked on various films including: the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film series, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), and WALL-E (2008). He is also a film editor and director, screenwriter, and voice actor.

He is most notable for creating many of the iconic sound effects heard in the Star Wars film franchise, including the "voice" of R2-D2, the lightsaber hum and the heavy-breathing sound of Darth Vader.

Burtt was born in Jamesville, New York, and graduated with a major in physics from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania.

In 1970, he won the National Student Film Festival with a war film Yankee Squadron, reputedly after following exposure to classic aviation drama through making an amateur film at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, a living aviation museum in Red Hook, New York, under guidance from its founder, Cole Palen.^{[citation needed]}

For his work on the special-effects film Genesis, Burtt won a scholarship to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, where he earned a master's degree in film production.

Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials. The character first appeared in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, to be followed by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 1984, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles from 1992 to 1996, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in 2008. Alongside the more widely known films and television programs, the character is also featured in novels, comics, video games, and other media. Jones is also featured in the theme park attraction Indiana Jones Adventure, which exists in similar forms at Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea.

Jones is most famously played by Harrison Ford and has also been portrayed by River Phoenix (as the young Jones in The Last Crusade), and in the television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles by Corey Carrier, Sean Patrick Flanery, and George Hall. Doug Lee has supplied Jones's voice to two LucasArts video games, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis and Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine, while David Esch supplied his voice to Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb and John Armstrong in Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings.

Zachary Baird, born February 16, 1971 in Orange County, California, is a keyboardist and pianist, currently collaborating with the band Korn. He is also noted for using the Moog synthesizer. as well as the Ondes Martenot.

Zach Baird graduated from the Arts Magnet, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas. A high school that has produced other artist such as musicians Edie Brickell, Erykah Badu, jazz trumpet player Roy Hargrove, singer song writer Patrice Pike and singer Norah Jones.

His first project was a 15 piece funk band called Whitey but he then joined the band BillyGoat in 1990 and was a member for six years. Over the years he either founded or was involved in numerous other projects and bands, including:

Baird has collaborated with artists from many various music genres, including Edie Brickell, Everlast, Evanescence (provided programming for their debut album "Fallen"), Colin Hay, Daniel Powter, Mike Dillon, and Stone Gossard.

He was auditioned for Nine Inch Nails: