Sound Designer Learns His Trade at UCSD in La Jolla

Martin Lopez is sort of like the guy from Police Academy that can reproduce any sound.  He has done it all from the roar of Godzilla, to the sound of Spider-Man’s web slinging, and everything in between. Yet nothing Lopez learned from University of California San Diego in La Jolla could have prepared him for the challenge of making sounds for some of the movies he has worked on. There was no class to teach him the sound a killer tomato might make.

While attending school in La Jolla Lopez was originally hoping to become a doctor, but 4 ½ years later he ended up graduating with a degree in Communications/Visual Arts and the intention of being a cinematographer. His first credited work was as sound designer for the sequel to the cult hit, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. He tried his hand at writing soon after but abandoned that to focus mainly on sound work.

         

Lopez was hired on as a sound director from the 1998 remake of Japanese monster flick Godzilla. This new Godzilla was to be a completely new monster but was to still pay homage to the original. Lopez built a 6-foot artificial lung to create the sounds of the monster’s breathing. This was said to be the most realistic way to produce the breathing of a creature the size of a building. Sounds had to be made for when the monster jumped, ran, climbed and everything else a prehistoric beast might do. Maybe the time studying to be a doctor at UCSD helped a little bit in this case.

In just over two decades Lopez has managed to work on over four-dozen diverse movies ranging from action films like Karate Kid to documentaries like Michael Jackson’s This Is It. As a sound designer and sound effects editor, he is responsible for creating all of the non-dialogue and non-music sound elements for use in a film to enrich or enhance the film. Lopez is scheduled to start on a thriller called Broken City, starring Russell Crowe, and he is looking forward to the challenge of a new genre.  He still credits finding his voice from his time at UCSD in La Jolla.

Music, arts, and theater are a fundamental part of UCSD’s educational focus. The support of UCSD and the surrounding La Jolla community allows for students like Lopez to explore their self-expression and turn their art into a career. To learn more about contemporary art in La Jolla, visit Thumbprint Gallery on Kline St., open 12-4pm Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday.