Commentary: ‘Star Trek’ Created Distinct Eras Dictated By Sound Effects
by Frank Martin
Audiences often discount just how much sound effects become tied to a franchise. The sound of a lightsaber igniting in Star Wars has become so iconic that fans can recognize it nearly anywhere. But even more than just an iconic sound, it’s also a noise that has withstood the test of time. The same cue that was used to ignite a lightsaber decades ago is still being used today. So it’s also interesting to see how iconic sounds evolve over time to mark different eras of the storyline. This can be seen in Star Trek, and specifically, the sound of being beamed away in Star Trek: Discovery.
The same way that lightsaber noises are an iconic in Star Wars, the sound of characters being beamed away in the transporter is also iconic to Star Trek. The sound was used in the original Star Trek series, when they did their best to give the show state-of-the-art special effects of the times. Even though special effects grew with the decades, and the visual of seeing characters using the transporter became more detailed, the sound stayed more or less the same. This was how the series was able to keep uniformity throughout the years and its many installments.
But some of Star Trek: Discovery takes place 900 years in the future, in a different era of the Star Trek timeline. Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) discovered at the beginning of the third season that characters no longer use the transporter that was made famous in the original series. Now characters have personalized transporters that allow them to beam away from anywhere and at any time. Essentially, the characters have the ability to teleport, which is very different than the original Star Trek era, which had characters stand inside a transporter. This new age of transporting came with a different visual style and a different sound effect. If audiences close their eyes, they can listen to the more detailed sound engineering of Discovery and actually hear how the show has evolved over time. It’s very indicative of the fact that sound effects have come to define different generations of television within the same series.
Star Trek: Discovery is now streaming on Paramount+.
