The Academy Award for Best Sound is an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

that recognizes the finest or most euphonic

sound mixing Audio mixing is the process by which multiple sounds are combined into one or more channels. In the process, a source's volume level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated or enhanced. This practical, aesthetic ...

, recording,

sound design Sound design is the art and practice of creating sound tracks for a variety of needs. It involves specifying, acquiring or creating auditory elements using audio production techniques and tools. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including ...

, and sound editing. The award used to go to the studio sound departments until a rule change in 1969 said it should be awarded to the specific technicians. The first were Murray Spivack and Jack Solomon for '' Hello, Dolly!''. It is generally awarded to the

production sound mixer A production sound mixer, location sound recordist, location sound engineer, or simply sound mixer is the member of a film crew or television crew responsible for recording all sound recording on set during the filmmaking or television production u ...

re-recording mixer A re-recording mixer in North America, also known as a dubbing mixer in Europe, is a post-production audio engineer who mixes recorded dialogue, sound effects and music to create the final version of a soundtrack for a feature film, television p ...

s, and supervising sound editors of the winning film. In the lists below, the winner of the award for each year is shown first, followed by the other nominees. Before the

93rd Academy Awards The 93rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released from January 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021, at Union Station in Los Angeles. The ceremony was held on April 25, 202 ...

, Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing were separate categories. For the second and third years of this category (i.e., the

4th Academy Awards The 4th Academy Awards were held on November 10, 1931 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, awarding films released between August 1, 1930, and July 31, 1931. '' Cimarron'' was the first Western to win Best Picture, and would rema ...

and the 5th Academy Awards) only the names of the film companies were listed.

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

Publix Studio Sound Department won in both years.

Winners and nominees

1930s

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Multiple nominations and awards for Best Sound Mixing

Multiple awards and nominations for Best Sound Editing

Multiple awards

;4 awards * Richard King *

Ben Burtt Benjamin Burtt Jr. (born July 12, 1948) is an American sound designer, film director and editor, screenwriter, and voice actor. As a sound designer, his credits include the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' film series, ''Invasion of the Body ...

† ;3 awards * Charles L. Campbell *

Per Hallberg Per Hallberg (born December 30, 1958), is a Swedish film sound editor whose work has appeared in over 40 movies. He has won three Academy Awards for Best Sound Editing for the films '' Braveheart'' (1995), '' The Bourne Ultimatum'' (2007) and ...

* Richard Hymns *

Gary Rydstrom Gary Roger Rydstrom (born June 29, 1959) is an American sound designer and film director. He has been nominated for 20 Academy Awards for his work in sound for movies, winning 7. Life and career Rydstrom was born in Chicago. He graduated from t ...

;2 awards *

Bub Asman Bub Asman (born August 17, 1949, in Louisville, Kentucky) is a sound editor known for his collaborations with director Clint Eastwood. He and his colleagues on the 2006 film '' Letters from Iwo Jima'' won the Academy Award for Best Sound Editi ...

Karen Baker Landers Karen Baker Landers is a two-time Academy Award-winning sound editor. She also has won and been nominated for several Motion Picture Sound Editors awards as well as winning the BAFTA Award for Best Sound. She often works with Per Hallberg. She h ...

Christopher Boyes Christopher Boyes is an American sound engineer. He has won four Academy Awards and has been nominated for another ten. He has worked on more than 100 films since 1991. Academy Awards Boyes has won four Academy Awards and has been nominated for ...

* Mike Hopkins * Stephen Hunter Flick † *

Alan Robert Murray Alan Robert Murray (July 30, 1954 – February 24, 2021) was an American sound editor. Murray was nominated for ten Academy Awards. In 2007, Murray won the Academy Award for Best Sound Editing for his work on '' Letters from Iwo Jima'' (2005) ...

* Paul N. J. Ottosson * George Watters II * Ethan Van der Ryn

Multiple nominations

;10 nominations *

;9 nominations * Richard Hymns ;8 nominations *

* George Watters II *

† ;7 nominations * Wylie Stateman ;6 nominations *

* Richard King * Michael Silvers * Ethan Van der Ryn ;5 nominations * Stephen Hunter Flick † *

Mark Mangini Mark Mangini (born 1956) is an American sound editor with over 125 film credits. He won the 2015 Academy Award for Best Sound Editing along with David White for their work on '' Mad Max: Fury Road''. Mangini is renowned for recording and ed ...

* Bruce Stambler * Matthew Wood ;4 nominations * Lon Bender * Charles L. Campbell *

* John Leveque *

Randy Thom David Randall Thom (born August 21, 1951) is an American sound designer and the current director of sound design at Skywalker Sound. Career Randy Thom began working at FM radio station WYSO at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio as a volunte ...

;3 nominations * Richard L. Anderson † * Mike Hopkins * Skip Lievsay * Paul N. J. Ottosson * Mark Stoeckinger ;2 nominations *

Erik Aadahl Erik Aadahl (born September 16, 1976) is an American sound editor. He is best known for providing Godzilla's roar in the 2014 film of the same name. He also voiced Bumblebee in '' Transformers: The Last Knight''. Career He graduated from the U ...

Tom Bellfort Tom Bellfort is a sound editor. He has done sound editing on over 80 films since 1983. He was a member of The Saul Zaentz Film Center, Skywalker Sound, and Soundelux. Filmography Select titles Bellfort worked on at Skywalker Sound *''The Yo ...

Steve Boeddeker Steve Boeddeker is a sound editor. Boeddeker and fellow sound editor Richard Hymns were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Sound Editing for the film ''All Is Lost'' (2013). Filmography * Monkeybone (2001) Sound Designer *Frequency (2000) ...

Gloria Borders Gloria Borders is a sound effects editor, best known for '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' for which she won an Oscar as well for Best Sound Editing. She was also the General Manager for Skywalker Sound. Borders attended Moorestown Friends School ...

* Robert Bratton * Brent Burge * Glenn Freemantle * Eugene Gearty * Cecelia Hall * Robert G. Henderson * Martin Hernández *

Mildred Iatrou Morgan Mildred Iatrou Morgan is an American sound editor and audio engineer. She is of Greek descent. Work Some of her works include: * ''The Fast and the Furious'' (2001) * ''Catch Me If You Can'' (2002) * ''Antwone Fisher'' (2002) * '' Sinbad: Lege ...

Ren Klyce Ren Klyce is a Japanese-American sound designer and sound mixer. He has been nominated for nine Academy Awards; six for Best Sound and three for Best Sound Editing. He is best known for his frequent collaborations with director David Fincher, ...

Ai-Ling Lee Ai-Ling Lee is a Singaporean sound editor, re-recording mixer and audio engineer working in Los Angeles, California. Her works on films, '' Bruce Almighty'' (2003), ''Spider-Man 2'' (2004), '' Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' (2005), '' The Twilight Saga: New ...

* Tom Myers *

Walter Rossi Walter Rossi (July 12, 1894 – February 12, 1978) was a sound editor who won 1 Academy Award and was nominated for 2 more Academy Awards. Oscar nominations * 1957 Academy Awards-Award for '' The Enemy Below'' in the category of Best Special ...

* Philip Stockton *

Oliver Tarney Oliver Tarney is a British sound supervisor and sound designer who is most known for his work with Ridley Scott and Paul Greengrass. Tarney was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Sound Editing for the 2013 film '' Captain Phillips''. He wa ...

Gwendolyn Yates Whittle Gwendolyn Yates Whittle (born 1961) is a three-time Academy Award-nominated sound editor. She has worked on over 120 films to date. She has won 5 Golden Reel Award (Motion Picture Sound Editors), Golden Reel Awards at the Motion Picture Sound Edit ...

† = includes special achievement awards

Notes

References

{{Academy Award Best Sound Editing

Sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' b ...

* Film sound awards