People

David Farmer

Sound · follow into films and chains

Biography

David Farmer is an American sound designer at Skywalker Sound. Raised on a farm in Gladys, Virginia, he developed an early interest in music as a guitarist and drummer before deciding to pursue a career in sound after seeing behind-the-scenes footage of sound designer Ben Burtt creating effects for the Star Wars films. He studied Recording Arts at Full Sail University in Florida before moving to Los Angeles, where he began his career as an intern at a Burbank post-production facility. He was inducted into the Full Sail Hall of Fame in 2011. He is best known for his work as sound designer on Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, creating sounds for Ringwraiths, the Balrog, and the Cave Troll. He returned to Middle-earth for the Hobbit trilogy, creating sounds for Smaug. Outside his work, Farmer is an avid field recordist who has released ambient soundscape and white-noise recordings under the artist names Aural Escapes, Dream Candy and Hushaboo.

Notable films

Where to start

Highlights from credits and KinoChain journeys.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Sound Designer

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Appears in a KinoChain journey

Avengers: Endgame

Sound Designer

Avengers: Infinity War

Sound Designer

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Sound Designer

Thor: Ragnarok

Sound Designer

Thunderbolts*

Sound Designer

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Sound Designer

Chains

KinoChain journeys

Public chains that pass through their films — or name them as a bridge.

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When Studios Marry: Films Born of Corporate Chaos

From the ashes of mergers and acquisitions come some of cinema's most fascinating experiments. This chain traces how boardroom decisions shaped the art on scree...

8 films

20 Home Video Releases Every Film Obsessive Should Own

There was a brief, glorious period in the late 1990s and early 2000s when buying a film on home video felt less like acquiring a product and more like being han...

20 films

The DVDs That Changed Everything

In the late 1990s, home video underwent a seismic shift driven by a double revolution: an unprecedented jump in technical quality, and an unprecedented access t...

10 films

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