Movie

[MRandall25]

Did a little Googling. Only 7 Bond films have been nominated for anything (Oscar-related), and none have been nominated since For Your Eyes Only

[tifosi77]

not documentaries.

speaking of, has anyone watched "jiro dreams of sushi"? its streaming on netflix and amazon, what an interesting documentary.

Yes, Mrs Tif and I just watched it about two weeks ago. Fascinating stuff, especially how the son's restaurant is a mirror image of Sukiyabashi Jiro because his dad is left-handed and he's right-handed.

FWIW, Sukiyabashi Jiro is actually only about six blocks from my company's HQ in Tokyo and I walked by it when I was there. Probably the closest I'll ever get to eating there.

whats the difference between sound mixing and sound editing

tifosi77 for $500

Sound effects editors are the guys who go out with Nagra tape decks and giant fuzzy microphones and record sounds of farting geese and dolphins in heat and then combines them together in ProTools or somesuch and manipulates the waveform to end up with the recognizable call of a Velociraptor in "Jurassic Park". Or record the sound of a wrench being tapped against a metal guy wire on a telephone pole to create the laser blaster sound from "Star Wars". Or drag a large stone block across the stone floor of an old underground military facility to get the sound of a roaring balrog in "Lord of the Rings".

Sound mixers then take all the various sounds created by the editors (plus the dialog and the music) and combine them together to make the final soundtrack of the film in a process called re-recording or dubbing. At bigger facilities (like Skywalker Sound) they'll have gigantic 120-track boards with which make the final mix.

I moved to CA 15 years ago because I wanted to be a SFX editor, and ultimately a re-recording mixer.

[canaan]

i dont know where i went wrong in my life that i didnt end up recording goose farts.

[Letang Is The Truth]

how does one come up with that combination?

[shafnutz05]

I finally watched Gattaca for the first time. Wow...what a powerful, awesome movie. Loved absolutely everything about it.

[eddysnake]

how does one come up with that combination?

Lysergic acid diethylamide

[eddysnake]

I finally watched Gattaca for the first time. Wow...what a powerful, awesome movie. Loved absolutely everything about it.

I forgot all about that movie, gonna add it to my queue, thanks

[columbia]

I finally watched Gattaca for the first time. Wow...what a powerful, awesome movie. Loved absolutely everything about it.

The visual aesthetics of that film are just great. Meaning set design, etc.

[pittsoccer33]

how does one come up with that combination?

if you have a dvd or bluray with special features about the sound design of the film definitely watch it. the star wars discs have a lot of stuff with ben burtt. you dont think about where R2's voice comes from, or how a light saber hums, or why a tie fighter squeals, but a lot of thought goes into it.

when you see a credit for "foley" those are the people who record rustling leaves or gun shots.

we kind of take really great sound design for granted now, but its really only began to evolve to what we know now 30 or so years ago when Lucasfilm created the THX certification for how movie theaters should sound.

terminator 2 is another all time classic. to this day it is considered one of the greatest sound achievements.

[Eismann]

I finally watched Gattaca for the first time. Wow...what a powerful, awesome movie. Loved absolutely everything about it.

I forgot all about that movie, gonna add it to my queue, thanks

I've had it dvrrrrrd forever. Need to make time to watch. Hawke and B. Kiddo getting it done.

[tifosi77]

how does one come up with that combination?

It comes from the sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament.

Honestly, you'd be surprised what many of the best sound effects actually are.

I finally watched Gattaca for the first time. Wow...what a powerful, awesome movie. Loved absolutely everything about it.

I don't remember a single thing about that movie, but I remember have a visceral reaction to it. Hated it.

we kind of take really great sound design for granted now, but its really only began to evolve to what we know now 30 or so years ago when Lucasfilm created the THX certification for how movie theaters should sound.

The whole idea was to replicate the acoustic environment of a dubbing/re-recording stage in a commercial cinema.

It has done wonders for cinematic (and home) presentations, but remember that THX represents a set of minimum standards. The two best theaters I've ever been in (both on studio lots) are not THX-certified.

terminator 2 is another all time classic. to this day it is considered one of the greatest sound achievements.

And the crazy thing about that movie is that is was not even encoded in surround sound.

The way the original Dolby system works (or worked, I guess) was that the surround channel was a monophonic signal that would be recorded in the L-R stereo signal, but laid in 180 degrees out of phase with the actual L-R audio. The center channel was a sum of the audio info in the L-R signal that was of equal magnitude in each channel. The Dolby processor would then decode the stereo signal, send the common sounds to the center speaker and all info that was 180 out of phase to the mono surrounds. Well, with T2 they didn't actually encode any audio deliberately out of phase to create a surround signal. So any surround audio you hear on that soundtrack is what they call 'magic surround', audio that's just naturally out of phase.

So despite (or perhaps because of) being essentially a simple stereo film, T2 still remains one of the top sound films of all time.

If you're interested in sound design, I suggest renting any film in which Walter Murch worked in the audio department. (To this day, the opening reel of "Apocalypse Now" is probably the most impressive combination of sound and visual story telling I've ever seen. Er, heard.) Listen to a Robert Altman movie (like "The Player"), how he uses layers of dialog from multiple characters to create a mood. Get any film that Gary Rydstrom did sound for; he's known for big films like T2 and "Jurassic Park", but his work on the early Pixar shorts is especially noteworthy. Ben Burtt is sort of the godfather of modern sound design, thanks to his revolutionary effects editing work on "Star Wars".

Sound truly is 50% of the experience. And it's a part that 99% of moviegoers don't appreciate, or even care to understand. They don't realize that at no point in the scene in "The Godfather" when Michael kills Sollozzo and McCluskey at the restaurant do we see a subway or el train.... but we hear it on the soundtrack as the enter the restaurant..... and we don't consciously register the screeching of the wheels on the rails gaining in volume and intensity, dominating the audio as Michael grows more and more agitated in the moments before he pulls the trigger...... and we don't really take notice that the instant before Michael does pull the trigger, the screeching ceases leaving the shots to ring out of a moment of complete silence, creating a moment of surprise despite the audience knowing for nearly 8 minutes of screen time that this was going to happen. We don't notice these details. But they increase the power and impact of the scene in a way that's almost incalculable.

[Froggy]

ok, never seen the Crank movies with Jason Statham. heard that part 2 was just off the wall bazonkers. watched... it was indeed insane. my gf is as much an expert on cheesy action movies as i am cheesy horror movies(how cool is that?), and she chastised me for not having seen them. now i'm about to watch part 1. i think backwards will work just as well.

[FreeCandy44]

how does one come up with that combination?

It comes from the sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament.

Honestly, you'd be surprised what many of the best sound effects actually are.

I finally watched Gattaca for the first time. Wow...what a powerful, awesome movie. Loved absolutely everything about it.

I don't remember a single thing about that movie, but I remember have a visceral reaction to it. Hated it.

we kind of take really great sound design for granted now, but its really only began to evolve to what we know now 30 or so years ago when Lucasfilm created the THX certification for how movie theaters should sound.

The whole idea was to replicate the acoustic environment of a dubbing/re-recording stage in a commercial cinema.

It has done wonders for cinematic (and home) presentations, but remember that THX represents a set of minimum standards. The two best theaters I've ever been in (both on studio lots) are not THX-certified.

terminator 2 is another all time classic. to this day it is considered one of the greatest sound achievements.

And the crazy thing about that movie is that is was not even encoded in surround sound.

The way the original Dolby system works (or worked, I guess) was that the surround channel was a monophonic signal that would be recorded in the L-R stereo signal, but laid in 180 degrees out of phase with the actual L-R audio. The center channel was a sum of the audio info in the L-R signal that was of equal magnitude in each channel. The Dolby processor would then decode the stereo signal, send the common sounds to the center speaker and all info that was 180 out of phase to the mono surrounds. Well, with T2 they didn't actually encode any audio deliberately out of phase to create a surround signal. So any surround audio you hear on that soundtrack is what they call 'magic surround', audio that's just naturally out of phase.

So despite (or perhaps because of) being essentially a simple stereo film, T2 still remains one of the top sound films of all time.

If you're interested in sound design, I suggest renting any film in which Walter Murch worked in the audio department. (To this day, the opening reel of "Apocalypse Now" is probably the most impressive combination of sound and visual story telling I've ever seen. Er, heard.) Listen to a Robert Altman movie (like "The Player"), how he uses layers of dialog from multiple characters to create a mood. Get any film that Gary Rydstrom did sound for; he's known for big films like T2 and "Jurassic Park", but his work on the early Pixar shorts is especially noteworthy. Ben Burtt is sort of the godfather of modern sound design, thanks to his revolutionary effects editing work on "Star Wars".

Sound truly is 50% of the experience. And it's a part that 99% of moviegoers don't appreciate, or even care to understand. They don't realize that at no point in the scene in "The Godfather" when Michael kills Sollozzo and McCluskey at the restaurant do we see a subway or el train.... but we hear it on the soundtrack as the enter the restaurant..... and we don't consciously register the screeching of the wheels on the rails gaining in volume and intensity, dominating the audio as Michael grows more and more agitated in the moments before he pulls the trigger...... and we don't really take notice that the instant before Michael does pull the trigger, the screeching ceases leaving the shots to ring out of a moment of complete silence, creating a moment of surprise despite the audience knowing for nearly 8 minutes of screen time that this was going to happen. We don't notice these details. But they increase the power and impact of the scene in a way that's almost incalculable.

WALL OF TEXT

[pittsoccer33]

tif thats a great write up and its so rad that is/was actually an interest of yours. sound is really the part of movie making most still dont understand. we can look at a movie like avengers, the hobbit, or dark knight rises, and debate what was or wasnt CGI. few wonder how on earth they got those sound effects.

[canaan]

I finally watched Gattaca for the first time. Wow...what a powerful, awesome movie. Loved absolutely everything about it.

I forgot all about that movie, gonna add it to my queue, thanks

I watch gattaca about once a year--Jude law is a beast

[canaan]

http://moviebarcode.tumblr.com/page/1

this would be cool for prints

[eddysnake]

not documentaries.

speaking of, has anyone watched "jiro dreams of sushi"? its streaming on netflix and amazon, what an interesting documentary.

Yes, Mrs Tif and I just watched it about two weeks ago. Fascinating stuff, especially how the son's restaurant is a mirror image of Sukiyabashi Jiro because his dad is left-handed and he's right-handed.

FWIW, Sukiyabashi Jiro is actually only about six blocks from my company's HQ in Tokyo and I walked by it when I was there. Probably the closest I'll ever get to eating there.

That is really cool. Have you talked with anyone at HQ that has been there, wonder how the experience was?

was Jurrasic Park the first film to use DTS? Any cool stories about that one?

[Digitalgypsy66]

Another great sounding film? Michael Mann's Heat. That gun battle in downtown L.A....yikes!

[tifosi77]

The first films for the three original digital audio formats:
Dolby Digital: "Batman Returns" (1992)
Digital Theater System, aka DTS: "Jurassic Park" (1993)
Sony Dynamic Digital Sound, aka SDDS: "Last Action Hero" (1993) (This was actually my favorite of the initial digital sound systems)

DTS is a little weird, in that the film audio was encoded onto a CD-ROM and synched up to the projection via a timecode embedded on the film print. That means there's a separate piece of kit that can possibly get damaged/lost/stolen that can render the film silent. The theatrical version of the system has a bit rate that is somewhat lower than a standard audio CD, but the home application is marginally higher. I know that Steven Spielberg was an early investor in the company, which is why JP was the first film - both theatrical and home release - to use the system. And when we lived out in the west Valley for a few months, I would commute past their HQ in Calabassas every day.

[eddysnake]

The first films for the three original digital audio formats:

Digital Theater System, aka DTS: "Jurassic Park" (1993)


DTS is a little weird, in that the film audio was encoded onto a CD-ROM and synched up to the projection via a timecode embedded on the film print. That means there's a separate piece of kit that can possibly get damaged/lost/stolen that can render the film silent. The theatrical version of the system has a bit rate that is somewhat lower than a standard audio CD, but the home application is marginally higher. I know that Steven Spielberg was an early investor in the company, which is why JP was the first film - both theatrical and home release - to use the system. And when we lived out in the west Valley for a few months, I would commute past their HQ in Calabassas every day.

I remember when Jurassic Park first came out on DVD (2000 maybe?) and it was in 5.1, but there was a DTS collectors version that was really quite limited (similar to Saving Private Ryan if I recall). I remember looking everywhere for it, and finally dishing out $50+ on ebay at the time. Everyone except my dad always thought I was strange for seeking out movies just for the sound, but those two were great ones in the DVD era.

[pittsoccer33]

DTS is considered superior because it is compressed less than Dolby Digital (aka AC3). Its like listening to a CD vs listening to a 128kbps MP3.

Another interesting bit about overall dvd quality -

I got into DVD early (player was on clearance at Montgomery Wards for $500...) anyways I liked to try buying the collectors editions of films (for some unknown reason). And then I saw this special edition series called Superbit. I never understood their premium pricing because they had zero extra features.

They were Sony/Columbia Pictures films and they were mastered to use the highest possible bitrates for audio and video that they could fit onto the disc. Kind of special editions for audio/videophiles with high end displays and sound systems.

DTS Master Audio seems to be showing up on more bluray discs than Dolby True HD. In theory they should both sound the same. But the DTS-MA stream is engineered is very intelligent way to ensure backwards compatibility. So if you have an older receiver (like mine) that cannot handle the HD audio format it is able to extract the legacy DTS from it.

I've wondered why Sony, kings of proprietary technologies (well they could rival Apple) never started putting SDDS into their receivers and onto their DVDs. They never tried to get it into the home.

[eddysnake]

I got into DVD early (player was on clearance at Montgomery Wards for $500...) anyways I liked to try buying the collectors editions of films (for some unknown reason). And then I saw this special edition series called Superbit. I never understood their premium pricing because they had zero extra features.

They were Sony/Columbia Pictures films and they were mastered to use the highest possible bitrates for audio and video that they could fit onto the disc. Kind of special editions for audio/videophiles with high end displays and sound systems.

I've got a good collection of superbits at home, not sure if I could actually ever hear a difference (might have been a mental thing seeing the cover I thought it was a difference), but I watched the hell out of my fifth element copy. I just watched hook superbit not too long ago.

[Letang Is The Truth]

http://moviebarcode.tumblr.com/page/1

this would be cool for prints

i dont get it

[canaan]

http://moviebarcode.tumblr.com/page/1

this would be cool for prints

i dont get it

the images that make the film are compressed into a single line and smashed together to make a representation of the color palette that defines the film.

if that makes sense.

[Letang Is The Truth]

interesting