Real life sound is wimpy

[Mick]

So there we were outside the Staples Center, 11pm, streets blocked off, stunt drivers pumped and ready, microphones placed in optimum positions for stereo, the whole block lit up like a Xmas tree, crew safely esconced behind the appropriate barriers, cameras locked off and rolling, safety meeting details still fresh in our minds, (?) "Action" is called, the police car reverses at high speed into the villain's car and...a fart in a hurricane.

I always rig up the maximum stereo potential in the hope that one of these days a car crash will actually sound like one of those that scream out of the movie screen, but alas it was not to be. Nothing but stereo porridge.

I have in the past recorded some spectacular crashes that were just tweaked and supplemented in post with addidional glass and tortured metal sounds, but on this night banality prevailed and the adrenalin went unutilized.

It's good to be back at work after a long and appreciated hiatus, mostly spent travelling and posting my short film, (still waiting for music).

I've enjoyed reading the posts here and continue to appreciate the characters that haunt these virtual corridors.

I went over and welcomed Mark McNabb(Ghost Whisperer) to the Universal neighborhood last week. Nice chap.

Regards

Mick

[old school]

Hey Mick, welcome back from a well deserved rest. I know what you mean about recording the reality of the fantasy we record day to day, like the stunts you describe. Sometimes it sounds like it should, and most times it sounds like the mechanical effect that it is. The reverse of that is when you record three people on one radio mic on a actor and make it sound so much better than it should in the master shot, plus the tighter 3 shot.  I guess it's like the old saw about the bear eating you, or you eating the bear. I think the key is to try n do the best and be happy doing so, cause too many days the bear eats us. See you at Uni-V next time we shoot there...

CrewC

[dfisk]

Even though what you recorded doesn't sound like what we hear in the movies and on TV, the real question for me is this: Does what you recorded sound good..meaning no extranious BG's and stuff like that. Even if the sound doesn't make your eardrums split, a good, original crash is great. When I'm designing crashes and explosions, there are usually at least 4 to 6 layers of audio that I use. Each on their own is not that impressive, but layered they sound great. I've only heard one audio wreck that made me jump, and that was back in my intern days at Danetracks when we were dropping cars from a 40 foot crane for The Matrix: Reloaded.

Do you have the audio file that we can listen to?

[Philip Perkins]

I've had pretty good luck getting them something that can serve as A: something for a temp mix and dailies and B: something for the sound editors to base their work on, esp. if they are pressed for time.  It's usually worth doing.  The worst problem with this sort of shot is walkie talkies and nervous ADs who deal with their anxiety by doing a lot of useless yelling.

Philip Perkins

[Guest klingklang]

Sound in movies is constructed not captured.

[taylormadeaudio]

Then the 1st AD has the audacity to say, "What!?  They'll never use it... they'll just foley it all in post... what's the big deal?"

[old school]

Greetings. I would like to make the point that I/We roll on everything that might make a sound; good, bad, fantastic, sad, as long as we aren't in danger of getting hurt or it's so worthless as to be silly, or the A D says "thats a wrap on sound". My P.O.V. is at the very least we capture a slice of reality. If they want to sync it up, great, if not, at least We were doing our job. Not a bad way to make a living no matter how it turns out in my book.

CrewC

[Mick]

"Sound in movies is constructed not captured. "

For our movie bretheren's sake I'd like you to elaborate a little if you would.

[Philip Perkins]

Then the 1st AD has the audacity to say, "What!?  They'll never use it... they'll just foley it all in post... what's the big deal?"

If in a bad mood or he's pissed me off already I might counter: "And how much have you worked in audio post?"  I do, a lot.  And I like "free" audio even if I take it out later.

Philip Perkins

[Marc Wielage]

I would like to make the point that I/We roll on everything that might make a sound; good, bad, fantastic, sad, as long as we aren't in danger of getting hurt or it's so worthless as to be silly...

I can tell you that the picture editor almost always appreciates this. If you've ever sat through an entire dailies screening, let me tell you, it gets mighty boring if everything is M.O.S. It helps even to have a work track going on, and most of the people I know in telecine will routinely make an effort to sync up wild tracks (to a point) especially in the instance of a spectacular crash. Even in slow-motion, we'll put the crash sound at the point of impact, just to help out the picture editor.

--Marc W.

[Guest klingklang]

"Sound in movies is constructed not captured. "

For our movie bretheren's sake I'd like you to elaborate a little if you would.

What I meant was that almost every sound in a movie soundtrack is made from layers and layers of elements many of them made of sound not even remotely connected to what the object you see makes in reality.

I that sense it is a very rare occasion that a real sound is actually what you need for a movie sound track.

It doesn´t mean you should not record what ever you find, it just means that almost nothing heard in movies is made from the actual sound in reality.

So if you find that something sounds "wimpy" on set it´s perfectly normal. It doesn´t mean the wimpy element wouldn´t be usefull but it´s just one tiny element of what might be heard when the movie is finished.

Over the last years the style has changed a bit to a more realistic sound. The 80s and 90s had a tendency of "over-fattening" every single sound. This has changed a bit.

But a movie-soundtrack is constructed. It´s designed to support the story.

[Guest Jeff Colon]

I just finished a regional spot for the future Superbowl champs (Guess!)  We did VO tracks with coach and then I got to spend the next day recording wild tracks of weights clanging, feet pounding, chains being lifted, 330 lb guys grunting etc... the sound designer made a musical track from the location EFX... It worked out pretty well and,  I'd be pleased as punch, if they had not added so much reverb to my "prisitne" tracks  

Actually it was fun to work with a world class running back... trying to get him to "grunt" like he meant it.

No harm in giving them what you get...although it is depressing knowing that lot's of hard work gets trashed by "creatives" who were'nt there...

Jeff c

[Mick]

I must confess to a limited amount of "tongue-in-cheek" sometimes when I post here, forgetting of course that this is not always evident to the reader. There are some good comments and insights into attitudes to sound recording and the collection thereof and the "TIC" notwithstanding, I enjoy reading the different takes on location sound aquisition. Although it may seem to the contrary, I always roll on seemingly inconsequential events just in case something unforseen and advantageous crops up.

Case in point; I recorded the sound of a hydraulic lift being used in the hoisting up of a plastic/rubber moulding monster statue in Miami years ago, during the making of a low budge horror flick. It had this screeching, hairs on your neck stand up, nails on the chalkboard cacophony that only an audiophile could appreciate. I thought that that would be the end of it, but to my surprise and jubilation, the post people took it, reversed it, reduced the speed from 15 ips to 7.5, added some other effects and lo and behold, the sound of the aforementioned monster in full flight and regalia gnashing teeth in anticipation of ravishing some unsuspecting nun or schoolgirl or whatever the t and a flavor of the month was back then. 

Just goes to show, sometimes the pursuit of the inconsequential during a lull whilst mulling over crossword clues can result in monster sound effects.

Regards

Mick