Steve Joachim Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 http://thepessimist.com/2013/01/22/how-to-watch-downton-abbey-while-staying-a-man/?fb_action_ids=4326164352381&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map={%224326164352381%22%3A152269964925221}&action_type_map={%224326164352381%22%3A%22og.likes%22}&action_ref_map=[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Favorite character - Sir Stuffy Von Softheart and The Hot One Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Joachim Posted January 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Yeah. I almost spit up my coffee laughing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Hirtenstein Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Whatever- this show is awesome and I don't care who knows! Good sound and score too. Would love some insight into the production sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VASI Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Whatever- this show is awesome and I don't care who knows! Good sound and score too. Would love some insight into the production sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfisk Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 I have not seen this show, but I've seen everyone talking about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPSharman Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 My wife watches. I do the one eye trick, but only because I don't watch enough to have any idea what's happening. It sounds good and looks good and is performed as a whole with great subtlety. It could very easily get off track performance-wise, but the cast does a fine job. It's worth watching if you have the time for another new show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headpooch Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 My wife also loves the show. I was more than happy to program the DVR recording series. It gets me lots of brownie points when I want her to go see Zero Dark 30. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OmahaAudio Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 I have not seen this show, but I've seen everyone talking about it. It's sort of like "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" only without the alien robots, the explosions, or Megan Fox, but by far the best thing about Downton Abbey is that it doesn't star Shia LaBeouf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Wielage Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 Terrific show. To me, it's just an updated version of the 1970s Upstairs/Downstairs show, with all the soap-operaish melodrama. But it's extraordinarily well-acted, well-shot, and well-recorded. I'm about to start watching Season 3 this week, where Shirley MacLaine starts as the wealthy American grandmother of one of the characters. MacLaine vs. Maggie Smith has gotta be an epic match. It's interesting to reflect that in this era of British society, you had three types of people living in these stately mansions: a) people who had inherited the houses after many generations; 2) people who had a lofty royal title; and 3) people with vast wealth. The trick is, not many of them had all three, which leads to a lot of plot complications. There's a ton of speaking roles, plus many real locations with tons of narrow corridors and twisty staircases. I don't doubt that the sound crew works their asses off -- the sound quality is fantastic, especially for television. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Spaeth Posted January 28, 2013 Report Share Posted January 28, 2013 I just watched an older episode and I found the dialogue way too lav-y sounding for the era that is depicted. Boardwalk Empire's sound is way more authentic to my ears. Or maybe that's just because I like the sound of a well placed boom mic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Hirtenstein Posted January 28, 2013 Report Share Posted January 28, 2013 I know, they should have used a Victrola to record it too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OmahaAudio Posted January 29, 2013 Report Share Posted January 29, 2013 I just watched an older episode and I found the dialogue way too lav-y sounding for the era that is depicted. So your feeling is that they would have used multiple boom mics back in the early 1900s... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henchman Posted January 29, 2013 Report Share Posted January 29, 2013 Great show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fieldmixer Posted January 29, 2013 Report Share Posted January 29, 2013 Great show. Waiting for season three on bluray to show up in the mail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Davies Amps CAS Posted January 29, 2013 Report Share Posted January 29, 2013 Whatever- this show is awesome and I don't care who knows! Good sound and score too. Would love some insight into the production sound. Brian Milliken who is a regular contributor to this forum did some of the series so when he's not to busy maybe he''ll tell us how it was done. All I can tell you was he had to use a shed load of radio mics. Malcolm Davies. A.m.p.s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q Posted January 29, 2013 Report Share Posted January 29, 2013 I only started watching it this season. Actually, someone who isn't me likes to watch it ... I just surf the net on the iPad while she's watching it. It sounds fine I guess, though to me some of the rooms don't sound nearly as big as they look on camera. The cameras move a lot more than I like, which probably explains why it sounds like they use the lavs a lot. I like seeing all the cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henchman Posted January 29, 2013 Report Share Posted January 29, 2013 Q, the job of a re-recording mixer is to make sure the dialog doesn't sound big and roomy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPSharman Posted January 29, 2013 Report Share Posted January 29, 2013 Q, the job of a re-recording mixer is to make sure the dialog doesn't sound big and roomy. That may be what it has become, but you watch old movies or TV shows, and a big room sounds like a big room. I like it. As a PSM, I can't know which ofte two or three cameras they will use, so I can't record perspective all the time, but I make sure the elements are there so the RRM can match perspective to camera. I am disappointed when wide shots of big rooms are too dry. But it's not always up to the PSM or RRM. Some directors just hate reverb. That said, I still like the sound of "Downton" in the sense that it doesn't draw attention to itself. At least on the few episodes I have seen. Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dolo72 Posted January 29, 2013 Report Share Posted January 29, 2013 I worked with one of the camera assistants ( I know wrong dept) on a commercial last year - all they said was its a blistering turn around - alot of pages a day !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fieldmixer Posted January 29, 2013 Report Share Posted January 29, 2013 True fans of the genre and Downton Abby probably know this already but, if you haven't already seen Robert Altman's Gosford park, it all started there. Julian Fellows the writer of Downton and Gosford contributes a great commentary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Wielage Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Q, the job of a re-recording mixer is to make sure the dialog doesn't sound big and roomy. Sometimes, I think that's true. But other times, I can see where a giant echoey, boomy room is what you'd want to add to the reality of what's there. There are some scenes in Downton Abbey that kind of take me out of the show, particularly when they do a 1000mm distant telephoto shot across a hill, in the middle of an outdoor English countryside, and it's 100% wireless. It's a little too "up close" for me. But that doesn't happen too often, and I accept that it's a valid creative choice for them. And it's very, very common in TV these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henchman Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 True fans of the genre and Downton Abby probably know this already but, if you haven't already seen Robert Altman's Gosford park, it all started there. Julian Fellows the writer of Downton and Gosford contributes a great commentary. Yep. That's the first thing that came to mind when I started watching it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henchman Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Sometimes, I think that's true. But other times, I can see where a giant echoey, boomy room is what you'd want to add to the reality of what's there. There are some scenes in Downton Abbey that kind of take me out of the show, particularly when they do a 1000mm distant telephoto shot across a hill, in the middle of an outdoor English countryside, and it's 100% wireless. It's a little too "up close" for me. But that doesn't happen too often, and I accept that it's a valid creative choice for them. And it's very, very common in TV these days. That's because we need to understand the dialog. Seriously though, if we played reality, and always used the boom with all the reverb and noise in it, it would sound like crap. And indeed. Go back and listen to old movies and tv shows. And a lot of them sound horrible and midrangey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Wielage Posted January 31, 2013 Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 That's because we need to understand the dialog. Gosh, thanks for explaining that, Mark! I never would have known that otherwise. BTW, the current episode blew me away. None of the characters are safe on this show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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