Film Sound Editor

Toy Story 3 Trailer

2010-02-16T08:17:00.000Z

Toy Story 3 Trailer 2 in HD

Trailer Park Movies | MySpace Video

How 3D Works

2010-02-16T08:11:00.003Z

Saw this great guide over on /Film. For anyone who's interested in all the different varieties of 3d, or doesn't understand how you make giant smurfs pop out of the screen, clickity click on the above image to find out more!

2010 MPSE and CAS Nominations Announced

2010-01-25T17:11:00.004Z

MPSE and CAS have announced the nominations for their 2010 awards, for Film and Television. All the usual suspects there, plus a few independents. In the post production technology awards we see Pro Tools recieve a nod among others, and interestingly Sound Devices Wave Agent which you can download a beta of here to try out. Still suprised not to see 'Let the Right One' in recieve a nom for Foreign film as I thought the sound was great. Anyway check them out, and lets hear what you think.....

MPSE here.

CAS here.

Golden Globe Winners Announced

2010-01-18T08:37:00.004Z

The Golden Globe winners have been announced, with Avatar picking up the two most prestigous awards of Best Film and Best Director. The effects in Avatar are stunning and Cameron rightly deserves the kudos as his use of 3d will change the face of cinema forever. Anyway, the full list of winners can be found here. Highlights include my Oscar tip for Best Supporting Actor Christoph Waltz picking up the same gong here, and Up scooping Best Animated Film.

Skynet Symphonic

2010-01-13T13:53:00.001Z

This is A-W-E-S-O-M-E! Made entirely of sound from Terminator 2. Kudos!

Losono 3D Sound

2010-01-13T11:29:00.001Z

Just read an interesting article on the launch of Losono 3D sound mixing on Creative Cow. This is going to change everything! Very exciting. Check it out here.

Bafta Long List Nominations Released!

2010-01-13T10:40:00.005Z

Bafta have released the long list nominations for the 2010 ceremony. Featuring heavily is The Hurt Locker (my film of last year along with Let The Right One In), Moon, Inglourious Basterds and Avatar. Up for the sound gong this year are:

Avatar

District 9

An Education

Fantastic Mr Fox

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

The Lovely Bones

Moon

Nine

Nowhere Boy

The Road

Star Trek

Where the Wild Things Are

I haven't seen all of the above, but recently watched Star Trek and the sound was immense. I expect Up will be right up there, and The Hurt Locker was also fantastic. Disappointing not to see Let The Right One In getting a nod for sound, or possibly the best film for sound of the past year, Katalin Varga. If you haven't watched that yet, make sure you catch it on Blu-Ray. Lynch-esque sound with a backdrop of the Romanian countryside alongside a revenge story. Stunning and inspired. Looking forward to seeing who wins from the above list though, some big guns there. Also, if Christoph Waltz doesn't get the best supporting actor award for his performance as Col. Hans Lander in Inglorious Basterds, there's no justice in the world!

See the full list of nominations here.

More Free Blastwave FX

2010-01-12T13:49:00.003Z

Blastwave FX Free Download Pack #2 Preview by Blastwave FX

Blastwave FX have released another free download pack containing 60 FX. Click on the soundcloud link above for a preview........

Download FX here.

Also check out there soundsnap page for more goodies.......

Fantastic Mr Fox

2010-01-11T17:51:00.006Z

Was reading through the latest posts over on Film Sound Daily, and came across this brilliant video of the sound recording techniques employed by Wes Anderson on Fantastic Mr Fox. Never one for conventional techniques, Anderson recorded his actors in the great outdoors on location at a farm; which looked like great fun!

'Fantastic Mr Fox' Behind the Scenes: Recording Voices @ Yahoo! Video

Frank Serefine

2010-01-11T17:47:00.003Z

Just watched this great video from soundsnap.com on sound designer Frank Serafine. Frank records all his own sound fx, and has made a great deal available to the public via soundsnap.com. This really is a revealing and interesting watch for anyone who loves sound, and I highly recommend you take a look, before checking out Franks FX at soundsnap:

How to Build a Contact Mic

2009-11-12T17:23:00.002Z

I've been reading a lot into the work of sound recordist and gatekeeper of David Lynch sound designer Alan Splet's archive, Ann Kroeber (more to come on her shortly) and came across this handy guide to building a contact mic from kit thats cheaply available at your local Maplin.

A contact mic is attached to a surface, and picks up vibrations and sound created on this surface. So for instance if you were to freeze the mic in a ice cube, you would pick up the cracks and creaks of the ice cube melting; pretty cool eh? Or in Kroeber's use, blend it with a conventional mic to create new and excting recordings which sound like they're from outer space!

Check it out; I shall be indulging in the build and experimentation myself shortly.

How To Book An Audio Session

2009-10-22T08:24:00.000+01:00

Alive in Joburg

2009-10-07T09:19:00.005+01:00

If like myself you have recently seen and enjoyed District 9 from South African director Neill Blomkamp, you'll be interested to hear the history behind the film. Blomkamp recieved the backing for the film from the Lord of the Rings himself - Peter Jackson. Jackson had originally signed up Blomkamp to take the helm on his translation of video game smash hit Halo on the strength of one of his shorts, but the project fell foul of studio wrangling. Seeing the potential in the young prodigy and feeling bad for seeing his big break fall through, Jackson suggested turning his earlier short film 'Alive in Joburg', into a feature film. And the rest is history. So without further ado, head to the video below, and enjoy 'Alive in Joburg'.

Sound Solution for the Canon EOS 5D MkII

2009-09-22T18:21:00.002+01:00

I've been discussing with film-making friends today, the possibilities of recording a short film using the Canon EOS 5D MKII. Of course, alarm bells for me ring when considering how to record sound with the camera being as it is a stills camera. It can record onboard sound and has a 3.5mm jack input for connecting an external mic or break out box, but the camera offers no gain control and so would add auto gain to your incoming audio - not good! A bit of internet research led me to this video - which ironically has slightly ropey sound - but is no less a great tutorial on using an external device such as the Zoom H4N with the camera. I would be looking to employ my Fostex FR2-LE with the camera if possible, but I guess you would just substitute the Zoom out for that.

Advanced Sound for DSLR's from Steve Weiss, Zacuto USA on Vimeo.

Pod Farm Plug in FREE! for 10 more days......

2009-09-21T14:55:00.002+01:00

Line 6 are giving away their Pod Farm tone plug-in for Pro Tools fro free (retails at $99) until the end of September! Ilok required for license deposit of course......

Clicky clicky

Watchmen

2009-09-15T08:31:00.010+01:00

1'50".

One hour and fifty minutes.

110 minutes.

6600 seconds.

Is the point in Watchmen on Sunday night when I pressed stop on my DVD player, ready to return to the film the next day. I was really enjoying the film to this point; I spent the whole day telling everyone how great I thought it was and couldn't see why it had got such bad press. Then I went home and watched the rest of it.

And........

The last hour of Watchmen is very dissapointing. The climax is rushed. It has some ropey CGI (namely in the form of a wierd tiger creature with funny horns and a sequence on Mars) and its just well, all a bit corny. Which is a total shame, as up until 1 hour and 50 minutes in I was really enjoying it!

I have to admit I'm completely not a comic book fan - I love Akira and I do enjoy comic book film adaptations, but I have never read Watchmen or many other grapic novels, so cannot approach this film with the same level of critique as its many fans have, who lovingly refer to the originals as 'The Citizen Kane of graphic novels'. But that doesn't matter in this case, as I'm not reviewing the story and comparing it with the graphic novel. I'm reviewing the sound. And the sound is... AWESOME.

I was immediately blown away. The film starts with a bang, as one of the original 'minute men' (a band of masked superheroes) is brutally murdered in his apartment by a cloaked assailant. The editing is incredible; we feel every punch, hear every twinkling crash of smashed glass - nothing is missed. The intricucies of the sound design and mix, to allow each element to punch through and be recognised is unbelievable - unsurprising really considering the amount of talent involved in the soundtrack production.

Taking the helm of supervising sound editor duties was Scott Hecker, alongside Eric Norris as sound designer, Frank Montano as FX re-recording mixer and dialogue and music re-recording mixer Chris Jenkins. Director Zack Snyder worked with this team on his remake of Dawn of the Dead, so the crew already had a great relationship in preperation for the mammouth task of creating the odd-worldy view the Watchmen story takes of our planets history. Hecker had this to say about working along side Snyder:

“Zack's approach is the most liberating that any person working in sound could
ask for, because basically he hands you the ball and says run with it and make
it as beautiful, spectacular, vibrant, colorful, exciting, violent — all those
adjectives — as you can. He really trusts us, which is great, and it actually
started on Dawn of the Dead. But this film has everything in it, from love
scenes to prison riots, wars, Antarctica, Vietnam, an atomic bomb, film noir
Mickey Spillane-type detective storytelling; it's amazing to sit back and watch
it.”

The trust given to the sound team certainly shows in the mix. The fx perfectly flit round the surrounds, and the focus of the spots and foley remain firmly on the action. The screen is never cluttered with FX, and each scene is lovingly crafted to drive the often dark narrative. In terms of sound design, Watchmen is again on to a winner. The LFE kicks in perfectly, worlds are created and given depth through careful selection and manipulation of synth based and organic fx, to create truely unique sounds. The incredible amount of work and care and attention shines through, and each character has clearly been intensely designed to perfection. Heres an extract of Hecker talking about the design for Dr.Manhattan in Mix magazine:

“He's tortured and conflicted and he has human emotions, but he's trapped in
this god-like [form], so we tried to articulate his feelings with various
different sounds that would convey his emotions, whether they be happy, sad or
angry.” Among the sounds that were used for the character were moaning whales.
“But I hate to even say that,” Hecker continues, “because I don't want people
sitting there listening for whale sounds. They've been worked with, modulated
and pitched and whatnot, and it's very subtle. I don't want the audience
thinking about it; you want them to tune into the emotional quality you're going
for throughout the film.”

So from a sound point of view Watchmen comes highly recommended - its just a shame the film couldn't deliver the electricity of the first 1 hour and 50 minutes through to the end.

Snow Leopard

2009-09-08T16:06:00.003+01:00

Snow leopard is here! I'm literally chomping at the bit to install it, but am of course worried that Digidesign is yet to clear it with Pro Tools and it will cause my a world of pain. I'm usually the last to upgrade my OS (past disasters of friends at University involved them killing months of work by upgrading their mac a week before their final hand in - ouch!), but have been handed hope in the form of the above video which was posted on PT Dudes. It seems to be running fine, so for once I may just give it a spin and see how it goes - armed with a copy of Carbon Copy Cloner so I can make a full back image of my current OS to easily restore if its a world of pain! I shall bring you updates when I take the plunge.........

Audioease Impulse Response Downloads

2009-09-08T15:49:00.002+01:00

I was answering a question over on Pro Tools Users today regarding TL Space, and while quickly posting some links to some IR's, I discovered a ton of free downloads on the Audioease website that are missing from my own collection! This is evident in the post pro IR's, with all sorts of fun to be had with Bus tunnels and 25 more domestic rooms! Get downloading here.

Antibodies

2009-09-05T13:07:00.001+01:00

Antibodies was released in 2005, and put the German filmmaker Christian Alvart firmly on the map. With the imminent release of his latest work Pandorum and a English language remake of Antibodies in the pipeline, I felt it about the right time to look back at this excellent film.

The picture focuses on full-time farmer and part-time cop Michael Martens, whose life has been engulfed with finding the murderer of viciously slain local girl Lucia Flieder. When pedophiliac serial killer Gabriel Engel is captured in an explosive opening scene, Michael should be able to rest easily when he is linked to the area at the time of the death. But he cannot let it rest until he has spoken to the murderer in person, and once Engel has wormed his way into Martens fragile psyche, his life and family begin to unravel.

The film plays within an childlike state; the picture is graded with deep yellow and green hues, giving it an out wordly juxtaposition with the darker elements of the story. The sound complements this superbly, with fantastic foley work, deep throbbing synth lines and low end rumbles. The opening scene is dynamic, as the police web accidently closes in on Engel, who is murdering his final victim. The soundtrack plays the mood just right spinning and crashing around the soundscape, with just the right amount of silence - an important tool in shocking your audience. This theme continues throughout the film, with sound designer Michael Hinreiner playing his cards expertly in terms of mood and the reflection of Martens psyche as the story twists and turns.

If I have one criticism, it is that the choice of reverb often used does not reflect the shape of the environment it is occurring in. This is particularly evident in a flashback scene where there is a rapid delay on Martens footsteps across a forest floor - somewhat similar of the ropey mix in the original Friday the 13th movie. This may have been a narrative decision, but to me it just sounded odd.

All in all Antibodies is a magnificent film (minus the animals - you'll know what I mean when you watch it!), and Alvart is a director with a huge future. I'm looking forward to Pandorum with great expectations - its released here in the UK on September 18th, so expect a review in the coming weeks. Until then, heres the trailer for you to enjoy.

Multi-monitor on Mac Laptops

2009-08-26T12:20:00.002+01:00

I like monitors - the more the better. When working with sound and picture, you need to have a big workspace for Pro Tools; a monitor for your edit window, one for you mix window, and another hooked up via firewire to output your video. I've been working with a extra monitor hooked up to my Mac Book via the mini DVI out which is great, but its not ideal having the macbook screen for my mix window, as its relatively small. I want another big monitor, and after a bit of research I discovered this great gadget from Matrox.

it may only 'stretch' the desktop on to a extra monitor at a set resolution, but who cares when you can have a nice big workspace! I'm very excited by this, and theres also a variety of other products at a better price, particularly this one by Gefen. I will be trying to get my mitts on one of these very soon, and will report back when tested......

On the subject of free.........

2009-07-15T18:46:00.002+01:00

........heres some free plug-ins for Pro Tools. Quite a lot of them. Clicky clicky....

Work for free?

2009-07-14T14:25:00.002+01:00

Saw this video on Brent Hebers site, made me chuckle!

Drag Me to Hell

2009-06-17T10:12:00.009+01:00

Sam Raimi is back! Well not like hes actually been anywhere as hes been caught in the web of Spiderman since the turn of the millennium, but hes back to doing what he does best. A kick ass horror movie.

'Drag Me to Hell', sees Raimi return to the bonkers horror genre he created with 'The Evil Dead'. Sometimes jump out of your seat scary, often laugh out loud hilarious, its a rollercoaster ride of a picture that has you invested in the action from start to finish. The film centres around pretty young do-good girl Christine (expertly played by Alison Lohman), who while trying to impress her boss commits the fatal faux-pass of crossing a gypsy and falling under a deadly curse. What transpires from then on in is a feast of gross-out action, big scares and all the Raimi signature visual and audio treats; even the classic oldsmobile gets a nice big chunk of screentime.

But what about the sound?

From the moment we meet we meet the gypsy I knew what was in store. Disgusting foley fx accompany the old lady removing her teeth, as she steals sweets and begs for help. Even though she is helpless, this gross out audiology sees us as routing for Christine to break her goody two shoes mold and kick the old lady to the kerb. Big mistake as we're about to get cursed and suffer all the hell the girl goes through!

This film is LOUD. I can't remember the last time I went to the cinema and heard a film crash from the speakers like Drag Me To Hell Does. The surround mix is excellent, unsettling creaks and crashes surround us as our girl is visited by the Demon - silence is also used expertly, pre-cursing the moments before we are thrust out of our seats by wave after wave of horror and increasing cacophonies of noise. All the Raimi sound signatures are there; the highly processed inane laughter a la Evil Dead, the perverted pitch shifted voice of the Larnia and the disgusting audio accompaniments to the frequent projectile vomiting sequences.

So if your film fan who enjoys cinema at its most fun and absorbing, I highly recommend you catch 'Drag Me To Hell', especially while its still in the theatre. And before I go..........

Want to hear some of the sounds? Head here.

Researching the Foot Chase

2009-06-16T17:00:00.001+01:00

I've recently been conducting some research for some film shorts I'm producing with some film-making friends. One of these films would consist of a intense foot chase through varying locations, which of course lends various expectations and possibilities for the soundtrack if the film gets produced. I will be keeping a diary of my research for these films here on the blog, so you can get an idea of all the processes that I consider when thinking about sound design for film.

For this particular film, the director and myself have been routing back through our film collections to find the pictures that have those classic chase moments - and we've come across some classics. One of my favourite foot chase scenes occurs in the first ten minutes of 'The French Connection', where two New York cops, played by Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider, chase a criminal through the streets. The soundtrack consists literally of footsteps, clothes moving and heavy breaths. Their is no music, so the pace of the scene and the tension for the audience is created solely through these very close up effects, drawing the viewer into the desperation of the chased to escape, and the hunger of the chasers to catch him, even though we view the action from a relatively wide angle. The French Connection also features one of the greatest car chases ever commited to celluloid, which you can watch here:

Next up, we headed straight for 'Tell No One'. For anyone who hasn't seen this film, it has quite possibly the most dramatic sequence of someone accessing their email you will ever see! We headed straight for our favourite sequence though; a foot chase which takes us across a busy motorway, through a street market, before culminating in the Parisian projects. The sound design, foley work and editing in this sequence is incredible; the way it cuts between scenes as we travel through the busy street markets and through restaurants, and the intense dynamics as the protaganist escapes the police and causes a multiple pile up on the motorway in the process. The attention to detail is superb ( just check out the sound of the police bike skidding on the floor!); and one of my favourite pieces of sound editing in films in recent times. The film itself is also exceptional; catch it before the penned American remake comes along in 2010. These two films have certainly wetted my appetite for working on a chase scene, and I look forward to any suggestions I recieve on what other source material I should check out. I shall leave you now with the sequence from 'Tell No One'; but only watch this if you don't want to spoil the film!

The Coffey Audio Files

2009-06-16T16:39:00.003+01:00

The Coffey Audio Files is a free online magazine produced by Coffey Sound, and generated solely by audio professionals. Its an essential read for anyone interested in film sound, and you can get immersed by downloading current and past issues, here.

Robocop Rebooted

2009-06-10T23:24:00.005+01:00

News has been flying around on the grapevine that 80s ultra-violent classic Robocop is being lined up for a remake, and MGM have confirmed this by releasing the above poster with the film pencilled in for release in 2010. This isn't so much of a shock given the current trend for the 1980s and the relaunch of film franchises such as Rocky, Batman and continuing discussions regarding a new Ghostbusters film, but what IS shocking is who is apparently behind writing and directing duties.....

Darren Aronofsky.

Speaking on the Howard Stern show while promoting The Wrestler, Aronofsky confirmed he was working on the script, but wasn't sure it would go ahead. Well it seems that the movie is going ahead, but whether Aronofsky will take the reigns is another thing...

Still judging by the delectable sound design on Aronofskys past features such as Pi and Requiem for a Dream, I for one would be quite excited by a hopefully darker, and sonically challenging approach to proceedings that Aronofsky would surely bring. There will be skepticism at another twist on what has become a tired franchise, but I really think Aronofsky could bring a Dark Knight-esque twist to Robocop, which would be very exciting indeed. From a audio guys perspective, the possibilities for fun sound wise with Robocop are endless, and I can't wait to hear what sounds would be laid down to accompany a Aronofsky take on the genre, considering my love for his previous films. Whether it would keep the ultra-violent tendencies of Verhoeven is debatable though. Lets just hope it doesn't turn out to be WALL:E with guns.......

Pro Tools Preference & Database Trasher

2009-06-05T15:17:00.002+01:00

For anyone that uses Pro Tools will know, the best way to solve 90% of problems you encounter is to trash your preference and database files. Now you can go the long way round and locate them in your macs library, or you can download this handy app that does all the work for you! Interested? Then you can download it, here.

Colemanfilm on Vimeo

2009-05-26T17:58:00.003+01:00

Colemanfilm is an award winning media production studio based in California, who have produced a range of films for Mix magazine, shot on location at Skywalker Sound. Cool huh? But whats even cooler, is that the producer of these films, Michael Coleman, has posted these excellent sound centered videos on Vimeo! Covering audio work on films such as 'There Will Be Blood' (one of my sound favourites of recent times!), The Dark Knight and Dreamworks latest 'Up', theres a wealth of information there to be consumed. Happy viewing!

Link here.

PPMulator Moves Home

2009-05-26T08:30:00.005+01:00

I've been using PPMulator for a very long time now, firstly in its VST form and more recently in its RTAS upgrade for Pro Tools. For those of you who haven't heard of this wonderful plug, it enables the user to monitor the output of your audio at the standard BBC PPM scale - a real helpful tool when working in post-production. Although you are able to set Digidesigns Phasescope to BBC PPM scale, nothing quite beats those little dials bouncing back and forward. The cost saving from this little plug compared with a hardware unit is phenomenal - and I've always found it a reliable and essential part of my signal chain.

The manufacturers of PPMulator+, Raw Material Software, have just announced that they are to hand over distribution and development of the plug-in to Z-Plane, who are widely regarded for their high quality time stretching algorithms and plug-ins. So lets hope that they are able to add even more exciting features to one of my favourite plugs, and the same level of customer care and support I've enjoyed from the boys at Raw Material for the past years!

Free Blastwave FX Download Pack

2009-05-14T14:44:00.002+01:00

Blastwave FX are offering a free download pack of 69 royalty free high-definition sound effects. Blastwave is run by Ric Viers, author of the book The Sound Effects Bible, which I am currently reading. More to come on that soon. So in the meantime, have some HD sound effect fun by downloading the pack here.

Lat Den Ratte Komma In (Let The Right One In)

2009-04-18T11:37:00.015+01:00

Analogue recordings of frogs, dogs and heartbeats. This was the remit of Swedish director Tomas Alfredson and sound designer Per Sundstrom when creating the soundtrack for vampire flick 'Let The Right One In'.

For anyone who has seen the film, you can't help but feeling unsettled by the loud gurgles, chomps and close up recordings of the soundtrack which add an extra dimension of horror to the stark cinematography and the cold and bleak backdrop of wintery Sweden. The film centres on the story of Oskar, a 12 year old boy who spends his time alone after suffering from the focus of bullies at school. A young girl called Eli moves into the house next door with her father, and an unlikely friendship and love story unravels. Eli is of course a vampire, a fact that is revealed as the backstories of the young lovers is revealed in parallel. While the visuals of the film are stunning, Alfredson understands the importance of the effect of sound in a movie.

"The soundscape is fifty percent of the experience. Any kid can nowadays easily point out where and how you've made certain visual effects, but very rarely what they've experienced with their ears. This is still an enormous orchestra to conduct, which is in the dark for the audience."

We remain tight to the story of Oskar and Eli, gaining warmth from their love amongst the cold and unremitting chill of the winter and Eli's unsalvageable situation. We sit close to them as they talk, Oskars nose runny and breathes thick, and this closeness is further empathised by the loudness of natural sounds, adding another dimension to the tension.

"You're so close to them sometimes, that you actually hear their heartbeats - and its not overdubbed heartbeats. We have added a lot of human sound to them - the tongues moving in their mouths, the sound of swallowing, breathing, hands moving slowly over winter dry fabric. Eli's voice is overdubbed. Lina (who plays Eli) has a too feminine and soft voice. After a thorough voice-casting we found a girl with the right abrasive and boyish touch. All of the sounds in the film are analogue; even effect sounds are analogue. When Eli's attacking we used analogue sounds from nature, animals. When she's biting its the actor biting through a sausage."

While the horror is not always visible, the sound design illustrates the imagination. Sounds stand out amongst the sparse design, mirroring the bleakness of the visuals. The shuddering clarity of Oskar and Eli communicating via morse code, and the unsettling crunch of the snow as victims walk alone. Eli's unsatisfiable hunger is signified by a ever increasing array of low gurgles, a pain that can never be cured and a danger that is impossible to avoid. She quickly morphs from innocent young girl to ravishing vampire, instinctively stooping to hungrily gobble up spilt blood.

The sound process was very complicated because visually, it's very important to have a dialogue with the audience. Most entertainment today is monologues coming out of the screen at you. A lot of films are overloaded with too much sound and effects and images. But if you leave out things or deliberately omit things visually, you always keep the audience interested. You make visual suggestions to the audience that help engage them. The same is true with sound. If you choose to have a lot of silence in your movie, it will really draw attention to the things you do hear. For instance, if you have a shot of a big city with a lot of cars and people, and all you hear on the soundtrack is a bird, your eyes will immediately start scanning the screen for the bird. It keeps you very active as an audience member."

What Alfredson and Sundstrum have achieved in the sound design for Let the Right One In is nothing short of wonderful. I sat glued to my seat, my ears listening intently to the intricately crafted effects, gleefully smiling at its intensity as it immersed me in the script. I don't often leave the cinema in a daze, but this is one of those films that stays with you when you leave, and is a magnificent cinematic experience.

Pro Tools Users

2009-04-15T15:56:00.004+01:00

For anyone who is a end user of professional software, forums are a invaluable source of information. They give you access to a huge community of fellow creatives, who gladly give up their free time to help out fellow users with their problems and questions. So being a big Pro Tools user (and being self taught during studio downtime), Pro Tools Users has saved my bacon on numerous occasions! I've been using the site for a good 2 years now, and am also proudly now a moderator of the site. It has some of the best guys in the business on hand to help you out, and is a friendly and ego-free community. So if you have any Pro Tools problems you know where to go! Join here.

Inglorious Basterds

2009-04-04T00:41:00.007+01:00

I'm severely sitting on the fence with this one. I grew up loving Tarantinos stuff, with Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction being personal favourites. But recently I've become bored with his films. Tarantino is essentially a film geek and the ultimate post-modern film director. He pays homage to his favourite films and genres by 'borrowing' images, reference points and sequences from his favourites. This is then knitted together with his trademark dialogue, which over the years has become more self referential. His last film Death Proof rates as one of the worst films I've ever seen; the characters are annoying and the dialogue exchanges uncomfortably long and uninteresting. The genius sound design and synth lines of Planet Terror was a far more enjoyable homage to the Grindhouse traditions and ideology. So I will be approaching Inglorious Basterds with severe trepidation, but lets hope Tarantino can get back to his best. While I'm talking about film trailers, how excited am I about Where The Wild Things Are..........

JCVD

2009-04-02T11:42:00.004+01:00

Just watched the latest Jean-Claude Van Damme film. Now, I know what your thinking. Jean-Claude Van Damme, star of Universal Soldier, Universal Soldier: The Return and the forthcoming Universal Soldier 3: The Next Generation. John Woo's unintentionally hilarious 'Hard Target' (haircut, music, slow mo !) and the quite frankly awful Street Fighter Movie. So you wouldn't sit down to watch the latest incarnation of the 'muscles from Brussels' with much expectation.

But you'd be wrong.

JCVD sees Van Damme playing himself, in a fake autobiographical film of his life. Struggling for cash following a child custudy case, he returns to his native Brussels to get himself together. Upon returning he enters a post office to withdraw some cash, which unbeknown to himself is being robbed. He becomes mistaken as the perpertrator by the police and a media swarm insues. There is no action fighting sequences, just fine thespian acting from Van Damme, including a 5 minute monologue where he apologises for all the mistakes hes made in his life. Moving and laced with in-jokes on Van Dammes previous action films (John Woo gets a toasting), JCVD is an highly enjoyable watch. Its refreshing to see an actor re-inventing himself to such a impressive degree on screen, and giving a heartfelt account on his own career. I highly recommend you check it out for yourself.

Theo Parrish

2009-03-30T17:06:00.000+01:00

Theo Parrish is a Detroit based DJ/Producer who collects found sound and incorporates it in his music, and vice-versa. I spent a lot of time at University studying musique concrete (more to come on this in the future) and creating electronic music from found sound, so was really in to Parrish's ethos. Heres a video for your viewing pleasure.....

The Wilhelm Scream

2009-03-26T10:47:00.006Z

The wilhelm scream is that of Hollywood legend. Originally a sound effect recorded for the film 'Distant Drums', it has gained noteriety since being discovered deep in the archives at Warner Bros. by sound designer Ben Burrt while looking for FX for his work on Star Wars. Burrt was already aware of the scream, having noted it appearing in a variety of productions, and already having 'borrowed' it from a films soundtrack to include in his own work.

Though labelled as 'Man being eaten by Alligator' on the reel recorded for 'Distant Drums', Burrt named the scream 'Wilhelm' after its emittion from the character 'Private Wilhelm' in the film 'The Charge at Feather River'. Though no-one knows quite who performed the scream, Burrt uncovered documentation at Warner that gave him an indication that the scream was most likely performed by musician and actor Sheb Wooley.

Over the years the scream has appeared as a signature in a mass of Burrts work; and has amassed a cv that any actor in the world would give their right arm for. The original scream is actually one of six recordings; the most popular and recognisable being screams four to six. Although the master recordings only exist in a couple of sound archives worldwide (Skywalker and Weddington being part of this elite group), it has found its way through sampling into libraries across the room, due to a love of the screams history within the sound editing community. It has appeared in films across the spectrum; from Star Wars to Juno and its popularity shows no signs of abating. Having learnt the significance of the effect, king film geek Quentin Tarantino has used the effect in 'Reservoir Dogs' and more recently 'Kill Bill', while Peter Jackson has also insisted in having the effect turned up in 'Lord of The Rings' after hearing of the screams history. The scream has also not been contained solely to the silver screen; it has been used on commercials, video games and even theme park rides.

So what started as a in joke has amassed a cult following amongst sound editors and film fans the world over. Though Ben Burtt himself has stopped using the effect, the scream will continue to live on in cinema for many years to come. I for one am always looking for that 'wilhelm moment' in my own work, and the satisfaction felt when knitting it seamlessly into the action and the enjoyment you get from discovering it being used in other films.

So if like me you want to carry on this cult, then you can hunt out the scream from a film where its clean in the mix (A Star is Born, wink wink!), or head along to here where you can download it for free, but at a lesser quality.

I will also leave you with some compilations of Wilhelms for your enjoyment. Happy spotting!

How cool is this?

2009-03-25T21:16:00.003Z

So your listening back to your mix. Sat back in the sofa, listening intently. Then you notice something that needs tweaking. You have to get up walk over to the console and correct the fader, and pull the video back and sit back down, breaking the flow. Such a pain.

Until now.

You need a iphone, but how cool is this?

Want a closer look? Link here.

Welcome!

2009-03-25T13:56:00.001Z

Hi there, and welcome to the blog. I'm a sound editor from the UK, and I'm big on all things audio, especially sound for film. The aim of this blog is to create a hub of all the things I love and discover about film sound in one handy place. I'm also big on Pro Tools, and will include as many tips, tricks, techniques and advice about the system as possible, to aid you in your own sound editing. If you would like to get in touch with me or subscribe to the blog, the links are on the right hand pane.

I hope you enjoy reading.