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!
Thursday, 12 November 2009
How to Build a Contact Mic
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!
Thursday, 22 October 2009
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
Alive in Joburg
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
Sound Solution for the Canon EOS 5D MkII
Advanced Sound for DSLR's from Steve Weiss, Zacuto USA on Vimeo.
Monday, 21 September 2009
Pod Farm Plug in FREE! for 10 more days......
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
Watchmen
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.
Tuesday, 8 September 2009
Snow Leopard
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
Saturday, 5 September 2009
Antibodies
Wednesday, 26 August 2009
Multi-monitor on Mac Laptops
Wednesday, 15 July 2009
On the subject of free.........
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
Drag Me to Hell
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.
Tuesday, 16 June 2009
Researching the Foot Chase
The Coffey Audio Files
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
Robocop Rebooted
Friday, 5 June 2009
Pro Tools Preference & Database Trasher
Tuesday, 26 May 2009
Colemanfilm on Vimeo
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!
PPMulator Moves Home
Thursday, 14 May 2009
Free Blastwave FX Download Pack
Saturday, 18 April 2009
Lat Den Ratte Komma In (Let The Right One In)
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'.
Wednesday, 15 April 2009
Pro Tools Users
Saturday, 4 April 2009
Inglorious Basterds
Thursday, 2 April 2009
JCVD
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.
Monday, 30 March 2009
Theo Parrish
Thursday, 26 March 2009
The Wilhelm Scream
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!
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
How cool is this?
Until now.
You need a iphone, but how cool is this?
Want a closer look? Link here.
Welcome!
I hope you enjoy reading.