Jump to content

The Low Frequency Content Thread (films, games, music, etc)


maxmercy

Recommended Posts

Thanks for the Shaun of the Dead recommendation, we'll check it out.

 

It's huge mistakes like these that make me always question the 'infallibility' mystique that seems to surround the film business, when in fact, most of the bigger releases are compressed, clipped, and filtered, just like what is par for the course at iTunes....

JSS

 

You're right. But when they absolutely pour truckloads of cash at a major release, I mean hundreds and hundreds of millions, ... you'd think they'd not miss the technical mark. Perhaps it's deadline related, whereas all the marketing is targeted to meet established hard deadlines ... regardless where they are with a mix. Like you said, the shot caller mandating certain characteristics like more level, limiting, clipping ..., then "were good, move along, what's next?" ... mere speculation and I'd hope it's not like that ... but mistakes are common and mediocre quality is too.        

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

FOH,

 

Speculation as to what happens on a mixing stage is just that. All I comment on are the waveforms I see, and whether or not overt clipping is present, and how much compression appears to have been used in addition to the general measurements. It is really easy to hypothesize what happened, especially when small factoids are discovered, such as how subwoofer drivers were fried during the mixing of Avengers, and lo and behold, one of the hardest shelf filters measured just magically appears in the measurements.......I cannot prove one led to another, but it is not a hard mental leap to make.....take Tron as well. Joe Kocinski personally oversaw and modified the BluRay soundtrack according to an interview in which he stated that he was not happy with certain aspects of the theatrical mix, and every channel except for LFE is clipped on the BluRay track.

 

JSS

Link to comment
Share on other sites

JSS, I want to make clear, I unequivocally agree on all points.  

 

What blows me away is that these armchair quarterback critiques from myself for example, aren't based upon subjective elements of their work. These are the most fundamental tenets of recording/mixing ... preserve the FR of the signal path and recorded event, maximize signal/noise, and no audible clipping!

Poor execution of their craft, at best. At worst and in my opinion, these are termination of employment offenses.

 

Primum non nocere, or as Chris Carter would say, c'mon man!

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Monsters University (7.1 TrueHD)

Level        - 3 Stars (109dB composite)
Extension - 5 Stars (1Hz)
Dynamics - 5 Stars (31.04dB)
Execution - 4 Stars (by poll)

 

Overall     - 4.25 Stars

Recommendation - Buy

 

 

Notes:  This one's a solid mix.  Everything blends in seemlessly, without any noticeable clipping or limiting.  It just doesn't go very low - besides that ratings-jobbing 1Hz bump that has to be artifact, as it's much higher level than all other content, and doesn't occur in scenes that call for it.  I didn't even notice it in playback, likely due to DC blocking caps & other associated rolloff.  MU has no very big effects; there's nothing like Boo's Laugh from the first one.  Funny movie, if you like that sort of thing or have kids.

 

PvA:

 

post-17-0-23041400-1383233268_thumb.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I finally got around to watching Star Trek into Darkness last night. Sounds like it measures. Really punchy but nothing deep. I got a slight back massage early in the movie, everything else was in the chest. I didn't notice the clipping to bad, which I usually find I'm sensitive to this. I think when explosions and FX clip, they're less noticeable than say someone yelling. I did hear some during warps, and some FX sounded harsh, but it was fairly subtle. All in all, it was fun, but could have been so much better.

 

Sorry to bring up a couple month old release, just wanted to share my experience.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A Series I have been wanting to measure for a long time:

 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone:

 

Level - 2 Stars (106.1dB composite)

Extension - 1 Star (27Hz)

Dynamics - 5 Stars (30.48dB)

Execution - 3 Stars (by poll)

 

Overall - 2.75 Stars

 

Recommendation - Buy

 

I expect the films will get better in LF Star value as the series progresses....

 

JSS 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets:

 

Level - 3 Stars (109.22dB composite)

Extension - 3 Stars (19Hz)

Dynamics - 5 Stars (31.47dB)

Execution - 3 Stars (by poll)

 

Overall - 3.5 Stars

 

Recommendation - Buy

 

This film definitely ups the LF, especially with the wamping willow, the cursed blodger, and the basilisk.  That's all until next week.

 

 

JSS

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anyone want to do a waterfall for Stone Giants and maybe Smaug? Hoping for a great turn around.

Someone posted a waterfall of the Smaug scene 'over there'. Disgusting. The added extension is limited solely to the added cuts. The graph looks like it switches between the original footage with the original filter to the added footage switching to the lower extension filter. It looks like they didn't realize (or didn't care) about the added scenes having a different filter from the rest of the footage. Sloppy.

 

 

Max

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A Series I have been wanting to measure for a long time:

 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone:

 

Level - 2 Stars (106.1dB composite)

Extension - 1 Star (27Hz)

Dynamics - 5 Stars (30.48dB)

Execution - TBD

 

Overall - TBD

 

Recommendation - TBD

 

I expect the films will get better in LF Star value as the series progresses....

 

JSS 

Curious to see what 7 & 8 look like as those were the ones where I was actually surprised by the bass (in comparison to the previous movies in the series).

 

 

Max

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...