Gearslutz.com - View Single Post - Will digital (motion picture) film have an impact on sound recording for film?

audiothings · 13th September 2005

Some rather disconnected thoughts:

I'd guess that Bloakbuster Films will not lose their place easily. While, say, punk and rock and roll questioned the merits of 'high fidelity' and 'polished' music forever, I doubt we'll see a similar change in the film industry. People go to the movies for the larger than life BIG SCREEN EXPERIENCE, which is simply not going to be possible, now or in our lifetimes, for small budget 'DV Cam' productions. 'Special' effects based films, I would imagine already use a lot of digital footage. If Comrade Spielberg makes a film , he may go digital, but he will retain or better current standards of visual richness that still won't be anywhere near possible on the budget to of your average independent production. And when Comrade Spielberg is spending several million dollars on other aspects of his film, I don't think he will mind paying a slight premium for a pro audio post production facility.

As for sound recording for films, orchestral music still plays a frequently important part. As long as this is the case, the big scoring stages will still be in the game. When it comes to movies that don't feature an orchestral score, I would guess that lots of work is already being done in smaller rooms irrespective of the budget of the film, moving the data to the big scoring and mix stages only when necessary. Dubbing stages (atleast where I am) are shrinking in size, by the day. And as sound effects libraries get ever wider, foley work is going to suffer. The need for pro mix stages however, is not about to dwindle too much. These things, however have little to do with changes due to advent of digital film making, and have more to do with changes within audio technology.

Independent films, 'art' films, documentaries and to an extent, films primarily intended for TV are most likely to benefit(?) immediately from the new technology. And the technology is still nascent. And people will learn the tricks, possibilities, pitfalls and workarounds and get better at digital film making over time. Still, indie movies are not, in my opinion, going to take too much away from the blockbusters. Audio post production for the emerging genre is however going to be an interesting game to watch. Whether 'project' audio/video post production facilities can deliver the required quality AND survive in the business is what we'll be waiting to see.

I think film production is very much a deliberate art. I am optimistic about the flexibility and fidelity it will bring to audio as more and more stages in film production and reproduction go digital. The problem will however probably be that the new technology will be used to create short cuts and compromises, rather than as tools of an evolving art.

.02,
self.

13th September 2005	#2
audiothings Lives for gear Joined: Apr 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 1,257	Some rather disconnected thoughts: I'd guess that Bloakbuster Films will not lose their place easily. While, say, punk and rock and roll questioned the merits of 'high fidelity' and 'polished' music forever, I doubt we'll see a similar change in the film industry. People go to the movies for the larger than life BIG SCREEN EXPERIENCE, which is simply not going to be possible, now or in our lifetimes, for small budget 'DV Cam' productions. 'Special' effects based films, I would imagine already use a lot of digital footage. If Comrade Spielberg makes a film , he may go digital, but he will retain or better current standards of visual richness that still won't be anywhere near possible on the budget to of your average independent production. And when Comrade Spielberg is spending several million dollars on other aspects of his film, I don't think he will mind paying a slight premium for a pro audio post production facility. As for sound recording for films, orchestral music still plays a frequently important part. As long as this is the case, the big scoring stages will still be in the game. When it comes to movies that don't feature an orchestral score, I would guess that lots of work is already being done in smaller rooms irrespective of the budget of the film, moving the data to the big scoring and mix stages only when necessary. Dubbing stages (atleast where I am) are shrinking in size, by the day. And as sound effects libraries get ever wider, foley work is going to suffer. The need for pro mix stages however, is not about to dwindle too much. These things, however have little to do with changes due to advent of digital film making, and have more to do with changes within audio technology. Independent films, 'art' films, documentaries and to an extent, films primarily intended for TV are most likely to benefit(?) immediately from the new technology. And the technology is still nascent. And people will learn the tricks, possibilities, pitfalls and workarounds and get better at digital film making over time. Still, indie movies are not, in my opinion, going to take too much away from the blockbusters. Audio post production for the emerging genre is however going to be an interesting game to watch. Whether 'project' audio/video post production facilities can deliver the required quality AND survive in the business is what we'll be waiting to see. I think film production is very much a deliberate art. I am optimistic about the flexibility and fidelity it will bring to audio as more and more stages in film production and reproduction go digital. The problem will however probably be that the new technology will be used to create short cuts and compromises, rather than as tools of an evolving art. .02, self.