3 ms·

Maybe if audio engineers constrained themselves to what people listened on, I would actually be able to hear what people are saying in modern movies.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
jletienne 4y ago
this is the correct take for Netflix and Christopher Nolan. The answer is they used to. I read a forum where an engineer was working on a TV show would flip the show in his living room, bedroom, guest bedroom. Walking around the house making sure the sound was balanced everywhere, driving his wife insane. It's not engineers making that decision it's Nolan overreaching "If you see it particularly in an IMAX theater, projected, it’s pretty remarkable". source -> https://www.indiewire.com/2020/11/christopher-nolan-directors-complain-sound-mix-1234598386/ https://www.indiewire.com/2020/11/christopher-nolan-director... Not sure what his deal is. 'Nolan also admitted in a 2017 interview with IndieWire that his team decided “a couple of films ago that we weren’t going to mix films for substandard theaters,” adding, “We’re mixing for well-aligned, great theaters.”' source -> https://www.indiewire.com/2020/09/tenet-sound-mixing-backlash-christopher-nolan-explained-1234583800/ https://www.indiewire.com/2020/09/tenet-sound-mixing-backlas... It's madness. Idk what Netflix's excuse is. Their spec sheet is 2600+ words. But I think the issue is this line "5.1 audio is required and 2.0 is optional." My best guess if you have 5 speakers and subwoofer it's fine. But if you're on cheap headphones or a laptop good luck.
- jnwatson 4y ago
  Nope, I can’t understand the dialog even in Imax. I think Nolan has whatever the opposite of audio processing disorder is.
- hulitu 4y ago
  Netflix sound is just crap. It has nothing to do with "cinematic experience". Voice is not intelligible even at very high volume.
- brokenmachine 4y ago
  Nolan's stuff sounds like shit on my fully calibrated 5.1 setup. Also sounded like shit when I saw it in a (non-imax, but "X-Treme audio" or whatever it was) cinema. Guess I'd need to buy my own imax cinema to make it watchable. Think I'll just pass and watch something from a competent director instead.
BeFlatXIII 4y ago
Realistically, they'd need two mixes. One for people who care about audio quality and have invested in a proper home theatre and another stereo mix for the large majority of movie enjoyers.
- creshal 4y ago
  Yes? That's what we had on DVDs back in the days, one 5.1 or 7.1 audiophile mix (or sometimes both!), and one simple stereo mix for the other 99% of the population; both distinct from the cinema mix. There was never a reason to get rid of that in favour of the current "one size fits none" approach, other than cheapness.
_xivi 4y ago
Check Vox's "Why we all need subtitles now" https://youtu.be/VYJtb2YXae8 https://youtu.be/VYJtb2YXae8
- everdrive 4y ago
  This was actually a very frustrating video. The audio engineer goes on to say that we _need_ dynamic range to enjoy the movie, which just no true. I remember when the dynamic range (really, the lack of) debate was going on with regard to music. I can see _how_ the argument would apply to movies and TV, but I really hate when I have to keep adjusting the volume because I don't want to damage my hearing. It's like the worst of both worlds: music remains heavily compressed, while movies have incomprehensible dialog volume.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

jletienne 4y ago

this is the correct take for Netflix and Christopher Nolan. The answer is they used to. I read a forum where an engineer was working on a TV show would flip the show in his living room, bedroom, guest bedroom. Walking around the house making sure the sound was balanced everywhere, driving his wife insane. It's not engineers making that decision it's Nolan overreaching "If you see it particularly in an IMAX theater, projected, it’s pretty remarkable". source -> https://www.indiewire.com/2020/11/christopher-nolan-directors-complain-sound-mix-1234598386/ https://www.indiewire.com/2020/11/christopher-nolan-director... Not sure what his deal is. 'Nolan also admitted in a 2017 interview with IndieWire that his team decided “a couple of films ago that we weren’t going to mix films for substandard theaters,” adding, “We’re mixing for well-aligned, great theaters.”' source -> https://www.indiewire.com/2020/09/tenet-sound-mixing-backlash-christopher-nolan-explained-1234583800/ https://www.indiewire.com/2020/09/tenet-sound-mixing-backlas... It's madness. Idk what Netflix's excuse is. Their spec sheet is 2600+ words. But I think the issue is this line "5.1 audio is required and 2.0 is optional." My best guess if you have 5 speakers and subwoofer it's fine. But if you're on cheap headphones or a laptop good luck.

jnwatson 4y ago
Nope, I can’t understand the dialog even in Imax. I think Nolan has whatever the opposite of audio processing disorder is.
hulitu 4y ago
Netflix sound is just crap. It has nothing to do with "cinematic experience". Voice is not intelligible even at very high volume.
brokenmachine 4y ago
Nolan's stuff sounds like shit on my fully calibrated 5.1 setup. Also sounded like shit when I saw it in a (non-imax, but "X-Treme audio" or whatever it was) cinema. Guess I'd need to buy my own imax cinema to make it watchable. Think I'll just pass and watch something from a competent director instead.

BeFlatXIII 4y ago

Realistically, they'd need two mixes. One for people who care about audio quality and have invested in a proper home theatre and another stereo mix for the large majority of movie enjoyers.

creshal 4y ago
Yes? That's what we had on DVDs back in the days, one 5.1 or 7.1 audiophile mix (or sometimes both!), and one simple stereo mix for the other 99% of the population; both distinct from the cinema mix. There was never a reason to get rid of that in favour of the current "one size fits none" approach, other than cheapness.

_xivi 4y ago

Check Vox's "Why we all need subtitles now" https://youtu.be/VYJtb2YXae8 https://youtu.be/VYJtb2YXae8

everdrive 4y ago
This was actually a very frustrating video. The audio engineer goes on to say that we _need_ dynamic range to enjoy the movie, which just no true. I remember when the dynamic range (really, the lack of) debate was going on with regard to music. I can see _how_ the argument would apply to movies and TV, but I really hate when I have to keep adjusting the volume because I don't want to damage my hearing. It's like the worst of both worlds: music remains heavily compressed, while movies have incomprehensible dialog volume.