Film and Episodic Content Discussion Thread

@ColtMrFire - I shared your Never Ending Story on CrapBook (FB) - let me know if you have any objections to me sharing outside of this place. I really enjoyed what you had to say about the movie - especially in a time where adults need to think back to their innocence instead of blaming everyone else for the loss of it.

 

I would never object to anyone sharing my vids, in fact its the best way to get subscribers! And thanks.

 

Apparently I'm not alone in finding some movies' dialogue hard to hear these days (and it's not just because I need to hook up external speakers); here's an interesting article about inaudible audio, with a recent example being Nolan's Tenet. Given the horrors of modern popular music production, I wonder if it shouldn't be surprising that movies' audio might also be less than (inter)stellar?

@ColtMrFire - I'm sorry, I've fallen behind in watching your excellent videos (I've seen the first couple of them). At least I have a good collection to catch up on now. They've been wonderfully informative and insightful, thank you.

 

I'm all too familiar w/inaudible dialogue. Very often it's because dialogue was mixed to low, the better to show off glizty explosions, gunfire, etc.

The other reason for inaudible dialogue is hearing changes. As I get older, I find it harder to "pick out" dialogue.

I got an audibility-enhancing soundbar that definitely helps. I set it just loud enough to enhance the average dialogue track, but no more:

https://zvox.com/collections/accuvo...-av203-tv-speaker-with-hearing-aid-technology

BTW, by far the worst low-dialogue offender in my experience is Netflix' ALTERED CARBON. No matter how high I raised the volume--and even with the soundbar linked above--I couldn't make sense of at least 1/3 of the dialogue. I had to dump the series, too bad considering that it looked like a million bucks and seemed pretty well done...

 

Nolan in particular doesn't allow looping of dialogue in post production. He insists on using the dialogue captured on set, which is often barely audible.

 

I sometimes find the use of headphones makes this a bit more bearable. Headphone outs from most receivers aint great so you can increase the volume for dialogue but not worry so much about the loud parts blowing out your eardrums, I would still advise caution and test it first. Still no excuse for garbage audio engineering. There was some recent Netflix movie with Jamie Fox that I started watching but it was either dont hear the dialogue or get blown out by the special effects. Not fun watching a movie with your hand on the volume control, quickly gave up.

 

I just saw Tenet yesterday, and I put the crappy dialogue audio down to the theatre having an overcranked or poorly setup sound system. So it makes a bit more sense that Nolan doesn't use ADR (the sound in the theatre was still pretty crap though). I had to use Tyll's TP Theatre Plugs™ for the loud parts, and then take them out to hear the dialogue which was still often unintelligible (and rather key to following the plot).

Sound quality in theatres is not a high priority in Taiwan, as all TV and movie content is subtitled whether it be in (one of the) Chinese or a foreign language, the rationale being that it helps children to learn how to read the (ridiculously difficult) language, as well as making it easier to understand dialogue in different dialects and clarifying homophones. So people here are used to reading along while watching and don't care that much if the audio is clear.

If I'm watching at home I'll often use headphones, partly not to disturb the wife and partly so I can hear the dialogue better. If I don't want to wear them, I'll turn on the closed captions. My media player box has a compression function that helps reduce the dynamic range so I don't have to keep adjusting the volume or get blown out by loud action sequences.

 

The dynamic range compression function has never worked well for me on any receiver that I have had. Dialogue enhancement settings work a bit better but there's only so much one can do to compensate for poorly engineered audio. Do the people who do this actually listen to their work?

 

Part of the problem is actors are mimicking human behavior and people are not always understandable. Even in movies with well recorded dialogue, I don't always understand everything. This isn't a big deal in scenes that don't contain much exposition, and it becomes more about the mood. Most communication is non verbal anyway...and cameras are very good at capturing subtleties.

 

Part 2 of my ALIEN/ALIENS analysis. This one focuses specifically on Ripley, and why she is one of the best cinema heroes of all time.

New video every Wednesday at 12 noon Central.

 

I enjoyed this. I agree with your thought that Aliens is more a natural extension of Alien than simply a sequel. That Ripley wakes up in Aliens after her hypersleep at the end of Alien supports this, IIRC. For her no time has passed, which makes her ability to deal with the circumstances of Aliens more remarkable. I generally preferred Aliens but Alien might be the better movie from an academic viewpoint.

 

Thanks. I do feel Alien is a better movie, but it has the benefit of being first, and first movies tend to be better.

 

I love that you are able to connect on the non-verbal communication. I'm an introvert and a people watcher - life has taught me to watch people because actions speak louder than words! Much love for all you're doing!

 

Just seeing this now. Thanks for another terrific, insightful video. IMHO, evidence that you really know what you're doing in these videos is that you drill so deep into fear itself--the way something terrifying in a film lodges in the brain and changes one's expectations & experience. That rings true on many levels.

This film was and still is uniquely terrifying. And as you point out, part of our terror is wordless dread of being physically colonized by the creature--turned into an egg nurturing vessel. This may be the film's great gift to horror--literally internalizing the terror of "the other."

Like many fans of horror films, for there is the period before Alien; and everything that came after.

I'd love to see your take on a somewhat comparable (and also paradigm-shifting) horror/sci-fi film, THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD. I adore this film and watch it at least 3 or 4 times a year (something I could not do with ALIEN!).

 

I'm a bigger fan of John Carpenter's remake than the original, so I will be doing that in the near future.

 

They're both terrific films. A rare case where a remake was different & imaginative enough to equal the original.

 

While I think Alien is a better movie (just because it made a huge impact on 6 year old me), Aliens is the perfect sequel and after Empire Strikes Back the best sequel ever made. It didn't try to capture the magic from the first film and it expanded upon characters and "minor" plot elements (synthetics and shady corporations). As was mentioned in part 1, it has a sureal documentary feel that is cold and provides no real traditional character development. There was almost zero character develop outside of Ash in the first film. Ripley didn't really grow in the first film, just gained more film time as the movie progressed. So audience just gained more insight into her character rather than actual development. The second film was dramatically different as it was more traditional. As was stated in Part 2, she goes through a dramatic character development such as parental grow and overcoming fear. Each film stands on their own. One a documentary and the other a traditional high budget action film.

 

In a rare case, I don't consider The Thing a remake of the original because the screen writer when back to the book rather than the film. Kinda like The Last Man on Earth, The Omega Man, and I Am Legend. All from the same book but not necessarily remakes of each other. The funny thing about the screen writer for the thing was he had no real interest about alien itself, he was far more interested in the mimic aspect and how that dynamic would play out in a group. But I do love both. The Thing From Another World is great movie. For a horror film, it was way ahead of its time.

 

Of course, we all know which of these three was the best film. Velvet dinner jacket and ruffles for the win !

 

Not to mention greatest infrared scope ever while in Velvet dinner jacket and ruffles after playing chess in said velvet dinner jacket and ruffles against a statue of Julius Caesar.