Random field reports concerning audio, the red-headed stepchild of film and television production.
(Note: no offense intended to red-headed stepchildren everywhere.)
Zaxcom BBQ Lunch Saturday Feb 14, 2009 Anytime between 11:00 A.M. – 2:00 P.M. 3325 Cahuenga Blvd W. Hollywood, CA 90068
Zaxcom and Coffey Sound invite you to view the release of two new Zaxcom products and a very exciting update to the Deva and Fusion mutitrack location recorders.
1.) The TRX992 single channel transmitter is a single device solution for wireless boom pole transmission, IFB return, headphone monitoring and backup recording.
2.) Fusion 12 is a 100% solid state recorder that records 12 isolated tracks for a mix of up to 16 total analog and digital inputs.
3.) The Deva/Fusion Display upgrade offers a significant improvement in visibility in all lighting conditions. The new display is 3 times brighter and higher contrast than the existing Deva/Fusion display. The new display can be installed in any existing Deva 4,5,5.8,16 and Fusion at any Zaxcom dealer.
As an unrepentant film nerd, I have to say I'm a bit sad to hear it said aloud: Pioneer recently announced that they would officially end production of laserdisc players.
Laserdisc has always has a special place in my heart. For a considerable time, it was the highest quality consumer video format available. It offered about 400 lines of resolution (roughly double that of VHS), increased color bandwidth, and due to being an optical format, didn't wear out with repeated viewings. Here, let's let Devo (!) explain it better for us:
BTW:WTF?
Later in its life cycle, laserdisc came to be the first consumer video format to offer digital sound, initially in the form of two 44.1 kHz, 16 bit PCM tracks, and later 5.1 surround sound via Dolby Digital and D.T.S. Finally, the home viewer could enjoy near printmaster quality audio in their home theater.
Due to its increased visual quality, there emerged a market for remastering old video transfers of classic films. Boutique companies like Criterion sprang up, raising the bar for home video releases by insisting on letterboxing to achieve proper aspect ratios, finding and offering other content like outtakes and deleted scenes as "extras", and utilizing the spare analog audio channels to offer running commentaries on the movies themselves. Essentially, everything that we've come to take for granted on DVD and now Blu-Ray was introduced first on laserdisc.
Laserdiscs always kind of felt like the vinyl of video. It shared the same 12" form factor, allowing for bigger cover art, as well as a more satisfying tactile experience; when you hold a movie on laser, it has a heft and solidity. It just feels a little more special.
Boxsets were something to behold. They were called "coffee table editions", being about the same size as a large photo book. Since everyday consumers weren't their target market, studios could take more care with the production of their boxsets, packing them with material to appeal to die-hard aficianados. One of the best I've seen is Universal's Jaws: Signature Collection, released in 1995. It addtion to a remastered transfer of the film, it included a new 2 hour documentary, a CD of the soundtrack, and a paperback copy of the novel.
Now Jaws-ier than ever!
Lasers never enjoyed the success in the US and Europe that they did in Japan. You couldn't record to blanks to time-shift TV like you could with Beta and later VHS. Consequently, prices for both players and discs never fell from premium levels.
Enter DVD. Despite being compressed, it offered a component signal, eliminating the decoding artifacts that plague composite formats like VHS, Beta and laserdisc, as well as anamorphic video, allowing it take advantage of widescreen displays that were starting to appear in the marketplace. (Laserdisc actually offered anamorphic video first, in the form of "squeeze LDs", which never caught on in the states). DVD was smaller, lighter, cheaper; it was also digital, which was fast becoming market-speak for "better".
Lasers became relegated to Ebay and collectors. For years, it was the only way to get high-quality letterboxed versions of the Indiana Jones trilogy, as well as the original theatrical versions of the Star Wars films. (It's still the only way to get a widescreen copy of the original version of THX-1138.)
Most will tell you that an analog, standard definition format could never hold a candle to a digital high-def one (even though laserdiscs were the first platform to offer a high-def video format to consumers, in a variant known as MUSE Hi-Vision that was sold in Japan). They're most likely right, but the home video market wouldn't exist as we know it today without lasers. The extra quality set the bar higher than VHS, and brought the enhanced viewing experiences of widescreen, surround sound, and archival extras to the homes of film fans for the first time.
Sigh..Watch, now they're gonna tell me that they've stopped making parts for my Kloss Nova Beam Front Projection TV:
Best Sound Editing • The Dark Knight - Richard King • Iron Man - Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes • Slumdog Millionaire - Tom Sayers • WALL-E - Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood • Wanted - Wylie Stateman
Best Sound Mixing • The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - David Parker, Michael Semanick, RenKlyce, Mark Weingarten • The Dark Knight - Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo, Ed Novick • Slumdog Millionaire - Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, ResulPookutty • WALL-E - Tom Myers, Michael Semanick, Ben Burtt • Wanted - Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño, Petr Forejt
Why they still insist on breaking up editing and mixing, I'll never know.
BEC has introduced a hot shoe mount that mates their custom-fitted wireless receiver sleeves to smaller-format camcorders. The mount is a standard hot shoe post, with four mounting screws to hold any of BEC's existing sleeves.
The folks over at Trew Audio have put together a hand-dandy demo clip. Please to enjoy:
Rycote's new Lyre clips are now available in upgrade kits, for use in existing mic suspensions. Snip, via Trew Audio:
There are 2 basic upgrade choices: Lyre webs along with a suspension-appropriate mic connector (i.e. a Connbox or XLR mic tail); or a set of Lyres only....
Installation of either upgrade option is very simple as the Lyres and the Connbox mount to existing threaded holes in your suspension bar. With these upgrades, Rycote is providing a great opportunity to acquire the latest suspension technology for your Modular suspension system at a very reasonable price.
By steamer and clipper alike, your faithful reporter has finally returned to his post, armed with the latest and greatest in news pertaining to sound-for-picture. Let's see what's hot off the ticker, boys:
First up, we have veteran sound mixer Dennis Maitland, talking about his trials and tribulations as a pioneering mixer, tussling with the likes of Jackie Gleason over at CBS. Who knew ol' Jackie had such a blue streak?
Next, we have two different takes on the Sound Devices CL-8 controller. Nick Huston over at Gotham Sound only got his mitts on it for about an hour, whereas whippersnapper Sklyor Morgan from Trew Audio was able to set a spell with the contraption. The word on the street is that eight is pretty great, if you can fork over the clams.
Stay tuned, folks. After this message from our sponsors, we'll be right back to dish on the dames from high society in swingin' Manhattan. Here's a hint: Dorothy Parker and the gang from the Algonquin got into another tizzy with the bartender over their sizable tab. When confronted by the manager, Ms. Parker was overheard to say, "I'd settle up, but that would involve standing up." Zowie!
