Sound Bytes – Should not Bite

What beautiful scenery. Fantastic talent. Wow, check out the cinematography….Awesome ….. Oh, what’d he say?

 I’ve watched my fair share of indie films and judging by the DVD shelf that just crashed to earth, perhaps collected a few too many. So when my movie arrived fresh from purchase I did not expect the sound to, well…. stink. (Is this mix grammatically and spiritually excusable in a blog? Dunno. I am throwing down the gauntlet and forging ahead anyway with my complaint, err, um – point! Yes, I meant to say point.)

Sound demands as much consideration as other elements. As a movie watcher I can comment freely: rain should sound exactly like rain and church bells should never sound like a cell phone ringtone. People tend to snicker in places where sentiment was the intention. How to affect quality sound is another matter and a topic best left to the experts, which I am clearly not. Heaven knows the sound police found blunders in my little student (aka free) film.

What I know for sure is that quality sound is not achieved by wishing for it or hocus pocus. I’ll have to leave my soapbox now (my minute rice is burning) and I’ll sign off with a helpful link which could be called: How to Make Sound for a Movie 101. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuJR1ND2CDM

 Why pay grad school when there’s YouTube?

~Peace,

Tina