Christopher Nolan - Interstellar
Discussion
mikal83 said:
But the film was panned for its sound.
It was nominated for an Oscar in sound mixing and sound editing, so some people liked it. I watched it again over the weekend and have not changed my mind, it's got the best sound of any film I've ever seen, and there is no problem with the dialog. I'm talking about the for-home nearfield mix, I didn't watch it in the cinema.Any film that pushes boundaries is going to be polarising, I would rather that than something bland.
Edited by varsas on Tuesday 1st September 10:25
I saw it in the cinema and, based on what had been said in reviews, was expecting to struggle to hear the dialogue - especially McConaughey's as he is an inveterate mumbler.
I was pleasantly surprised that I had no such problems - except for Michael Caine - who's speech was almost inaudible at times.
I was pleasantly surprised that I had no such problems - except for Michael Caine - who's speech was almost inaudible at times.
944fan said:
I found the sound hard on Sky. Kept having to turn it right up when someone was talking then turn it down when the music or something noisy happened.
The bit when the airlock blew with Matt Damon in it I nearly s
t myself as it was up full blast.
There are a few articles about how it was a wanted effect by Nolan. The bit when the airlock blew with Matt Damon in it I nearly s
t myself as it was up full blast.
Maybe there'll be a special edition DVD with level sound?
varsas said:
mikal83 said:
As above, missed it at the flicks, so watched it on sky, feckmme my ears must be fecked as couldn't make out 1/2 the yak.
At lot of the people watching it on sky (and IMAX) seem to be having a problem. The BluRay is fine.
I loved it, but hated having to constantly turn the volume up & down.
I didn't think it was mumbling, just assumed it was really quiet vocals and action scenes at three times the volume as last few films I've seen in the cinema were the same. Although having read Justin's post it's perhaps a limitation of my surround system. Couldn't just leave it up as it was far too loud doing that, even with centre channel cranked up above the others.
I didn't think it was mumbling, just assumed it was really quiet vocals and action scenes at three times the volume as last few films I've seen in the cinema were the same. Although having read Justin's post it's perhaps a limitation of my surround system. Couldn't just leave it up as it was far too loud doing that, even with centre channel cranked up above the others.
wombleh said:
I loved it, but hated having to constantly turn the volume up & down.
I didn't think it was mumbling, just assumed it was really quiet vocals and action scenes at three times the volume as last few films I've seen in the cinema were the same. Although having read Justin's post it's perhaps a limitation of my surround system. Couldn't just leave it up as it was far too loud doing that, even with centre channel cranked up above the others.
Just to confirm - the dialogue in parts was mixed low in comparison to the SFX and score.I didn't think it was mumbling, just assumed it was really quiet vocals and action scenes at three times the volume as last few films I've seen in the cinema were the same. Although having read Justin's post it's perhaps a limitation of my surround system. Couldn't just leave it up as it was far too loud doing that, even with centre channel cranked up above the others.
It was clearer on my friend's system as it is pretty much money-no-object at around £50k in total. That was simply because the standard of that system was so good that the SFX, score and dialogue was pretty much presented in three dimensions in front and around you.
JustinP1 said:
Just to confirm - the dialogue in parts was mixed low in comparison to the SFX and score.
This is the case with virtually all modern movies played through a reasonable sound system. You want cinema sound? Well that's what you get - deafening explosions and score, much quieter speech. Modern TVs may try and copy these effects but thin cabinets give awful bass and reedy treble.ETA, like the poster above, many movies don't require fiddling with the volume control on my older Sony plasma.
Edited by popeyewhite on Saturday 3rd October 10:29
Edited by popeyewhite on Saturday 3rd October 10:29
Interstellar had the dialogue mixed lower in parts for artistic, rather than technical reasons. TBH I've not seen that done deliberately much if at all before.
The other less well known thing is physiological. When we hear a loud sound, the ear adjusts to protect itself from damage - almost like an internal volume control. So, in a cinema with loud SFX blasting our ability pick out detail is reduced.
Mercedes are actually researching this to use as a safety device in cars. When the car thinks a crash is milliseconds away, it will produce a blast of white noise, protecting the ear from the much louder and damaging sound of the crash.
The other less well known thing is physiological. When we hear a loud sound, the ear adjusts to protect itself from damage - almost like an internal volume control. So, in a cinema with loud SFX blasting our ability pick out detail is reduced.
Mercedes are actually researching this to use as a safety device in cars. When the car thinks a crash is milliseconds away, it will produce a blast of white noise, protecting the ear from the much louder and damaging sound of the crash.
JustinP1 said:
Just to confirm - the dialogue in parts was mixed low in comparison to the SFX and score.
It was clearer on my friend's system as it is pretty much money-no-object at around £50k in total. That was simply because the standard of that system was so good that the SFX, score and dialogue was pretty much presented in three dimensions in front and around you.
Maybe also did some volume normalisation? Newer amps and I would imagine top end older ones can do that, considered upgrading to one myself. If they keep mixing movies like this then may not have much choice!It was clearer on my friend's system as it is pretty much money-no-object at around £50k in total. That was simply because the standard of that system was so good that the SFX, score and dialogue was pretty much presented in three dimensions in front and around you.
wombleh said:
JustinP1 said:
Just to confirm - the dialogue in parts was mixed low in comparison to the SFX and score.
It was clearer on my friend's system as it is pretty much money-no-object at around £50k in total. That was simply because the standard of that system was so good that the SFX, score and dialogue was pretty much presented in three dimensions in front and around you.
Maybe also did some volume normalisation? Newer amps and I would imagine top end older ones can do that, considered upgrading to one myself. If they keep mixing movies like this then may not have much choice!It was clearer on my friend's system as it is pretty much money-no-object at around £50k in total. That was simply because the standard of that system was so good that the SFX, score and dialogue was pretty much presented in three dimensions in front and around you.
It would be a shame if the sound mix was watered down or otherwise tampered with because some don't like it. I like it to be as the creators intended it. I, personally, like big, dynamic soundstages. Equally it's clearly a problem for some poeple. I wonder why films don't offer two sound mixes; a compressed stereo mix for those who want that, and the 'full-fat' version for the rest of us. The only film I know about is the latest Hunger Games, I believe that has a specific headphone mix. Object-based audio (Atmos, DTS-X) might be the way forward, if the 'dialog', 'Music' and 'FX' were seperate objects you could alter the relative volumes. Maybe you'd have some different settings on the amp, just like (as you say) most modern amps can compress the volume differences. We'd all be happy, and they'd be a reason to buy your film on Blu-Ray instead of streaming it!
P.S. Have you seen Skyfall? Just asking because, again, I thought the sound on that was brilliant, so I now assume others thought it was rubbish!
wombleh said:
I loved it, but hated having to constantly turn the volume up & down.
I didn't think it was mumbling, just assumed it was really quiet vocals and action scenes at three times the volume as last few films I've seen in the cinema were the same. Although having read Justin's post it's perhaps a limitation of my surround system. Couldn't just leave it up as it was far too loud doing that, even with centre channel cranked up above the others.
On the other hand if the director didn't want you to hear the quiet bits of dialogue then you're missing nothing.I didn't think it was mumbling, just assumed it was really quiet vocals and action scenes at three times the volume as last few films I've seen in the cinema were the same. Although having read Justin's post it's perhaps a limitation of my surround system. Couldn't just leave it up as it was far too loud doing that, even with centre channel cranked up above the others.
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