Conference napalm::commusic_v1

428.0. "Watched Making of Video/Audio Production - Cool!" by COROT::CERTO () Wed Jul 09 1986 22:07

     
    Several months ago, I was in Century III Teleproductions in Boston,
    working on a film and video we were doing, and I had the oportunity
    to check out a nice set up in one of their state of the art recording/
    video sweetening studios, that I'm sure you would be interested in
    hearing about.
    
    In this studio, they have a fairly good size control room, large
    mixing console, at least 32 channels, a bank of ancillary equipment
    built into the back wall, and tape decks to the left.  The control
    room has a window into the studio in the front and speakers mounted
    from the ceiling on each side and a Projection Screen Monitor also
    mounted from the ceiling above the window, with the Video Projector
    mounted above the mixing board.  The big screen makes doing lip sync
    much easier.
          
    What is very neat, is that they are using SMPTE to sync the video
    with a 24 track Otari deck and a two track Scully (or Studer, possibly)
    and a controller that performs the function of run, stop, FF, Rew,
    or auto-locate for all machines at the same time with just the touch
    of one button.
    
    Another neat thing is that this thing can vary the relationships
    between any of the machines, and perform automated punch-in's
    and out's. 
    
    I watched the audio for a comercial for the "OLDS Calais" being put
    together.  Straight country road, camera at ground level next to car,
    door slams shut, car takes off down the road, narration comes in, etc.
    
    The background music was already on the 24 track and the sound of the
    door slamming was recorded on the 2 track.  The segment was played,
    all machines in sync, but the door slam sound came too late.  The 
    engineer typed in a number to reduce the offset making the 2 track 
    come in quicker, one more try and it was perfect.  Do an auto punch-in,
    to insert the sound onto the 24 track master, and on to the next thing.
    
    The engineer could vary the time relationship down to a thirtieth
    of a second (30 video frames per second).  It all worked very nice;
    sure wish I could do it at home!  All those machines spinning back
    to just the right spot, playing at once, punch-in, punch-out; real
    cool!
                                                 
    Fredric
      
      
    

    SMPL if you know how!

    re-1   if only it were that simple!  (and more inexpensive)
    
    ad .0
    
    An interesting note is that the sound effects, were themselves the
    result of multi-track production.  For instance, the original car
    door slamming sound was found to be less than robust (to suit this
    refined, powerful, almost supernatural car image they wanted to 
    achieve).
    
    So they used synthesizers and effects combined with the original 
    door slam sound which they electronically processed and then overdubed 
    several times.  I think the two track was mixed down from twelve
    tracks for this sound.  All this for less than a second.  And they had
    a whole two track tape full of them. 
    
    The engine sound, as the car revved and sped down the road, was probably
    even more complex.  It would have to sound real under longer scrutiny
    yet be robust; it was.  The whole process sounded a little overdone,  
    but the result was clean and professional; very impressive!
    Its no wonder that commercials cost a few hundred grand to produce.
                 
    
    Fredric    DVINCI::CERTO  "a bit of a recording engineer at heart?"
    
         
    
    PS: Oh, by the way, the two track is really a three track;
    the third control track is in between the two audio tracks and
    is of very small track width.