INSOMNIA: The Billy Senese Radio Drama Now on iTunes

Billy talked about writing Insomnia in this blog last year. He has a new Midnight Radio Theater page on MySpace as well as a podcast on iTunes.

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Article: ‘Perfume’ Director Tom Tykwer Talks Sound

by Peter Cowie for POST (Jan. 1, 2007)

“Tom Tykwer made his first feature, Deadly Maria, in 1993, but his breakthrough on the international scene came with Run Lola Run in 1998, which stunned audiences with its roller-coaster pace and its perceptive characterizations. The Princess and the Warrior followed two years later, and Heaven (starring Cate Blanchett) was based on a screenplay by the late Krzysztof Kieslowski. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006) has taken almost 20 years to bring to the screen, ever since Patrick Süskind’s novel became an international bestseller in the 1980s, and it marks Tykwer’s most expensive and ambitious project to date.”

Read full article here 

Stumbled Upon: Sound Sleeping

What I’ve stumbled upon with Stumble Upon.

SOUND SLEEPING.

Article: Stage To Screen

Stage To Screen

by Blair Jackson for MIX (Dec. 2006)

“Nearly 25 years to the day after the musical Dreamgirls opened on Broadway and began a triumphant four-year run, a film version is finally hitting theaters. Its makers are no doubt hoping that some of the magic that propelled Chicago to great heights two years ago will rub off and help Dreamgirls make that always-difficult transition from stage to screen.”

Read full article here 

Article: Vocals on The Road

Vocals on The Road

by Steve La Cerra for MIX (Dec. 2006)

“What do disparate styles of music such as R&B, country, rap, rock and opera have in common? The money channel is always the vocal. To be a successful engineer, you’ve got to make the lead vocal sound great.”

Read full article here

Article: Tools for That Finishing Touch

Tools for That Finishing Touch

by Michael Cooper for MIX (Dec. 2006)

“Equalization is one of the two most-common processes employed in mastering (the other being dynamics processing) to put the finishing touch on a recording project. Whether used to correct a problem, enhance something that already sounds good or simply lend consistency to the spectral balance of multiple songs, equalizers must fulfill more demanding requirements if they are to be used for mastering, and not just for tracking and mixing.”

Read full article here

Article: Issues in Modern Mastering

Issues in Modern Mastering

by Blair Jackson for MIX (Dec. 1, 2006)

“Despite the much-publicized malaise afflicting the record industry in general, these are pretty good times for most mastering engineers. After all, even though major-label rosters have been trimmed, many recording studios are struggling and album sales are down, the sheer number of audio and DVD projects flooding the marketplace — an increasing number of them as independent releases — is still enormous, and competent mastering continues to be viewed as an essential and affordable step in the recording process.”

Read full article here 

Film Sound Cliches – Pt 3 of 3

THE GREATEST HITS

from Film Sound

ANIMALS

• Animals are never ever silent – dogs whine/bark/yip, cats meow or purr, cows moo, even in cases where most animals wouldn’t be making a sound.
  

• Rats, mice, squirels and other vermin always make the tiny little squeeky noises constantly while they are on screen.

• Dolphins always make that same “dolphin chatter” sound when spinning, jumping, etc.
• Snakes are always rattling

Read full list of many, many cliches here

RELATED:

Film Sound Cliches – Part 1

Film Sound Cliches – part 2 

Film Sound Cliches: Pt. 2 of 3

The Castle Thunder

by Steve Lee for Hollywood Lost and Found

“Castle Thunder could easily be called “the thunderclap heard around the world.” Originally recorded for “Frankenstein” in 1931, it has gone on to be featured in countless films and TV shows since, becoming the definitive movie thunderclap. Until around the late ’80s, whenever you heard a thunderclap in a movie, it was probably Castle Thunder.”

Read full article here

Read Steve’s Blog.

RELATED:

Film Sound Cliches – part 1

Film Sound Cliches – part 3 (The Greatest Hits)

Film Sound Cliches – Pt. 1 of 3

THE WILHELM SCREAM

by Steve Lee for Hollywood Lost and Found

“One sound effect that has found a following with many sound editors and observant movie fans is a distinctive scream named Wilhelm.

In 1951, the Warner Bros. film “Distant Drums” directed by Raoul Walsh starred Gary Cooper as Captain Quincy Wyatt, who leads a group of soldiers to stop some Seminole Indians from threatening settlers in early 19th Century Florida. During a scene in which the soldiers are wading through a swamp in the everglades, one of them is bitten and dragged underwater by an alligator.”

Read full article here

 

Read Steve’s Blog.

RELATED:

Film Sound Cliches – Part 2

Film Sound Cliches – Part 3 (The Greatest Hits)