"Club Penton" - Ask questions to Hollywood insider "Penton-Man"

[sharkshark]

Just a random shoutout to the happiness of BD, I think we sometimes forget to, you know, watch stuff...

Saw Lola Montes for the first time tonight. Just... wowza. While I haven't seen it with a restored cinemascope print, the BD looked gorgeous. Yay, Criterion, yay Blu Ray...

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by sharkshark

Saw Lola Montes for the first time tonight.

Been wanting to check it out. The movie, itself- she a keeper?

[mark antony]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

SDDS 8 channel is Left, Left-Center, Center, Right-Center, Right, Left Surround, Right Surround, LFE. Not the Left-back, center-back, right-back of current 7.1.

That said, I'd prefer if they leave the SE soundtrack as it is. 7.1 processing is gimmicky and your 7.1 receiver's surround modes basically duplicate what is done in the studio when they do a 7.1 "remix".

I know what the config of SDDS is thanks Peter, I was merely pointing out that a multitrack remix had already been done from the original elements. Whether that was done in 5.1, 7.1, 8 or 1000.3 doesn't make much difference as with that work done re-channeling additional effects channels is fairly easy, if not it's also able to be done by most home processors!

M

[sharkshark]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

Been wanting to check it out. The movie, itself- she a keeper?

...depends on your proclivities, but it's a pretty amazing feet... It's super cool to see a film that's been obviously so influential to many of my fav directors (Gilliam, Scorsese, even Coppola) but still not have any obvious cliche or pat lines that you know from before hand. There's some incredible cinematography, and while the end runs on a tiny bit long, it's certainly a worthy addition I think to any serious collection.

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by mark antony

I know what the config of SDDS is thanks Peter, I was merely pointing out that a multitrack remix had already been done from the original elements. Whether that was done in 5.1, 7.1, 8 or 1000.3 doesn't make much difference as with that work done re-channeling additional effects channels is fairly easy, if not it's also able to be done by most home processors!

Well, I was just trying to avoid confusion because that the 8-channel master you mention is not what Sharkshark meant be 7.1 remix: which is added surround channels rather than front channels.

Originally Posted by sharkshark

...and a 7.1 remix from the original source materials, no expense spared. It's a film made by sound....

Originally Posted by mark antony

Was already done back in '97 (for the directors cut), whole film was re-mixed from master elements in SDDS so an 8ch master exists...

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by DenonCI

Penton, if you want me to pay a little visit to James to deliver a message, just say the word

Naw, I realize Mr. Cook was just teasing me , so I decided to rib him back a little.
Thanks though.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by DenonCI

Penton,

Two things...first, did you see highlights of the Sharks vs. Predators game last night? My Sharks were down 4-2 entering the third (and playing like a steaming pile, I might add) and came back to win the gam 8-5!!!! You HAVE to see the second goal Pavelski scored in the period...one of the best this year. Also, he didn't have a bad third period with 4 points---2 goals and two assists. Not bad for the US Olympian. (http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console for highlights)

I stopped watching anything NHL about a week ago after the Anaheim Ducks started to fall off a cliff following the Olympics.

We did watch this though……….
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Hachi...-Blu-ray/8811/

and I guarantee you that there wasn’t a dry eye in the household among the kids or grown-ups by the mid-point or so of the movie (and that includes me even though it was the second time I’d seen the motion picture).

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by DenonCI

Jeff,

I'm in Southern California at least twice per month on business and it doesn't matter what time of day it is there's always traffic. One thing you want to avoid is being in LA when it's raining. I was there in January during a rainstorm and it took me 45 minutes to drive from Santa Monica to LAX!!! (That's less than 10 freaking miles!)

Dude, that’s nothing to complain about.
Google ‘Sig Alert’ and the wait from Santa Monica to LAX could be considerably longer.

Heck, why do you think paidgeek often rides his motor-sickle into work?
He’s comes in all the way from the O.C.

[quetzalcoatl]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Dude, that’s nothing to complain about.
Google ‘Sig Alert’ and the wait from Santa Monica to LAX could be considerably longer.

Heck, why do you think paidgeek often rides his motor-sickle into work?
He’s comes in all the way from the O.C.

Too true.

My worst was a day from the pass to LAX 3.5 hours. I just remember it being something at the top of the pass and I had already passed Sepulveda. So I was stuck. They brought us off and took us via the pass road once we got that far even. But needless to say by that point the westwood trafic was just as bad. It was such a fun trip.

[Jeff Kleist]

Heck, why do you think paidgeek often rides his motor-sickle into work?
He’s comes in all the way from the O.C.

Comic-Con, San Diego to Santa Monica

Standard transit time- 2 hours

Post SDCC- 7.5 hours including dinner stop

Traffic so bad they stopped checking for Mexicans at the OC border.

Since then, Viva la Amtrak

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Comic-Con, San Diego to Santa Monica

Standard transit time- 2 hours

2 hours? Were you doing 90?

Even with no traffic it takes me 2 hours from LAX to San Diego via I-405 to I-5. Then again I rarely venture over 70.

[Jeff Kleist]

The way my friend drives, maybe I was giving a round figure

[DenonCI]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Dude, that’s nothing to complain about.
Google ‘Sig Alert’ and the wait from Santa Monica to LAX could be considerably longer.

Heck, why do you think paidgeek often rides his motor-sickle into work?
He’s comes in all the way from the O.C.

OC to Culver City! He's a glutton for punishment, but riding a motor-sickle would make things a bit more tolerable.

[DenonCI]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

I stopped watching anything NHL about a week ago after the Anaheim Ducks started to fall off a cliff following the Olympics.

We did watch this though……….
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Hachi...-Blu-ray/8811/

and I guarantee you that there wasn’t a dry eye in the household among the kids or grown-ups by the mid-point or so of the movie (and that includes me even though it was the second time I’d seen the motion picture).

My daughter read the story in a dog book and it made her cry. I've been meaning to check that film out too.

[Jeff Kleist]

There he is

[Bobby Henderson]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

That said, I'd prefer if they leave the SE soundtrack as it is. 7.1 processing is gimmicky and your 7.1 receiver's surround modes basically duplicate what is done in the studio when they do a 7.1 "remix".

That's really the problem isn't it? The audio editors and mixers aren't making much effort, if any at all to create truly native 7.1 channel discrete mixes. They'll do 5.1 alright. But 7.1? Well, let's just hit some buttons and fake it. After all, the folks signing their paychecks surely aren't paying anything above doing the usual 5.1 treatment. Why bother with the extra effort?

I think this gets back to the deplorable situation in commercial movie theaters. Nearly all are unable to handle the classic "5 up front" Todd-AO layout of five stage channels. Many aren't wired to handle three surround channels or the four surround channel capability Blu-ray offers. Why mix for 4 surround channels if no theaters can play it properly?

If any venue absolutely needs more discrete channels of audio the commercial movie theater environment needs it desperately. Unless you sit in the prime "sweet spot" of a movie theater AND that movie theater's sound system is properly "tuned" (EQ'ed, balanced, etc.) the surround quality on all 5.1 audio tracks is going to kind of suck.

Most commercial movie theaters give off no better than a vague and large left-right sound effect when they play back 5.1 digital audio tracks. It doesn't matter if it is Dolby Digital, DTS or SDDS off 35mm film or 5.1 LPCM with digital cinema. It's the same crappy audio. Surround? NO. It's just a big left-right stereo effect. Nothing better than that. I get far better surround imaging in my living room than the vast majority of commercial movie theaters provide. It's sad to say, but hell, the truth hurts.

The DTS-XD10 and XD20 sound processors are scalable and able to play back 8 channel discrete audio in either the classic Todd AO "5 up front" scheme or the 4 channel surround (and 3 stage channels, 1 sub-woofer) layout that Blu-ray supports. But the theater must wire speakers for those channel layouts. That isn't happening. Is any movie studio supporting those functions with any of their theatrical releases? NO. This is something that has been available for several years. When Universal Studios released Hulk in plain 5.1 only I was convinced DTS' new advancements would go largely unused. And they have gone unused.

Has anyone noticed there is little if any advertising value anymore with Dolby Digital Surround EX? It's like a big "SO WHAT?"

It's really off putting when one considers the totally wasted opportunity of improving sound when this big rollout of digital cinema was put forth. From my own personal observations over the last 20 or so years, sound is a bigger problem in terms of theater maintenance than image projection.

With a film projector (or digital projector) you usually just worry about replacing a Xenon lamp, or maybe a roller bearing to trigger an automation function in a film setup. There's a lot more stuff to be maintained in the theater's audio system. Speaker drivers get blown frequently. Popcorn jockeys fart around with knobs they shouldn't touch when they visit the projection booth. Granny complains the sound is too loud so it gets turned down and other knobs get farted with while the complaint is addressed. The basic point is this: it is a LOT more difficult for a movie theater to maintain good audio standards than it is for it to maintain good image projection stadards. Digital projection is doing absolutely NOTHING to address this issue.

The vast majority of digital projection installations, even with digital 3D, are being installed without doing anything to address issues with the movie theater's existing sound system. They put in a video-based image and the sound is just as crappy as it's always been.

If more effort was taking place on the theatrical front to improve audio in movie theaters, including increasing the number of audio channels behind the screen and in the surround array, we would see 7.1 channel mixes on Blu-ray that really make 7.1 channel surround mean something. Right now 7.1 means little more than "enhanced 5.1."

I hope some studio people see this and understand the movie theater customers and movie disc buyers know what's going on. We're not stupid. We know the audio situation could be better. There is a hell of a lot of potential that is being totally wasted.

Right now most people are distracted by digital 3D to bother thinking about audio improvement. Going by those famous words in the THX brochure from George Lucas, sound is 50% of the movie experience.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

There he is

They show a frontal/side view at the very end of the movie but, this is a very nice pic as it gives a better perspective of the modern day 'station'.

[Jeff Kleist]

I took this pic from the little sitting area around him, while waiting for a friend to show up at Shibuya station (the white building to the right). You can see the train platform above the green car where the fluorescent lights are I went across the street where there's a public WiFi, and sent it to my friend Tyler who people here would know as the co-winner of "The Amazing Race 10", where his intimate knowlege of Japan enabled him to quickly "Find Hachiko", as the task demanded.

He responded that I needed to find my next clue

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

I took this pic from the little sitting area around him, while waiting for a friend to show up at Shibuya station (the white building to the right). You can see the train platform above the green car where the fluorescent lights are I went across the street where there's a public WiFi, and sent it to my friend Tyler who people here would know as the co-winner of "The Amazing Race 10", where his intimate knowlege of Japan enabled him to quickly "Find Hachiko", as the task demanded.

He responded that I needed to find my next clue

I'm impressed as I didn't realize that you, yourself snapped the photo.

Good follow-up post.

[Jeff Kleist]

Thanks Penton, coming from you that means a lot.

Buy Tyler's DVD and see the secret to his success on http://www.kintarowalksjapan.com, or watch his documentary for free on google video (link on site) (shill shill)

I have some nice scenic ones I took I can share, but i figured this one would be relevant. It's rough because it was dusk and there was only a moment to snap it in traffic I had to pump the brightness and contrast so the side of the truck is readable. The shot is in Roppongi outside of Avex, the biggest independant record label in the world who is also a big player in anime and getting there in film.