Re: If 2/3rds of good video is audio, how come there is only one Audio section?
 

One thing that's really missing on the audio-side is music. The typical music post is "where can I get 'royalty-free' music". And by "royalty-free", they usually just mean "free".

Then again, this is a deep area that is best left for composers and musicians. Interested people should check out http://www.vi-control.net/forum/index.php? and spend at least as much time there as here. Expect to spend at least $1k on software and a year or more of learning before being able to do one decent, short cue - even if you already have a music background.

So I don't know that a film music area would be all that helpful. VI-Control is all about making music for moving pictures, but they have no areas for lights, camera, and action. I don't even recall them discussing dialog recording.

Anyway, if there was a film music area here, it would barely scratch the surface. And most people would probably just be looking there for free music anyway...

Re: If 2/3rds of good video is audio, how come there is only one Audio section?
 

Good point - I really think that the audio and video have to be simultaneous parts of the conceptual phase - so many times I see things where the video and audio actually counteract each other. Sort of like hard rock sound track with video of quiet streams and floating clouds.

Of course it could work in the right context so there can't be a hard rule saying don't mix hard rock with floating clouds.

But waiting until the video is in the can and then scrounging for music can lead to a disastrous pairing.

Re: If 2/3rds of good video is audio, how come there is only one Audio section?
 

Since music is added at the end of the process, composers often get a bad deal.
- "We had a month of pick-up days shooting but we need to release our horror flick before October. The edit is still in flux but here's what we have so far. Can you deliver 90-minutes of wall to wall music by Saturday night?"
- "We went way over budget shooting. Can you live with just your name in the credits?"
- "I was going to hire you but I found a student who will do it for free."
- "Can you make it sound just like Stairway to Heaven? Sign here that you're responsible for any copyright issues."
- "Do you know of any sources of royalty free music? You know, totally free music?"
- "There were too many notes."

Composing for a living is a tough gig. I'm sticking with my day job!

Re: If 2/3rds of good video is audio, how come there is only one Audio section?
 

With you all the way there Jon. I'm a composer but the day job pays the bills.

Re the original post I don't see why a few simple divisions aren't possible: recording (microphones, recorders etc), post production (editing, audio processing etc) and maybe music, sound design. The last one is interesting as the aesthetics of video is rarely discussed much on the forum generally even in those areas where it might be - the conversation always gravitates to practical concerns. I think it's a shame and I'm not sure why as at the end of the day, content is king!

Re: If 2/3rds of good video is audio, how come there is only one Audio section?
 

I'd like a discussion of music but don't know the questions to ask...and anyway, most of it seems to be subjective and thus very difficult to communicate. I got a book on 'sound design' to help me but couldn't understand it at all...I don't think I got one thing from it...total waste of money and unlikely to be able to sell it... :-( ...supposedly it was by an expert...

I have Cinescore with heaps of theme packs and find that by flipping through them and listening for a few seconds to each, I can tell whether it 'fits' or not...but couldn't tell anyone why...(worked out ages ago - by myself - that for some stuff, cuts have to be on the beat etc...)

And yet...music is so much an essential part of any video/film experience, but is often almost transparent - you may not even be aware you're hearing it!!! Probably if the music is 'right' you wouldn't 'hear' it - unless specifically listening for it. Very interesting...but hard to quantify or explain...

Re: If 2/3rds of good video is audio, how come there is only one Audio section?
 

I agree with you there Jim.

Musing on that subject, it occurred to me that one of the most shocking aspects of the Kubrick film "A Clockwork Orange" for me was the deliberate use of inappropriate music for some of the most violent scenes. (Verdi and Beethoven have never been quite the same since!) The experience of seeing that in the cinema just after it came out sensitised me to the use of music which conflicts with the images on screen and I've since appreciated earlier and later examples where this technique was employed to telling effect.

Unfortunately there are quite a few examples of it being employed by mistake (or ignorance, or perhaps even sheer cynicism) in B movies and I've been both amused and appalled by examples of wedding videos where the Bride and Groom have been encouraged to chose their "favourite tracks" and then that unquestioned choice has been the driving force behind behind the edit of the film of their special day - sometimes to quite arresting, though hopefully unintentional, effect. However well cut to the beat, many of these can end up being quite bizarre records of a what seems to have been a fairly normal event. If the customer is happy though...

Re: If 2/3rds of good video is audio, how come there is only one Audio section?
 

I was a moderator on the Panasonic3CCDuser site for 5 years.

My experience says, with multiple audio forums, there'll be be mixed questions and answers spread across all these forums. The mods will spend their time merging threads to their correct forums and they'll have to leave a link so members and visitors will be able to find the thread again. Some visitors won't even bother.

It happens here now with cameras, the thread starts off with 'I didn't know where to post this so I'll post it here ..'

And visitors just want to scan one audio forum in case something grabs their eye. They might come across a new subject they find interesting and enough of these, they might join up. (And they see members here are polite to each other, that's a major factor believe me, Chris runs a tight ship :)

That's how any site gets new members and they're the lifeblood of the forums, otherwise we're all just talking to each other. If anyone Googles an audio question today, there's a hundred links to follow up. On utube they'll probably *see* an answer to their question, and there are some good demos there.

Facebook and Twitter now swallow up many folks time, especially young ones and they're the people the consumer/prosumer video manufacturers are after, us too.

Cheers.

Re: If 2/3rds of good video is audio, how come there is only one Audio section?
 

Hi Colin

Not quite the same thing but I think the juxtaposition of the baptismal scene and the machine gunning scenes in "Godfather" was one of my favorites. The baptismal dialogue intercut with mayhem was brilliant IMHO

Re: If 2/3rds of good video is audio, how come there is only one Audio section?
 

Back on the Panasonic site there were 5 moderators, I was the only one in the southern hemisphere, covering the night time
in the northern part of the globe.

For a while it was great, we had the same software as DVinfo although it was an earlier version, and there was a mods private forum.

There was some great threads, and we kept reminding the members to stick to the same topic, so folks searching the web could come across us,
quickly get a satisfactory answer to their question or problem, check through the other threads, be impressed and maybe join up. And it worked.

But in an effort to analyse what 'type' of folks do this and how we should make the site more appealing, we came up with a list,
let's see if I can remember it. (no offence to anyone here)

1. The clever young Steven Allan Spielberg type who's just bought his first videocamera and IS destined for greatness.
Mods private forum comment (MC) 'few and far between unfortunately.'

2. The guy who will reply post to anything you post, even totally off topic.
MC: 'a mild nuisance but hey we need him too'

3. The guy who wants to impress his new girlfriend, bought a vidcam and can't run it.
MC: 'She's got trouble'

4. The prizewinner who won a videocam, scared stiff of being ridiculed but taking a chance.
MC: 'He should have taken the holiday'

5. The pro, just wanting to pass some knowledge on, but an argumentative type.
MC: 'Oh boy!, we need him but watch him'

6. The guy with a young family wanting to video document them growing up.
MC: ' sob let's give him as much help as we can'

7. The guy who thinks everything he posts is hilarious.
MC: 'Let's ask him if he wants to be a mod'

Cheers.