Talk about giving your sub a workout !! (1 Viewer)

[Johnny Mac]

I swear if a Hobbit were to break wind there'd be a tidal wave of bass added to accompany it.

If a hobbit broke wind, what frequency do you think that would that be?
If it's 20hz or lower, would it be considered SBD?
Maybe you would need to get a BFD to tame the peaks!

 

[Greg*go]

My biggest "eye roll" moments were the bass hits when Frodo fell on his back in the Prancing Pony and when Sauron's severed finger hit the ground during the opening sequence.

Josh,
Frodo falling does seem a bit odd to have a bass hit, but when the most vile being currently alive in middle earth has his fingers chopped off, I can accept a dramatic bass hit.

For me, the ringwraith peeking over the tree when the hobbits were hiding was a scary part of the movie. I actually thought my air conditioner was going to fall out of my window.

 

[Nick P]

My biggest "eye roll" moments were the bass hits when Frodo fell on his back in the Prancing Pony and when Sauron's severed finger hit the ground during the opening sequence.

Neither of those bass hits were meant to be "realistic" sounds. They were meant to convey the dire seriousness of the events that were about to follow.

 

[Angelo_Petralba]

Im SOOOOOOO Freakin SAD!...I wont be able to watch this until the house is finally done (Late Nov-Early Dec)! This is killing me!
I have watched it at a friends house with a full set of Rockets 750's and the Big Center without the sub and All i can say is WOW!!!..Excellent set of speakers they were ALL set to LARGE without a SUB!!
I can't FREAKIN WAIIITT!!!!.
Sorry I just had to vent!
Angelo

 

[Phil Mays]

Perhaps when Sauron's ring finger was cut off he DID break wind That would account for a fair amount of bass IMO.
If my ring finger was cut off while I was wearing a magical ring I know I would do more than simply break wind

 

[Josh Lowe]

Neither of those bass hits were meant to be "realistic" sounds. They were meant to convey the dire seriousness of the events that were about to follow.

Nick, I know that. They did that -so- many times that it started to become cliche'.

 

[Jeremy Anderson]

God, didn't you people read the book? Are you forgetting about the other member of the fellowship -- Baruman, the dramatic-moment-punctuating bass elf? Jeez... do your homework, people!

 

[John Geelan]

The Bass Gods have spoken!

 

[BryanZ]

...and I have a couple new(test)SVs in one corner.

TV, you're a cruel man.

 

[MikaelG]

How do you monitor that shit ( < 20 hz stuff) when you mix it? And where the *peep* do they get those soundeffects from? Those are my questions. :p

mikael

 

[Kieran Coghlan]

MikaelG:

Those super low frequency effects are almost certainly generated by a synthesizer. As for how one monitors it during mixing... ? not sure I know what you mean.

 

[Mike Bledsoe]

Maybe I will rent this movie, even though I do not like this kind of subject material, Just to experience the bass.

 

[Neil Joseph]

Mike, let us know what you think of the movie too after viewing.

 

[MikaelG]

Kieran:

Well when you produce the sounds with a synthesizer and when you mix the sounds all together to make them sound right, adjust different stuff like equalization and levels, you must have a speaker that handles that stuff really good, as when a proffessional studio uses extremely neutral and good sounding monitors for "normal" frequencies when mixing a normal album (music). That's what I mean.

mikael

 

[Kieran Coghlan]

Mikael: I'm just guessing here, but for such low frequencies, I doubt there would be much of a concern as to "just the right tone" if you know what I mean. I would bet that they just insert the sound effect using software, such and such a frequency (Hz) at such and such a duration (seconds) at such and such an amplitude (dB). There's plenty of software to let the mixer visualize this, relative to the other sounds that he/she *can* monitor with real speakers, and this software would also allow him/her to add fade-in/fade-out etc.... He/she wouldn't even really need to be able to monitor it. I could be totally wrong, though... as I said, it's just a guess.

 

[Sasha_G]

I bet they use earphones to monitor the deep bass stuff.
Movie sound designers often have their own proprietary collection of samples that they record themselves. They go around with microphones recording waterfalls, thunder, etc. If they can't record the sound they are looking for, the studio probably has it in their vast collection. Then there are the sound libraries they can pay for.
With all these recordings, they will mix sounds together, aiming for a certain tone or theme. The sound may lack a sense of realism, even if it is composed of real sounds, because it is a composite.
Although I don't do sound design, I wonder if sound designers are able to get many natural samples of subsonic, sub 20Hz stuff with the mics they carry around. Even on the Foley stage, I usually don't seem mics that go below 20Hz--mostly Sennheiser tube mics.
With more and more subsonic bass on DVDs, I wonder how it gets there. A question to ponder
Anyhow, I really enjoyed watching this pic in the theater and am going to buy the DVD soon!

 

[John H]

Damn it was loud. I can watch the Matrix at 5-8dB under reference with no problem. But I had this at 15dB under reference and it was still extremely loud.

I listen to all my material at 7dB below reference. The first thing I noticed with LOTR is that the dialog and overall sound was recorded much much louder than my other titles.

While the bass is extremely impressive are people turning their volume down for overall level compensation?

John

 

[Neil Joseph]

While the bass is extremely impressive are people turning their volume down for overall level compensation?

Yes. And it still has good, deep bass. I would compare it to Titan AE or Toy Story 2.

 

[Jeremy Hegna]

"Although I don't do sound design, I wonder if sound designers are able to get many natural samples of subsonic, sub 20Hz stuff with the mics they carry around. Even on the Foley stage, I usually don't seem mics that go below 20Hz--mostly Sennheiser tube mics.
With more and more subsonic bass on DVDs, I wonder how it gets there. A question to ponder..."
Sasha, you are correct, assuming the use of ultra-high end microphones...including Sennheiser and Newmans. Wider frequency ranges are possible using the higher end mics. The flapping of humming bird wings (ultra sonic),(subsonic) initial shock wave from nuclear blast testing, natural sounds (earthquakes, volcanos, tornados, etc.). Synthesized sounds are readily available and can be much easier to monitor, produce, and dictate in the digital realm available today. Even though humans can't hear it, digital editing computers can
There are pipe organs and other man made musical instruments that can produce subsonic frequencies as well. I believe the Notre Dame pipe organ can hit 8hz!
What a cool job....carrying around a microphone to record these noises.
Jeremy

 

[Jon D]

Creating subsonic bass isn't at all difficult. All that's needed is a pink noise generator and a high pass filter that cuts all sound above a certian frequency. Set the filter at, say, 20 Hz, turn on the noise machine, and feel the vibrations. I have experience as a theatrical sound designer, and I've used that trick to pump up thunder and explosons.