"Full Sound" movies coming! (1 Viewer)

[Jesse Skeen]

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment President Benjamin Feingold announced today that all further DVD releases will feature the new "Full Sound Format", which takes full advantage of home audio systems. Feingold explained that he receives numerous complaints daily from consumers who buy expensive surround-sound systems, only to be underwhelmed by the surround effect. "I've had hundreds of discs sent back to me over here because, although they indicate 5.1 Dolby Digital on the covers, the way the sound mixing people produced them you can hardly hear anything from the surround speakers at all. I've made it my goal to make sure that doesn't happen anymore- after all, it's been overwhelmingly clear that the public prefers Full Screen movies since they completely fill their screens, and now they're demanding the sound completely fill their speakers as well."

Consumers will no longer have to worry if their surround speakers are turned on any more, because the Full Sound process puts sound in ALL of the speakers at all times. While the sound mixers tend to have dialogue only in the front-center speaker, this is obviously not good as it puts the rest of the speakers to waste. Full Sound movies solve this problem; you'll hear dialogue coming from every speaker front and rear. Feingold added "This will be greatly appreciated by the older folk in the audience, as they'll be able to hear what's being said more clearly even when they're sitting way in the back." A reverb effect will be added to the surrounds as well on some titles, but Sony is waiting to measure the public's response to that.

Subwoofers will finally get the workout they deserve as well, since Full Sound routes all of the sound to the subwoofer as well. Even the quietest scenes in a movie will now shake the house like never before. A minor rumbling is added continously to all soundtracks, so you will feel sound coming from the subwoofer even during those moments in the movie where nothing is happening at all.

"This is just the latest of the many innovations we have made over the past couple years here at Sony Pictures Home Entertainment," Mr. Feingold boasted.

 

[Christian Preischl]

Good one. Particularly your choice of studio, because if something like this ever does come, I'm sure it'll be originating from Sony.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

(sigh) The April Fools posts are already beginning :frowning:

 

[Robert Harris]

I don't believe that this has anything to do with April 1.

It is known, especially from actual sightings at audio facilities, from which many decisions have been made regarding Full Sound, which is known as "Tru-Sound," that the astute Sony executive is a huge proponent of the system. This goes back to his days at film school, and his earliest work with a spring wound Bell & Howell camera.

The first films to be released in "Tru-Sound" will be a slightly revamped version of Black Hawk Down, hiterto unreleased on DVD, as well as the Boetticher titles.

Those who know him well are aware that a huge three sheet from Man from the Alamo adorns the wall behind his desk. Originally requested from the studio's paper archive, the executive had to find the poster elsewhere. He is looking into precisely why his studio archive would not be holding paper on one of its many releases.


If one is looking for a proper April 1 posting, try this from Leo Enticknap, one of the UK's top archivists:

"'Conservation Today'
1 April 2006

Researchers today announced a new discovery which they say promises to slash the cost of preserving historic movies. Deaceytlation - known as 'vinegar syndrome' due to its characteristic smell, is a form of chemical decomposition which affects cellulose triacetate, the raw material from which motion picture film has been manufactured for the last six decades. This problem has already caused the loss of the master copies of many of the most important movies ever made, including Citizen Kane and Gone With the Wind.

Until now, the only ways of treating the problem were to store films in an atmospherically controlled environment, or to copy them onto newer polyester film. Both are very expensive options, meaning that many studios and archives simply could not afford to save a large proportion of their holdings. Now, thanks to a discovery by researchers at the South Hartlepool Institute of Technology, effective preservation is within easy reach of all. A small team of preservationists headed by Dr. Veronica Bludgeon began to look at alternative preservation strategies after their attempts to show that cat litter could be used as a low-cost alternative for molecular sieves proved inconclusive. The solution came entirely by accident.

It happened when Dr. Bludgeon and her assistant were working on a collection of films which had recently buried for many years in the Iranian desert and uncovered following recent earthquakes. 'We couldn't get the lid of the can off one for love nor money,' explained Bludgeon. Her assistant then remembered that plastic bottle tops could be loosened by placing the bottle in a microwave for a few seconds, and suggested trying the technique on a film can. That experiment proved a failure: Bludgeon forgot that steel cans and microwaves don't mix, with the result that the film exploded. However, while examining the remains, she noticed that the vinegar smell which had previously been noticeable around that can had entirely disappeared. Further chemical testing revealed that all traces of acetic acid vapour had disappeared.

'We were hugely excited,' Bludgeon continued. They then made further tests, being careful not to experiment in valuable material. Bludgeon started by treating a reel from an obscure silent movie from the 1920s, The Mountain Eagle. 'But we left it in a bit too long, and all that was left afterwards was a pile of goo,' she recalled. She then microwaved reel 37 from a little known Hollywood 'B' film from the 1920s, called Greed (it got dreadful reviews, Bludegon explained, so no-one will miss it if anything goes wrong). 'We used a slightly lower setting this time, and it worked perfectly!', she said, with obvious excitement. A leading industry expert echoed her enthusiasm. 'This will slash the costs of preservation,' he said. 'No more expensive duping or anything like that - from now on all we'll have to do is nuke the films for a few seconds, then digitise them and throw them in the dumpster.'

Meanwhile, Bludgeon and her team are continuing to work on the collection in Iran. It was discovered in the village of Verisandhi, about 60 miles east of Tehran, and consists of over 500 reels, many of them from films previously thought lost. The buried cache was uncovered after a minor earthquake disturbed earthworks which were being prepared for a new oil pipeline. It was believed to have been buried in the early 1980s, following the rise to power of the Ayatollah Khomenei. Khomenei's brutal, autocratic regime banned any form of commercial entertainment. Operating or attending a cinema carried the death penalty, and it is believed that the films were buried in an attempt to prevent their forcible destruction. Thier preservation is being funded by the oil company's owner, the Russian tycoon Yevgeny Bugaroff. Meanwhile, Bludgeon continues to enthuse about her discovery. 'Permanent, safe film preservation is now as easy as turning the dial and waiting for the 'ding' - just as long as it doesn't come in a metal can.'"

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

 

[Bradley Newton]

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA.
I haven't had my coffee yet....that first post almost got me.
You guys are too funny.
And happy April Fools to you as well.

 

[Glenn Overholt]

This sounds like every sound is going to come out of every speaker, and I'll pass on that one. They do need to have more sound coming out from the rears, but it should be appropriate for the film.

I hope that was a joke.

Glenn

 

[Marc Colella]

I can't tell if this is serious or an April fools joke.

So many things that Sony says/does could pass as an April fools jokes... so this could go either way.

 

[Patrick McCart]

I'm happy to announce that since I've started working for Sony Home Entertainment (for the last 3 months), I was the chief remixer for some new 5.1 tracks.

You won't believe how great my 5.1 remixes of the Three Stooges shorts came out. I went back to the Columbia stock music library... seriously, they're going to make King Kong's soundtrack look like Curious George.

Just to make sure the image looks great, no original mono. It's fine since my 5.1 tracks are so great! Wait until you hear the "Swinging the Alphabet" sequence in Violent is the Word for Curly. It's like being in a concert hall.

 

[Lyle_JP]

April Fools or not, "Full Sound" already exists. It's currently being marketed as "Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix", and can be found on Mary Poppins, Aladdin, Lady and the Tramp, and other fine discs.



-Lyle J.P.

 

[Vic_T]

Ahhh, it's funny cause it's true! (tear rolls down my cheek)