Stop Making Sense - audio sync question (1 Viewer)

[Rain]

I've been meaning to pose this question for some time, but keep forgetting.
While watching my DVD of Stop Making Sense, I noticed that at some points during the film, the audio seems to be slightly out of sync with the movements of the band (lips, guitar strokes, drums, etc.).
I am aware that the film was edited together from several shows, but I'm not sure if this completely accounts for the problem or if it is a DVD problem. I'm guessing the first explanation, but I'd like to get some more input.
Anyone?
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[John GB]

I haven't noticed any problem watching it, however, I haven't scrutinized it for any synch problems.
The only DVD I have ever noticed a synch problem on is "We Will Rock You: Queen Live in Concert". Specifically on the track "Killer Queen". FWIW
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[Rain]

Received by email:

I have the vhs HiFi version and the current Dvd... Yes the Sound is off on the current Dvd. The Vhs is fine.....
Btw.....I always thought this was one of my best sounding Vhs Tapes I have.....The new 5.1 is awesome but so was the Vhs tape..... It bugs the crap out of me to watch the sound not matching the lips and guitar movements....too bad,,,this would have made it a perfect concert disc...it's a shame....
Btw,,I would have posted this on site,,but have changed emails since my last post and forgot my password...so maybe you can cut and paste this for me...
Thanks,
Eric Reynolds

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"Imagine all the people, living life in peace..." - Imagine by John Lennon
Anyone in the Vancouver Canada area interested in a meet? Click here
MOVING ON DOES NOT MEAN FORGETTING.

 

[david cro]

I haven't noticed a problem either. I guess if enough people, like myself, have had no noticable problems, then perhaps it's your player. You could let us know a point during the concert where it is most noticable.

 

[Rain]

You could let us know a point during the concert where it is most noticable.

Try watching the end of Psycho Killer. Watch the guitar.
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"Imagine all the people, living life in peace..." - Imagine by John Lennon
Anyone in the Vancouver Canada area interested in a meet? Click here
MOVING ON DOES NOT MEAN FORGETTING.

 

[Kevin Leonard]

OK, I just watched the "Psycho Killer" scene and did not detect any problems. The only possible sound problem I picked up was when David Byrne was singing the chorus for the last time, right before he starts to stumble around the stage. His voice seemed to drift on even though it looked like he had stopped singing...but I'm going to put that down to Byrne's oddball style of singing.

The guitar always looked in sync to me.
For comparison's sake, I checked out the VHS (yes, I'm a big enough Talking Heads fan to own both the DVD and the VHS ), and it looked and sounded exactly the same. Perhaps it is your player.
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[Edited last by Kevin Leonard on September 21, 2001 at 01:02 PM]

 

[Rain]

It may be my player. I've emailed Eric back to ask him what player he is using. However, I still think it likely that:
a. Some people just aren't as sensitive to these things. We are not talking about a profound sync problem, just a very minor one.
b. Since the film was edited together from numerous performances, the audio tracks and video will obviously not match exactly at all times. Since Mr. Byrne is not a robot, one would expect that his playing would not be exactly the same during each show.
[Edited last by Rain on September 21, 2001 at 01:33 PM]

 

[Rain]

Perhaps it is your player.

Perhaps it is. Turns out Eric and I both have the same Toshiba player.

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"Imagine all the people, living life in peace..." - Imagine by John Lennon
Anyone in the Vancouver Canada area interested in a meet? Click here
MOVING ON DOES NOT MEAN FORGETTING.

 

[Les Holt]

Keep in mind there are two different tracks on this DVD. One is the live concert, the other is overdubbed from the studio. Which audio track are you listening to? If it's the overdubbed one, it's out of sync on every disc I've seen. Try switching to the live version. If that's out of sync then something's wrong.
Les

 

[Douglas Bailey]

The audio is out of sync at a few points in the film: it always has been. That's just the result of combining footage and audio from three different concerts to make a single "meta-concert": it's not new to the DVD.
The end of "Psycho Killer" has already been pointed out as an example: an even better one is the long shot revolving around drummer Chris Frantz at the start of "Thank You For Sending Me An Angel". The drum fills on the soundtrack don't match the motions of his hands very closely.
I remember noticing this when I first saw the film back in the 1980s (both theatrically and on videotape). I don't think it's your DVD player.
hth,
doug
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"How can it be the same movie if they've changed my character from a tightly-wound convenience-store clerk to a jittery Eskimo firefighter?... uh huh... uh huh... uh huh. Well, that's actually a pretty good explanation..."
--James Woods, on The Simpsons
[Edited last by Douglas Bailey on September 21, 2001 at 10:18 PM]
[Edited last by Douglas Bailey on September 21, 2001 at 10:20 PM]
[Edited last by Douglas Bailey on September 21, 2001 at 10:21 PM]

 

[Ken Seeber]

I owned the VHS video of "Stop Making Sense" for more than 10 years, and I bought the DVD the day it came out. On my Sony DVP-S300 there is no sync problem that isn't also evident on the VHS.
Not only was the film footage edited together from several shows, I believe there was a lot of audio "sweetening" done in the studio, especially when it comes to David Byrne's vocals. Some people may look at these as audio sync issues.
If they are refering to anything else, it must be a compatability issue with their DVD player. I've watched this disc more times than I care to admit, and the audio is not out of sync with the video at all.