A Spotlight On The Ambience

In Film/TV sound, you place ambient sound effects (aka: backgrounds) in scenes to enhance the impression of the time of day, the scene's location, mood or feeling, etc. This would include effects like birds, wind, traffic, crowd voices, and many more, depending on the structure of the scene you're building. It is also the best way to describe many unspoken things in the scene subliminally.

If it's designed well, the movie fan won't give it a thought, but just accept that it was the sound that was picked up on location. There are times when background ambiences are supposed to play a more obvious role - to spook us with a scary drone, or overwhelm us with raging waters so we feel suffocated, etc - but 99% of the time, background sound effects are meant to be just that - background and invisible.


Another type of "background" in Film/TV production is the use of background performers. We don't think about them when we watch a movie, but if they weren't there, the show would seem empty. Just like background sound effects, they're vital, but we rarely notice them.

Funny that you DON'T notice something when it's there, but you DO notice it when it's not!

I'm going to be working on a feature documentary titled "Strictly Background" for about a week. It's based on ten career Hollywood extras. I found it fascinating and wanted to be a part. Hopefully Jason Connell, the creator and director of the doc will have success in getting it widely distributed. Watch the trailer.

We'll Be Right Back

Super Cool Movie-Biz Site

I came across this site today. It's purpose is to educate and inform people about the film industry and the film making process. It's based on the UK side of the industry, but most of its information is good for us US'rs too. Click HERE to visit the home page.



I found an ULTRACOOL feature on it too. If you know a lot about one or two parts of film making, but are hazy on the rest of the deal, this is for you. They have a complete storyboard layout of the entire process (from concept to release). It's very detailed and very well thought-out. Check it out.

Goto this link to read about my favorite part of film making.

Must Be A Slow News Day

Why anyone wants to interview me is a mystery, but it just happened again for the second time in the last few months. In February, a newspaper from Gainesville, TX did a cover story - mostly concerning my involvement with the movie "Hoodwinked", and this time it was a paper called the North Texas Reporter doing a story concerning reaching today's youth using technology in church services.

Chana and I grew up in the North Texas region, so I suppose that's the connection. It was actually really nice to work with the people who put the articles together, and I really appreciate their interest and attention to detail.

You can read the online version of the most recent one HERE.
(Chana looks great in the picture)


In comparison, here are some examples of stories from other slow news days:


big whoop.

or perhaps this:


get it right, will ya?!?

and of course, these stories totally got overshadowed by:


now THAT'S news.

Good Music Stays With You

A good friend of mine named Greg Hyde has a band called Skyblynde. We know each other from Tulsa, but now he's based in Chicago. I got his EP (4 songs) a few months ago and wore it out. The songs are all great - kind of in the style of the Foo Fighters meets, well, lots of other cool bands.

It's refreshing to hear music that uses those 'guitar things' with strings; a rock band that's not trying to blow my mind with licks, low end or technology - just good, timeless, listenable music.

Why am I writing about it now? 'Cause after about a month of not hearing it, I put it in last night and it was as welcome to me as any of my favorite albums of old. Greg is an accomplished writer, and his songs stick with you - in a good way.

You can find it on iTunes or on cdbaby for about five bucks.

You can also visit the official band website here.

Return of the King of Superheroes

I just got back from seeing Superman Returns tonight, and I must say, with all the hype and pressure upon it to deliver the goods, it does all that and more.

Brandon Routh and Kate Bosworth are excellently cast, and Kevin Spacey is perfect as Luthor. But a surprise favorite character for me, is the little boy (Tristan Lake Leabu) that plays Lois' son. He was great.

The sound was also excellent. I especially loved the flying sounds. It was very smooth, almost "transparent" sounding. The whole sound package is marvelous. I will be surprised if this movie doesn't get at least an Oscar nomination, if not the win for best sound.

Western Mania, and Some Other Things to Talk About

What I'm watching right now:



I've always liked westerns, but I'm becoming a western junkie. I've been lapping up all the John Ford/John Wayne classics lately. Chana bought the collection for me for Father's Day. I had picked up "The Magnificent Seven", a John Sturges film, a few months ago, and that kicked off my renewed craze.

Watching these Ford films is teaching me that there has still been no equal to Wayne. (Clint Eastwood and Sam Elliott are great runners-up, but still no Duke)


Steve McQueen is one of the stars of "The Magnificent Seven", and I thought I'd check out some of his other acclaimed work. "Bullitt" has become a favorite. It is the film with the famous car chase through San Francisco.

Chana and I watched the car chase again last night, and I marveled how the scene was riveting through and through, and not ONE special effect was used. Just juicy car footage and gutsy editing.

Another fun part of "Bullitt" is that the style is very reminiscent of Soderbergh's "Ocean's 11". (haven't seen "12") The music, the graphic opening title stylings and a few other factors of "Bullitt" reminded me so much of "Ocean's 11". It made me wonder if Soderbergh studied "Bullitt" and other films of that era to capture the feel of them for his film.


What I'm doing right now:

Final Cut Studio


plus

My new Mac Book Pro 17" (more on this beauty later)



Time off from Warner Bros means I'm trying to use my time wisely and hone some picture editing skills. It's been a treat to actually have some time to invest in cutting picture. I'm actually doing a few projects right now (for pay even!). I've always wanted to cut picture on a regular basis. Well, at the moment I'm definitely getting my chance to focus on it totally.