Richard King
Controversial opinion: I'm not entirely happy with the mix on Dunkirk. No, it's not about dialogue. Dunkirk is just way to aggressive and harsh sometimes and I feel that the mix could've been just as loud but still retained some clarity.
Inception IMO is his best film in terms of sound mixing - it sounds incredible.
For comparison, play BR2049 and compare to Dunkirk. 2049 had some really loud moments but it just orgasmic.
I'm going to have to watch Dunkirk again to get an informed opinion on the mix and its clarity, but I'm disappointed that the first gunshots in the film are the only loud and aggressive shots in it. There was definitely clipping in this movie from the mix end of things, but man this was a joy to watch and listen to in a proper IMAX theater (especially the dogfights). Some bits I wouldn't take back for anything. I'm still not convinced the first bomb drops are synced up sound-wise with all of the explosions, though...
The Dark Knight Rises is by far the worst sound mix of his most recent titles. I think everything about it is poo poo.
I'm going to have to watch Dunkirk again to get an informed opinion on the mix and its clarity, but I'm disappointed that the first gunshots in the film are the only loud and aggressive shots in it. There was definitely clipping in this movie from the mix end of things, but man this was a joy to watch and listen to in a proper IMAX theater (especially the dogfights). Some bits I wouldn't take back for anything. I'm still not convinced the first bomb drops are synced up sound-wise with all of the explosions, though...
The Dark Knight Rises is by far the worst sound mix of his most recent titles. I think everything about it is poo poo.
Yeah there's a lot of clipping. The Stuka bombing the medical ship is just so painful to listen to. There's clipping on almost all explosions. I really love the way they mixed the first gunshots. Everything is so suspiciously quiet at the beginning and then - GUNSHOT!
I think it sounded incredible in IMAX. I was ducking down my seat and jumping all throughout the film. You really do feel like you're there with them. Jumped all through the trawler sequences too. I was so exhausted when I came out of the theater. But at home, I don't know it just doesn't sound as good as it should and I know it's not my system because other films sound incredible.
Also lots of filtering is noticeable on the dialogue track/center channel during the mole sequences (IMAX camera noise + shooting on the beach with aggressive waves).
Now, the editing on this is just marvelous. The idea of syncing music and sound effects and having play at the same tempo is amazing. A lot of times the gunshots and effects merge with the music as rhythmic percussive elements and it's really cool.
I didn't mind TDKR or I should nothing negative stood out to me. Must check it out again.
There’s no ‘clipping’ in the mix lol Jesus Christ. The sound is mastered with so much headroom by professional mastering engineers who would never in a million years allow sound to clip. If you’re hearing clipping it could only be from DRC from a shitty sound setup or overloaded amp/speakers.
There’s no ‘clipping’ in the mix lol Jesus Christ. The sound is mastered with so much headroom by professional mastering engineers who would never in a million years allow sound to clip. If you’re hearing clipping it could only be from DRC from a shitty sound setup or overloaded amp/speakers.
I want to first of all just say "no" to this part. If you knew me and my sound setup (equipment, calibration, etc.), you'd know better than to say this in my general direction.
The green are my equipment levels, calibrated to the black target house curve (red is where it would be if left uncalibrated):
I'm running off an Anthem MRX-1120... speaking of 'headroom'.
Secondly, you may not have noticed the clipping, but it's there. It's baked into the track which is matter of fact. Whether you noticed it or not is a different subject. It's easier for me to detect at louder levels and it's also easier to hear the better/more revealing your speakers are.
Here is Dunkirk's waveform. Red signifies clipping in the tracks. Look at the center channel alone:
Last edited by MuffinMcFluffin on April 5th, 2019, 10:00 pm, edited 8 times in total.
Did this person call my sound system shitty?
The explosions are clearly heavily distorted whether it’s because of compression/limiting or the actual sound source. It’s a creative choice that is delibrate and one which I don’t agree with. Get your ears checked out if you think the explosions and the loudest parts sound good on any system. And beside my home theater, I’ve listened to the mix on studio monitors. I didn’t write what I wrote out of nothing.
Yes, professional people using professional tools and equipment, still doesn’t change the fact that the sound mix is not easy on the ears. And talking about headroom, the soundtrack on the bluray is 16 bit instead of 24 by the way.
Yeah you guys have better ears than I do. I just have normal people ears. I can’t compare with your super-ears
Could be.
You can also look at the data I just provided for you, and accept it as fact for that matter.
You can’t determine clipping from looking at the waveform, actually, esp. when you cover it up in red paint. White noise (for example) will look like clipping at 0 dBFS in the waveform even if it’s not (actually it can’t clip by definition but whatever). But, assuming that’s all clipping, that’s really bad. I don’t think it was like that in the theater.
