By now everyone knows that Daft Punk created a stellar soundtrack for TRON: Legacy. However, the digital world of The Grid couldn’t come alive without the intricate environmental and vehicular sounds produced by the film’s sound editors. In this Sound for Film Profile, you will get a glimpse into how the editors mixed and matched artificial and natural sounds to supplement the fantastical landscapes. Sound re-recording mixer Gary Rizzo, supervising sound editor Gwen Yates Whittle, and sound designer Steve Boeddeker are featured in this nine minute profile you don’t want to miss. +1 for sweet behind-the-scenes action.
Tag Archives: sound
A sneak peek into how the sound for Inception was conceptualized
Check out this “Inception” Sound for Film Profile and learn how all the intricate sounds were created and matched to the mind-bending action that takes place on the screen. Sound designer Richard King, re-recording mixer Lora Hirschberg, and re-recording mixer Gary Rizzo try their best to explain things as rudamentary as possible. It’s an interesting watch. (…But I still want to know where the “burrr” comes from. Maybe it’s here.)
Falling objects–music to my ears
Gravité, by Renaud Hallée.
Witness the force of gravity translate into rhythmic sounds.
[Via Gizmodo]
Student creates music controller with Arduino & an accelerometer
Parsons student Ryan Raffa crafted a do-it-yourself music controller with an ADXL 335 accelerometer and an Arduino board that communicates serially with Max MSP. In simpler terms he created a small device that has five embedded tracks and a sixth button that applies a delay on those tracks; pushing the buttons plays the various tracks and moving the device around slows down and speeds up the beat thanks to the built-in accelerometer. (An accelerometer is the device installed in iPhones and other gadgets that allows users to swap from vertical to landscape views just by changing the orientation of the device.) Check out Ryan’s final product in the video above. I think it’s safe to say he received an “A” for his final class project.
[Via Engadget]
Kinetic sculpture reacts to its environment with light and sound
Particle, designed by artist Alex Posada, is a kinetic sculpture that “responds to its environment translating movements into color and sound.” The sculpture is composed of a stand that’s mounted with several rings sprinkled in LED lights. The lights rotate around a central axis when it senses nearby motion. What’s so interesting is that “its movements cannot be predetermined” since its rotations occur randomly depending upon a passersby’s influence upon it. A surround sound system is synchronized with the flashing LED lights. Strange and bizzare, but I like it. Additional images below and a video of it in action after the break.
[Via DesignBoom; Gizmodo]
Continue reading Kinetic sculpture reacts to its environment with light and sound
Pro Audio technologies
Today we travelled to the Venetian hotel to check out the pro audio section at CES.
The gallery below contains photos from the following pro audio companies: pARTicular, Anthony Gallo Acoustics, PS Audio, Acoustic Technologies, LLC, Halcro Audio, AudioQuest, MBL of America, Scaena, and J-CORDER.
Out of all the speaker systems we saw, just a couple stood out from the pack. Though I do not consider myself an audiophile (videophile, yes!), I do have a keen eye for industrial design and an ear for “good sound.” What is considered “good sound”? You know when you hear it.
The first company that had us bobbing our heads to the insanely good sound of their equipment was Anthony Gallo Acoustics. Their funky looking carbon fiber speakers blasted Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” with heavy bass and a crisp sound.
PS Audio has created an advanced system that is controlled by touch screens and iPhones/iPod touches.
Acoustic Technologies, LCC speaker set is the first of its kind. It features a single 3” full range driver and it does not require a “sweet spot.” This means that no matter where you stand in the room you can hear the sound emitted from the speakers without distortion. For example, you can even stand behind the speakers in the corner of a room and the sound will sound the same as if you were sitting right in front of them. Very neat.
This is what $7,200 RCA cables look like:
The Scaena speakers feature “stackable subwoofers” and they each output the same frequency.
Our last stop was at J-CORDER and their pro audio equipment proved to be the best looking yet. Their booth featured custom analog Technics reels and McIntosh amplifiers. They claimed to be “true audiophiles” because they believe analog technology reproduces a higher quality sound than digital production.
All in all pro audio is continuing to advance in sound quality and design, as is most technology. Soak in the gallery the below and hit up the company’s links if you’re interested in their products.
Hope you’ve enjoyed the (not live) live blog of the Microsoft keynote and the pro audio coverage thus far. Today we are storming the convention show floor and will be reporting back here with the latest tech goodness in the days to come. Videos, pictures, and impressions straight from the CES show floor are coming soon. Stay tuned.
Beats for the everyday man (..or not)
Adding to yesterday’s news of Lady Gaga’s Heartbeats is today’s announcement of a smaller, cheaper version of the original Studio Beats headphones. This product finds its home between the Tour Beats ($149) and the Studio Beats ($299). The Beats Solo is smaller and lighter than its older brother and will cost a mere $220. They will be available in black and white this November. According to Monster, the Beats Solo have the same sound quality as the Studio Beats. If Dr. Dre and the team at Monster Cable found a way to create the original Beats in a tinier form factor then all the power to them. However, I’d play it safe and wait for initial reviews before going out to make a purchase.