Here's Why Movie Dialogue Has Gotten More Difficult To Understand (And Three Ways To Fix It)
Here's Why Movie Dialogue Has Gotten More Difficult To Understand (And Three Ways To Fix It)
/Film spoke with several Oscar-winning sound designers, editors, and mixers to learn why it has become tougher to understand what characters are saying.
This is a particularly important topic for myself on the spectrum, as I've had a lot of difficulties trying to follow what's going on in the cinema. I'd have subtitles on all the time if that was possible.
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“bemoaning directors' over-reliance on music as ‘pushing emotion’ on audiences”
One of my pet peeves. It’s usually the sign of a poorly made movie if you feel you have to lay on the music because actors performances aren’t enough to convey the emotions of a scene.
Really though the last mentioned issue in the article is the main problem. (Gotta get you to scroll to the end!) The movies are mixed for a theater sound system and most don’t get remixed for television.
You mean you're not a fan of the cover song that is slowed down to sound ominous that you hear in every got dang trailer?!
Bane beating the snot out of Batman was one of the most gripping scenes of all time. Zero music.
Also No Country for Old Men in its entirety.
Nailed it!
Very much the case of streaming movies, like the brothers one with Peter Dinklage and Josh Brolin. They're phoning it in while those working post are trying to make it gel better. I don't know if I've seen a genuinely good movie which went straight onto streaming platforms.
The Mitchells vs. the Machines was good, but it wasn't produced for streaming.
A good director will know how to use music to its full advantage to elevate a scene. How could you watch the Interstellar docking scene without Hans' No Time for Caution? Or major chunks of Dune without the soundtrack?
But, audio ducking the music to make sure the narration is understandable is just as important. Lay on the music when there isn't dialogue, and bring it down when it's time to listen to the narration.