[Frameworks] Optical Sound - filter

[Mark Toscano]

Jared and all - 

Most sound mixers will *not* take this into consideration, as making a 16mm optical track these days is fairly uncommon from the point of view of pretty much all professional sound folks.  It tends to be something that only the old school film sound mixers and archivally oriented sound folks will even think about.

What the sound house shooting your optical is referring to is the EQ'ing of your final sound in a manner that will help compensate for the loss of high and low end in your audio when it goes to optical.  (It's usually called Academy pre-emphasis, and the 'Academy' part refers to the Academy curve, which was a standard set in 1938 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to help optimize sound for mono optical theatrical playback.)  You can EQ your track to emphasize the compromised high/low end, which will result in a better sounding optical.  Otherwise, the optical can sound a little squashed or muffled, though it depends on the nature of the sound content.  If your track is already lo-fi, and intended to sound lo-fi, I wouldn't worry about it.

This said, there's no standard formula for EQ'ing for optical compensation.  In restoration projects (and some of my own films), I create an optical-ready version with John Polito at Audio Mechanics, and he tailors it beautifully each time to the track and its quality/content.  And the tracks always sound excellent as a result.

All the best,

Mark Toscano



On Friday, April 25, 2014 1:27 PM, Roger Wilson <rogerdwilson at sympatico.ca> wrote:
 
 
Ok I'm not a sound guy but I think this is just an audio filter used to improve the signal to noise ratio. Did you have a final sound mix completed on the sound track for the film? I think your sound designer/final mixer would have taken this into account but you should check. I create my own sound designs for my films but then have a professional sound tech do the final sound mix and prep it for optical print. 

Hope this helps some!



Roger D. Wilson
Film Scientist
613 324 - 7504
rogerdwilson at sympatico.ca
http://www.rogerdwilson.ca


Without failure you can never achieve success. I have based my process and my career as an experimental film artist on this statement; and I welcome it as it pushes me forward as an artist to try something different, something new. 



________________________________
From: jaredphutchinson at gmail.com
Date: Fri, 25 Apr 2014 14:46:44 -0500
To: frameworks at jonasmekasfilms.com
Subject: Re: [Frameworks] Optical Sound - filter


Thanks for the quick reply. It's 16mm.



On Fri, Apr 25, 2014 at 2:40 PM, Roger Wilson <rogerdwilson at sympatico.ca> wrote:

I have had a number of optical tracks created over the years and have never had the lab (Skylight Studios in Toronto) make this request. Is it a 16mm mono track or 35mm?
>
>
>
>Roger D. Wilson
>Film Scientist
>613 324 - 7504
>rogerdwilson at sympatico.ca
>http://www.rogerdwilson.ca
>
>
>
>Without failure you can never achieve success. I have based my process and my career as an experimental film artist on this statement; and I welcome it as it pushes me forward as an artist to try something different, something new. 
>
>
>
>________________________________
>From: jaredphutchinson at gmail.com
>Date: Fri, 25 Apr 2014 14:35:21 -0500
>To: frameworks at jonasmekasfilms.com
>Subject: [Frameworks] Optical Sound - filter
>
>
>
>Hello, all,
>I am almost ready to send out for an optical track for my first sync-sound print. 
>I gave a call to the lab which photographs for optical tracks and I was told that my sound needed to be treated with an academy pre-emphasis filter. I was wondering if this (possibly expensive?) stage is necessary for my film sound. The soundtrack to my short is pretty primitive-sounding and not reliant on great fidelity.
>Thanks!
>Jared
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FrameWorks mailing list FrameWorks at jonasmekasfilms.com https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks
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