Film Soundtracks/ Have they Become Too Obtrusive?

Yes! Though, actually, I'm thinking more of omnipresent scores here than sound effects. It drives me nuts when a movie has, like, no silence. (One of the things I find very attractive about 60's movies is how much silence is allowed.) Ah, well, whatcha gonna do.

Yeah, usually I do. But I'm one of those types that think music doesn't sound as good when it's not playing loud.

Monger- I don't think that it is the loudness that bothers me. I LIKE to listen to the hi-fi at a pretty high volume. I think that it is more the intensity of the range of the frequency response. which is not natural.

In a theater that is not full of people, the auditoriums I've been in are boxy and have poor acoustics. My home theater system sounds better!
You do have that lack of control of how the projectionist is tampering with the sound. They often don't turn it down or equalize the high frequency when there is barely anyone in the theater. It just careens around the walls like balls on a pool table! It really spoiled my first viewing of the first part of LOTR -- it was ear shattering and drowned out the dialogue.

(BTW, the DVD versions of LOTR are re-mixed for home sound systems and sound great).

Popping back in to say that I saw Kill Bill yesterday and, while I'm not sure how much I like the movie (hype kills), it actually had bits without any noise, or where the only sound was a Japanese water clock turning over in the snow. Much appreciated, that.

I think Phoenix is speaking of the bass boost which is a left over from the old Sensurround -- there's even a level setting for it on new home receivers for this sub-bass. With digital sound, the dynamic range is very broad.

Sounds reasonable. But it's also the case that dependence of booming noise to compensate for poorly-developed dramatic suspense has been encouraged by the technology. Uber-turkey "Armageddon" comes to mind.

LW- Right you are. Too much subwoofer, to me, can be physically painful.

patiodog- I think that you have hit on something important:



Seems like the motto of producers is if they can't create excitement through plotting and characterization, excite the audience with booming noise. Sad commentary on the state of some filmmaking!

I've even experienced it in a dramatically effective film where the slamming of a car door rips through one's brain. It's the sound engineer and editors to begin with and then the operator at the particular auditorium. Add to that a virtually empty theater and you can have a formula for sound effects madness. The point is that it is unncessary and an offspring of video games to try to startle one out of their chair with a surprise sound effect. I can appreciate that an explosion in an action film is going to be loud and if it's a good action film, it doesn't bother me. It's when it is entirely out of context -- I've even had the problem on my home system where they experiment with the discrete real channels. Out of the blue, a loud crashing noise almost directly in the ear can be distracting and throws the whole scene off.

(But you know men must have their toys!)

LW- I don't want to come off like a doddering old fart (which I probably am!). It seems to me though, that in the years after I was a kid, young people seem to want more and more intense stimulation.

I see it in the restaurants that cater to young people........the acoustics appear to be purposely designed to emit the most noise possible. Certain forms of rock music are deafening..........which many middle aged rockers who now need hearing aids can attest to.

I think that films are one facet of a culture that seems to crave intense stimulation, both visual and aural.

I like it loud.