Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/13405
Audio for Animation format based on the rise of 3D theaters.The idea was that along with the visual upgrade to 3D, there should be some kind of upgrade to the sound as well. And because it is digital, there are more tracks available to use. So, the 7.1 mix allowed us to be more aggressive with the surrounds and put more things back there and pull the world off the screen, so to speak.” They are also doing a separate 5.1 mix Skywalker used a DFC and Pro Tools 8 on Toy Story 3. “I like to mix it all using the mixing console rather than in the box,” says Tom Myers. for those theaters not capable of 7.1. “Pixar, Lee Unkrich and all of us here sub- scribe to the notion that you mix for the best possible environment and then work to make it sound as good as possible as you step down to the other formats from that,” says Myers.“And yes, the movie will very likely end up on iTunes with a lower sample rate, or compressed down in some fashion, but, we try to make the best mix we can at the highest quality and then move down from there.” Downloading videos has become very popular for viewing TV shows and films on a seemingly endless variety of hand-held de- vices. iTunes as a distribution source could one day take the lead over traditional meth- ods. Aware of this trend, Myers says,“We are not addressing iTunes specifically for the mix of Toy Story 3, but I think it has been done for some of the other titles because of the Pixar and Apple connection. But we normally do a stereo Lt/Rt mix and a flat stereo mix that we monitor especially for the home theater market. We do two mixes: the 5.1 and the stereo for the home, and we are careful to monitor what it sounds like when it is coming out of just a regular TV. But there isn’t a special iTunes mix as of yet. If the mix is dynamic enough and you are careful to check it along the way, it should translate when downloaded on a computer no problem.” Toy Story 3 was mixed on an AMS Neve Digital Film Console paired with Pro Tools 8. “I like to mix it all using the mixing console rather than in the box,” he explains. “This is particularly useful for panning;we like to pan it all out on the DFC, but I use Pro Tools for plug-ins such as Serato’s Pitch And Time and Time Compression and Expansion. Since it’s all practical and real-world sounds, we did not need a lot a fancy effects. For sound de- sign, I still use an old New England Digital Synclavier. I have not found anything better. It’s great for trying out things, pitching things, and layering. I still like that old technology.” SQUIDBILLIES Compared to live action, animation has the advantage of pushing the boundaries of imagination beyond reality. Nowhere is that more evident than on Squidbillies, which airs Sundays at midnight on Adult Swim. Shawn Coleman, who is responsible for the audio sweetening, original music and mixing of Squidbillies at Doppler Studios (www.dopplerstudios.com) in Atlanta, talks about working on an animation show tar- geted toward adults instead of children. “My initial thinking was that there is very little difference between animation for kids rather than adults,” he says. “Technically, there is no difference in the workflow, but I realized that the concept of subtlety is at play with an older audience.” On Squidbillies, there are a lot of jokes be- tween the jokes.“There are also very subtle moments of pre-joke and post-joke that have little things happening with the audio,” continues Coleman.“Compare that to many kid shows that have a rapid fire and constant barrage of jokes, which can be very reward- ing in itself. But on our show, we can do a pregnant pause, for example, where the un- comfortable long pause is the joke. How to » 48TB with 8 x 8Gbit FC host connections in a 24 bay » Up to 2300MB/sec @ RAID 6 » Designed for DI, Color Correction, 3D & 4K workflow » Application Tested: Assimilate, Autodesk, Bright Systems, DaVinci, Digital Vision, Iridas & more » Unique SAN management features including performance tuning & tracking Galaxy Aurora ® purpose-built RAID for VFX workflows For a video demo of Aurora’s GUI go to: http://www.rorke.com/aurora.cfm www.rorke.com © Rorke Data. All rights reserved. Rorke Data and the Rorke Data logo are registered tradmarks of Rorke Data Inc. All other trademarks and logos are the property of their respective owners. 34 Post • July 2010 www.postmagazine.com