Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1492834
55 S P R I N G Q 1 I S S U E Pixar CONTINUED FROM PAGE 47 you're coming from the theatrical mix and doing the nearfield mix for streaming, or you've been listening to the content over and over, this meter may help to indicate that a bit more intelligibility is needed in this section or that sequence," Urban said. Blank also suggests standardizing the loudness spec across all streaming services. But which spec should set the standard? "Netflix spec is the best. They have a lot of really talented people working to get that right. It would be great if all the streaming services could use that spec, or something similar. It would be great if there could be a once-a-year meeting with re-recording mixers and all these different engineers to agree on the spec. It would be interesting to hear it from their point of view, to hear what they're doing to our mixes and why," said Blank. Urban agreed that a group discussion would be a major benefit for raising the standard of non-theatrical mixes. "We also need to include the production mixers, to back up their needs. They've got a tough job of battling obscene amounts of noise on set, and more productions are using the "wide and tight" multi-camera approach which can make it impossible to get a boom mic on the actors in the scene. They've got quite the enigma to solve; we should make sure that we're supporting our sound team from the very beginning to the very end," said Urban. "There are multiple people in the process, and we all need to be aware. From the direc- tor all the way down to the people deciding on the encoding parameters used by digital distribution platforms, if we're all aware that this is a problem and focus on it, we'll change our priorities to make it better." THE RISE OF SUBTITLES The issues mentioned above aren't the only reasons why subtitle usage is on the rise. Factors like increased hearing loss in young adults and adolescents, viewing content while engaged in other tasks like cooking dinner, folding laundry, or com- muting, watching TV in a busy environment o r w h e n t r y i n g n o t to wa ke o t h e rs a l l prompt people to put on subtitles. "I was on a dub stage working with a mix tech who is younger than me, who said he used subtitles all the time at home – even while watching content we had mixed here in the studio. His reason was that his home is louder than the studio and there is usually a lot going on. Audiences are watching content while they're doing other things and use subtitling to literally stick their focus to the screen," said Urban. She also explains that creative trends in filmmaking, such as using "realism" for dialogue performance instead of the classic stage yell or stage whisper, make the dialogue harder to understand. "'Realism' is a problem for Western languages like English because they're extremely depen- dent on the pronunciation and definition of consonants in order to have intelligibility. A stage yell or a stage whisper doesn't have as much dynamic range; it keeps the treatment of consonants and vowels closer in volume, increasing audibility. There's a movement away from that in realism. Directors and producers accept dialogue that is harder to hear but more realistic in its performance," explained Urban. Productions are also embracing darker imagery and using heavier shadowing to help blend in CG elements. Urban noted, "We're crushing blacks a lot more. This more dramatic style and darker imag- ery make it more difficult to see mouth movements. Viewers don't have as much visual information to help them understand what's being said, or they misunderstand what's being said because it doesn't match what they see, this is known as the McGurk effect. If viewers can't understand the dia- logue, they'll turn the subtitles on." H o e h n f e e l s t h a t d i re c t o r s s h o u l d think about how end users are going to be watching their content. "It might sound cool on the mixing stage with 20 speakers in the room, but does it help the success of their project? I think that's where, as sound people, we need to shift the conversations with producers and directors to focus more on dialogue intelligibility as a means to helping the audience enjoy and engage with the content more. Maybe it requires asking the director to take the two-track mix home and listen to it in their home environment, or listen to it on an iPad or a laptop. They may find it is a very different experience," he concluded. ■ Jennifer Walden is a freelance writer who specializes in post-production technology. this book, and it is unfair to expect details, but "Making the Cut At Pixar" will make more sense to those who know something of the involvements of various players such as George Lucas, Steve Jobs, Jeffrey Kat- zenberg, Lee Unkrich, and John Lasseter. Lasseter especially seems to be missing from these pages; that's mystifying since it was he who was first able to channel the charm of Disney's anthropomorphized animals into computer generated objects that audiences came to love. Still, this is a special book, unique in that there is little writing about the enormous creative possibilities available to editors with CGI, and no other close analysis of how this process works exists. Pixar is historically non-unionized, and neither the pros nor cons of this are mentioned in the book. Undoubtedly, the studio's location in Richmond, Calif., keeps it immunized from some of the pressures and personalities of Hollywood. The company is one of the few places that acknowledges how vital an editor's work can be when she is included from the beginning of pre-production. It is heartening to know that this model works successfully, both creatively and financially, and it is inspiring to think that editors can look to a digital future where their contri- butions are valued more than ever. Making the Cut at PIXAR: The Art of Editing By Bill Kinder and Bobbie O'Steen 244 pages 2022, Routledge A Focal Press Book