Limo™

There are two things that come up as issues when dealing with DVDs and CDs; streaming and storage. That is to say, memory and file transfer. Here we will deal with bit depth and sample rates. Bit depth relates to the dynamics in your file, i.e. 16 or 24 bits. While sample rates relate to frequency and dates back to the Nyquist theorem; 44.1 or 48 and so on. You can Google Nyquist and his thoughts.

CDs typically carry a 16 bit depth and a sample rate of 44.1 while DVDs are capable of 24 bits at a 48 khz sample rate. Lets look at DVDs since that is what we are all concerned with. Okay so we have a movie that we want to put on DVD so we can make millions. Right? Most DVDs are capable of holding or storing 4.7 gigs but they can only stream 10.2 megabits per second or mbps. They can hold up to 8 channels of non-compressed pcm.

Although DVDs stream 10.2 mbps they only allow 5 mbps for audio. The rest is dedicated to the video, an Mpeg 2 file. The bummer about all this is you can not have audio without video. You can calculate your file size by multiplying your bit rate by your sample size by your channels. So with only having 5 mbps we have some choices to make. There are several options open to us when it comes to compressing an audio file for your movie. These choices are called codecs. Don’t ask me why. The codecs I am familiar with are AC-3, DTS, and MLP. The AC-3 is a Dolby Digital encode, the DTS is just that. It comes from the DTS company and its file extention is .cpt while the Dolby is a bit easier, .ac3. MLP stands for Meridian Lossless Packing. We usually use this lossless, no compression, option when we are dealing with a two channel or stereo mix. It would be too large for a six channel mix. All these types of compressions are considered lossy or lossless. These encodings are categorized in two ways, perceptual and redundancy encoding. Perceptual encoding is what Dolby uses while DTS uses a redundancy encode. DTS is more beneficial because it can use less samples; which reduces the file because it only encodes changes in the samples. It does however allow us to use less options on our DVD. The file size for DTS and stereo PCM options is locked in at 1.5 Mbps, this gives us a 4:1 compression ratio for DTS and a 2:1 for stereo PCM (which is considered lossless for some reason) while Dolby encoding locks in at 448 kbps. This later option is much smaller so we can put more on the disc but it’s compression ratio is a whopping 13:1. Yikes! You will find more films with Dolby sound in the theaters because they can print the audio right on the film and play it back that way while the DTS comes with a CD that is synched up with information on the film. Now, Dolby just recently bought out the MLP company so there are probably gonna be some changes coming soon. So, here we are. Typical DVD assets include a Mpeg 2 video file, a AC-3 Dolby file, a Stereo PCM, and a DTS file. Now of course this changes from DVD to DVD but these are typical things I find in there. When I have had to encode my work I have been using this plug-in from a company called Neyrinck. They make it fairly easy. I have attached a few pdfs and a link to Neyrinck’s website.

The LIMO Creative forces came together this summer in beautiful Savannah GA for a few days of work, relaxation, touring and antics…

The song “18″ by Vice Stevens was exclusively mixed by Jon at SCAD. Stay posted to sample it on www.vicestevens.com.

I just heard about this news from last Friday. How awesome is it? What does this mean? Could we find “recordings” from the ancient Greeks? Egyptians? Mayans? Where are we headed and what will it tell us? Check it out.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=
/c/a/2008/03/29/MNOSVSB9J.DTL

As a child I was always wandering off into places I probably shouldn’t have been. I was constantly wondering what was on the other side of that door and what happens there. These adventures were some of the greatest of my life. Still to this day, I find myself looking down dark alleyways or peaking behind closed curtains. This life long interest and the fact that my mother was a college psychology professor now makes me interested in doorways to the human psyche through my passion, which is film.

Randy Thom, an award winning motion picture sound designer, once said that “sound sneaks into the side door of the brain.” Although sight is usually considered the primary sense, and no one considers going to the movies to hear a film, it is the element of sound that truly delivers the verisimilitude of the visual. It helps guide the viewer through the image and allows the audience to experience more than just what is on screen. Sound helps direct perception and has the ability to create a more unified and complete experience. When we are able to manipulate the soundtrack so that the sound is properly synchronized with the visual, we are not only able to convince the viewers that what they are seeing on the screen is real, but if the soundtrack produces a sound that is not consistent with the visual, we are able to dive into the subconscious of a character, making the sound editor responsible for the development of the character’s emotion and credibility. This type of work is why I want to learn more about sound and its power.

While I was earning my undergraduate degree in film production I was able to examine and consider all aspects of the process and early on I decided that post-production was what I found to be the most interesting. I was fortunate enough to be able to examine and research sound design while at Burlington College. I mainly focused on the theory of sound in film; specifically Walter Murch’s work on “The Conversation,” to determine how the use of diegetic and non-diegetic sound affects mood and tone, dramatic transitions, and the level of verisimilitude. More importantly, I discovered that this process is what I want to be a part of. Sound can take people to all sorts of places in their minds and produce a sense of three-dimensionality to a two-dimensional screen.

At this point in my life I am most interested in sound work in film, but I’m not limiting myself to this aspect. The more I research and talk to people in the profession the more I realize sound work is everywhere and I shouldn’t close the door to other aural possibilities. When I worked with the chief sound engineer at Vermont Public Radio and interned at one of the leading sound studios in Vermont, Egan Media, I find myself interested in exploring all types of sound work and enjoy that kind of fast paced exact work. I also find the sound work of people like Christopher Janney and Bill Fontana intriguing. Their incorporation of sound into everyday urban settings is thought provoking. What does the sound add to an urban space?

While I was putting my degree project together, which was a two semester intensive course which developed and produced a short film from pre-production to post-production, a documentary about my grandmother’s life told through her own reflections, I began some of my own. I realized that I am incredibly dedicated to the process of filmmaking. I found myself working on the project non-stop; always thinking and reformulating the film. I was able to edit about 14 hours of footage down to what became a 19-minute film; which is a typical ratio for documentary work. I was able to capture all the emotion and personality of my grandmother’s stories and present them in a way that is interesting and thought provoking to a public audience, not just my family. “Mam Maw’s Stories”, the title to my film, had its debut earlier this fall at the Vermont International Film Festival.

I find that the more I discover the more I look for. At this point I look forward to diving deeper into sound work. My research has led me to the work and theory of individuals like Murch, Thom, Janney, and Fontana. An introduction to these theories about what sound can do, coupled with my working experience at VPR and Egan Media, has guided me and I am ready to specialize my education. Savannah College of Art and Design is the perfect place for me to immerse myself in this process. The college’s devotion to the artist along with the advanced technical training is just what I deem a perfect fit.

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