Week 10 - Live From KCRW

Sound is bigger than music. That's an interesting statement. In relation to post production it is certainly an important mantra. I have watched a lot of behind the scenes and original cut videos of films over the last fortnight and amazing to see or rather hear the difference of the raw version compared to final product. It's like the difference between a demo and a professionally produced record.

So lately I have been watching a lot of films and rather than focusing on the screen I have been paying more attention to the sound. I tell you what, there was some horribly recorded ADR in the 90's before people were doing audio for films in DAW's. I watched Seven Years In Tibet and all of the scenes where the characters are in a crowded place the dialogue was obviously done in ADR and it just stands out so bad. I am sure anyone just watching the film normally wouldn't notice but to me it stood out horribly. This is a lot like when I first started critically listening to records and rather than just enjoying them, I couldn't stop listening out for reverb tails snare tones.

That said I am having a lot of fun doing foley stuff for our production. Having to get creative about how you are going to create sounds, going out to capture them and then layering them all together to create something for a visual is incredibly rewarding when you get it right. Walking around Brunswick with a recorder at night to record sounds makes you feel like some sort of thief in a way. A thief of opportunity though. In a way you are stealing these little sounds and moments so that you can turn them into something much bigger. People always give you really strange looks too.

So this a damn good record Live From KCRW. I have listened to it far too many times but I never enjoy it any less. There are some songs on here that I enjoy far more than the album versions. Especially Jack The Ripper, the last track. The album version is great but it's a pretty vicious song and hearing it played in a live setting allows it to come to life. Being able to take your songs some where else in a live performance is super important and this record just proves why this band has done so well for nearly 40 years. See if you can pick who engineered it.