audio | Groovy Like a Movie

Brent on “Online Marketing with RSS Ray” Radio Show December 15th, 2008

Just a quick note: I was invited to talk about video blogging on the radio show Online Marketing with RSS Ray. We covered a lot of ground in the hour-long session. Take a listen here!

Written by Brent Altomare

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Great PSA for a great cause July 28th, 2008

I recently came across this outstanding PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT(higher quality version than the embed). This is what a great PSA is suppose to do-provoke not only thought, but action. I love how the music works perfectly in delivering the message. I would like to think the music, “Rise” by Eddie Vedder, from the “Into The Wild” soundtrack was the catalyst for the creative idea. Either way it’s a great piece of work. It also doesn’t hurt when David Fincher directs and a slew of celebs appear.
Check out the organization, standup2cancer.org to learn more and get involved. There is a great vibe with this site and you’ll find other interesting and informative videos about what’s being done and what can be done in the fight against cancer.

Written by Brent Altomare

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using video to explain complex ideas July 11th, 2008

One of the advantages of video is it’s ability to help explain extremely complex concepts. Below is a movie from Semiconductor Films, which shows us visually how magnetic fields interact with the world around them. Had you just listened to the physicists describe the interactions, you’d be completely lost (unless you were a physicist yourself), but having the visuals makes it much more clear.

As an added bonus, the filmmakers incorporated actual VLF audio recordings as sound design elements. This sound design drives the visuals and ultimately creates a stunning, hyper-real mini-documentary.

Magnetic Movie from Semiconductor on Vimeo.

Written by Brent Altomare

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Sounds Good to Me June 19th, 2008

Alright, we all know that films are acknowledged for their cinematography, the quality of the video, HD or SD, special effects and whatnot. But, what about the sound? The sound of a film completely affects the mood and the environment created. It is my opinion that the greater public overlooks the sound of a film.

Sound has become an art form in itself. Of course, there is music, which has been around forever.. but since the development of Musique Concrete, we have Sound Art, Soundscapes, Sonic Narratives, and more! There is also Ã¢â‚¬Å“Sound MontageÃ¢â‚¬Â which was initially used by Walter Murch.

Here is an excerpt of an interview with Walter Murch on sound from Vincent LoBruttoÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s book Sound-On-Film:

You often use the film credit Ã¢â‚¬Å“sound montage.Ã¢â‚¬Â Is this because you use sounds in combination in the same way a picture montage is created?

Yes, it is. In my teenage years, I was very influenced by some records I heard from the Musique Concrete school in Paris. So when I began to think about sound and film, one of the main influences on me was the desire to somehow bring together film and Musique Concrete.Ã¢â‚¬â€the fun of assembling all these real sounds in an unusual context and yet having a visual reason for doing so. Also, at the start of my career I was working nonunion, and the title Ã¢â‚¬Å“Sound MontageÃ¢â‚¬Â appeared vague enough not to set off any alarmsÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

Did being attracted to sound at that point lead you to filmmaking?

Indirectly. I had gotten very deeply into sound in my early teens. At sixteen I wound up thinking I was going to be an oceanographer or an architect. Instead, I wound up going to USC Film School as a graduate student. The first month and a half they had us shooting stills and learning about camera. Then we did something that needed sound, and thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s when those two rivers of my life came together in a rush. Very few people at film school wanted to get into sound because it was just soundÃ¢â‚¬â€they didnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t think of it as an essential part of moviesÃ¢â‚¬Â¦**

** Lo Brutto, Vincent (1994). Sound-On-Film: Interviews with Creators of Film-Sound. Praeger Publishers, Walter Murch. (pg. 84-85). Westport, Connecticut and London.

Check out these websites for more on sound as art:

Website of experimental sound compositions and artists:
http://www.phonography.org/phonographers.htm

Sound Culture:
http://www.soundculture.org/

Written by Brent Altomare

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local talent goes national! May 15th, 2008

I got an email from my friend (and talented VO artist), Jeff Gelder. He did some voice work that got placed on the home page of ESPN. Just another example of local, San Diego-based talent doing great work for large, national audiences.

Congrats Jeff!

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audio is half the picture December 31st, 2006

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ian thorpe from sidecar productions talks about good production audio and why it is important. special thanks to robert mason from doghouse productions for use of his studio!

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