The Dark Knight TDK sound presentation in LA on 10/27

[Anita18]

I have class that night. But in case anyone else is interested...

I might decide to ditch, since I was really impressed with the sound in TDK and this sounds really cool.

The MPSE Sound Show returns to Hollywood with an exploration of the sonic world of this summer's blockbuster Batman movie "The Dark Knight."

Join Oscar and MPSE Golden Reel award winning Supervising Sound Editor /Sound Designer Richard King ("War of the Worlds," "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World") as he presents his process of creating the soundscape for the Christopher Nolan directed film from Warner Bros. Pictures. Excerpts of the movie will be presented with special "pre-dubb" mixes to illustrate the variety of elements used to create an environment of serious sound.

He will be joined by Music Editor Alex Gibson ("Live Free or Die Hard," "The Prestige") with special guest Oscar award winning Composer Hans Zimmer ("Gladiator," "The Da Vinci Code"), who will reveal the way the musical score was shaped to fit the dark narrative of good and evil.

As an extra special attraction, all of the sound will be played through a state-of-the-art theatrical audio system developed by Meyer Sound Laboratories so the you can hear every subtle and explosive sound element.

One night only: Monday, October 27, 2008, at 8 p.m. at the Lloyd E. Rigler Theatre in the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, California, 6712 Hollywood Boulevard, just east of Highland Avenue.

General Admission is $10. Seniors and students with valid ID are $8. Members of the MPSE and American Cinematheque are $7. Tickets can be bought on Fandango.com and at the Egyptian box office. Validated Parking is available at the Hollywood & Highland complex, 4 hours for $2.

A co-presentation of the Motion Picture Sound Editors and the American Cinematheque. Made possible with support from Warner Bros. Pictures, Meyer Sound, and Digidesign. More information can be found at www.MPSE.org or www.AmericanCinematheque.com.

http://www.mpse.org/2008MPSESoundShowTheDarkKnight.htm

 

[maveholic31]

im in, can't wait

 

[riskproductions]

I have class till 6:45 but I will cut out early and go.Yay!

 

[JokerLedger]

Thank god I have an online class on monday.

 

[Anita18]

Whee I ditched class, and it was SO worth it.

Really cool relevant bits to share with you all.

• I give you: the sound of the batpod!
  
  ...you can kind of hear it there. The clip they showed of the sound crew recording the Tesla Roadster was SO awesome. When they made it do a sudden stop, I think all of the guys in the room were salivating.
• They played us isolated score from the prologue. I did not have the foresight to record it, but maybe it'll end up on YouTube eventually. Hans and his crew dubbed it all (making stuff up on the spot if they had to) in a week and it all stayed for the final cut.
• They also played us temp score from the Lambo/evac scene, which the music editor cobbled together with music layers from BB. It was actually quite appropriate.
• Joker's note is from a cello. Hans tortured the poor cellist for the ugliest sound imaginable and when the cellist went, "Ugh, fine, I don't care anymore!" that's the note that they used.
• Another part of the movie they talked in detail about was the Slaughter truck chase. They added bull-like snorting sounds to the garbage truck, lion roars to Joker's truck, and whooshes when the columns went past to add some rhythm.
• Nearly all of the dialogue in TDK was recorded in production, even with the IMAX cameras running. And yes, the IMAX camera is quite loud - they played us production sound from a bit of the prologue, you can hear it running the entire time. The goon's voices had to be dubbed because of the masks, but William Fichtner and Heath Ledger's lines were recorded on set and salvaged for the final cut.
• The sound in general has so much reverb because they placed mikes EVERYWHERE on various trucks as well as shooting ranges for weapons recording, and put all of the layers in. So the sounds you hear on the weapons and the vehicles in the film, you wouldn't actually hear in real life. It adds a good deal to the hyper-reality Nolan talked about for TDK.

 

[Anita18]

BTW, they announced that it was the first year that MPSE sold out, which only emphasizes the fact that if you want something to sell out, stick "Dark Knight" on it.

 

[HanaBi]

Incredibly cool - thanks for the report!

 

[JokerLedger]

I thought it was pretty funny hearing the production voice of the clown's voice. His voice wasn't as low... pretty high actually and way way way over the top. "He's out.... RIGHT?!?!"

I thought the best part of the night was when Hans made fun of Chris with his "...Bogus intellectualism" So freakin hilarious but true at the same time if you think about it.

 

[Anita18]

I thought it was pretty funny hearing the production voice of the clown's voice. His voice wasn't as low... pretty high actually and way way way over the top. "He's out.... RIGHT?!?!"

I thought the best part of the night was when Hans made fun of Chris with his "...Bogus intellectualism" So freakin hilarious but true at the same time if you think about it.

Chris does sound over-the-top intellectual, even when he's working on a comic book movie.

Hans is so hilarious.

• Nick Roeg's answer to what kind of music he wanted for a gold mining scene: "Why, the sound of the earth being raped, my dear boy!"
• "Alex, you f***ed up!" after that tragic, pathetic question.
• "Chris would tell me, "Bar 875 had something cool in it" and I'd go, "What?""
• "Yeah, Chris gives you rope to hang yourself!"

The production sound of the prologue and the Slaughter truck chase were the most fascinating demos, since they really show you how much of the sound they had to add, and how LOUD the IMAX camera was. (It sounded like an old school projector flapping away.) Joker's squeaky shoes and the flying bank papers were an awesome touch. And at the Joker's guns going -ping!- instead of -BANG!!-

 

[riskproductions]

Yeah it was all great! I sat in the second row right behind Hans and Richard King, got the sigs on my CD and talked em up a bit. I took a bunch of pics and some vids too if I can get em up soon

 

[Anita18]

Yeah it was all great! I sat in the second row right behind Hans and Richard King, got the sigs on my CD and talked em up a bit. I took a bunch of pics and some vids too if I can get em up soon

I knew someone would come through with the vids! I sat much further away, but I've been brainwashed that sound is better when you sit in the back. (Maybe true in an all-acoustic space but...anyway.)

 

[riskproductions]

Here are a few pictures of the presenters and a couple of the screens, notice the HUGE ProTools sessions and some of the footage on the right side. The only videos I ended up taking were just of me and my friends, and a few of Hans, but I didnt get any of the music or anything. It really wouldn't have turned out good on my camera anyway. The coolest part was the isolated score during the Prologue, but hopefully we'll all be graced with that on the new CD.

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[Anita18]

Here are a few pictures of the presenters and a couple of the screens, notice the HUGE ProTools sessions and some of the footage on the right side. The only videos I ended up taking were just of me and my friends, and a few of Hans, but I didnt get any of the music or anything. It really wouldn't have turned out good on my camera anyway. The coolest part was the isolated score during the Prologue, but hopefully we'll all be graced with that on the new CD.

Wow, you were really close!

Yeah, isolated score from the prologue was interesting, but I find that cues directly from the film often sound disjointed, because they have to keep up with the visual editing. "And I Thought My Jokes Were Bad" played out almost like in the film, though, aside from an added bar or two.

And was it just me, or was Hans' "naked Joker music" actually the "Why So Serious?" track as it was on the soundtrack CD? I'm not attuned to small differences in sound mixing yet, but it sure sounded the same to me. And then that crazy lady thought the music was better than the movie, and I was like, "What, you've never heard the soundtrack before?"

And Richard King had such a hard time finding the right tracks to play for us. They certainly had to use a lot of computer power to handle this movie!

 

[Nirvana]

Oh man that would have been pretty cool to have gone. I am certainly jealous of you guys for attending.

 

[JokerLedger]

Another funny bit was when Hans told the audience how Alex started his career in the porn industry