03-01-2022, 02:30 PM
I'm not really a movie buff, but even so, I can't quite believe that I hadn't seen North by Northwest until I saw it on iPlayer just a few days ago. Then again, it's been about 30 years since I last saw a Hitchcock movie - I really should make more of an effort, but finding the time to watch a film is tricky these days.
Also thought it was a good performance. Not sure how the editing could be described as "horrible" - it's just following the music. Vision mixing to music is a fascinating skill that is hard to do, but no-one notices unless you don't do it properly - and even then, most lay-people would struggle to articulate exactly what it is that was wrong.
For those not in the industry, this video gives you some idea of what's involved:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfjWjkTP4p8
This was live, but of course the same principles apply to a pre-record. The amount of planning and rehearsal is incredible, and quite how you keep calm during all that - especially knowing the viewing figures - is beyond me. Just amazing - I've watched it many times, and each time I spot something new. Such a shame that so few people have any idea of what goes on behind the scenes.
I've been in the trucks at Proms concerts watching the sound supervisor following the score so he knew when to spotlight the solo parts (important for a TV mix, where it compliments the vision). There was another person present, and his job was to turn the pages! Obviously the sound supervisor wasn't quite as busy on the sound desk as a pianist would be, but watching carefully, you could see why both people were necessary to do it properly. The score sat on a clever Perspex support that could slide across the width of the sound desk (see picture, which shows about half of the sound desk - it's basically the width of the truck).
I remember watching a Shostakovich 5 prom with the father-in-law a few years back, and casually asking him "Have you noticed how you see every soloist just before they start their solo?". Which, of course, he hadn't, but it's obvious once pointed out. My next question: "So how do you think they do that, then?", to which he had no idea, so I explained that there would have been someone in the vision gallery following the score - and that's in addition to the person doing the same in the sound gallery. So my next question: "Imagine if they cut to the soloists after they'd started...". As I say, you might not consciously realise what was wrong, but you'd feel uncomfortable about it, nonetheless.
I'm no musician, but having watched the video a handful of times, I'm not noticing any cuts that are badly timed or incorrect. But being brutally honest, while I can just about manage to count 4/4, I have no idea what time signature this is in, and probably wouldn't manage to count it if I did. I know that some don't like fast cuts, but with a piece like this, the alternative would be a more or less continuous wide shot, which would be a shame, honestly...
Also thought it was a good performance. Not sure how the editing could be described as "horrible" - it's just following the music. Vision mixing to music is a fascinating skill that is hard to do, but no-one notices unless you don't do it properly - and even then, most lay-people would struggle to articulate exactly what it is that was wrong.
For those not in the industry, this video gives you some idea of what's involved:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfjWjkTP4p8
This was live, but of course the same principles apply to a pre-record. The amount of planning and rehearsal is incredible, and quite how you keep calm during all that - especially knowing the viewing figures - is beyond me. Just amazing - I've watched it many times, and each time I spot something new. Such a shame that so few people have any idea of what goes on behind the scenes.
I've been in the trucks at Proms concerts watching the sound supervisor following the score so he knew when to spotlight the solo parts (important for a TV mix, where it compliments the vision). There was another person present, and his job was to turn the pages! Obviously the sound supervisor wasn't quite as busy on the sound desk as a pianist would be, but watching carefully, you could see why both people were necessary to do it properly. The score sat on a clever Perspex support that could slide across the width of the sound desk (see picture, which shows about half of the sound desk - it's basically the width of the truck).
I remember watching a Shostakovich 5 prom with the father-in-law a few years back, and casually asking him "Have you noticed how you see every soloist just before they start their solo?". Which, of course, he hadn't, but it's obvious once pointed out. My next question: "So how do you think they do that, then?", to which he had no idea, so I explained that there would have been someone in the vision gallery following the score - and that's in addition to the person doing the same in the sound gallery. So my next question: "Imagine if they cut to the soloists after they'd started...". As I say, you might not consciously realise what was wrong, but you'd feel uncomfortable about it, nonetheless.
I'm no musician, but having watched the video a handful of times, I'm not noticing any cuts that are badly timed or incorrect. But being brutally honest, while I can just about manage to count 4/4, I have no idea what time signature this is in, and probably wouldn't manage to count it if I did. I know that some don't like fast cuts, but with a piece like this, the alternative would be a more or less continuous wide shot, which would be a shame, honestly...
