I think it's also the way the audio is produced, in the films. The venue where I work runs a film club, and I often find I have to reduce bass levels and increase to high frequencies get the right balance.
Oh god.. hearing that kills me inside a little. So much time, money and effort is given to mix films to sound as great as they possibly could.. I would investigate what mix you are getting and playing at your film club and see if it suits your playback environment.
Off to the BFI IMAX on tuesday to watch The Avengers: Age Of Ultron. Expecting the sound to be loud, but not overwhelming.
Sadly, it does seem that there is a loudness war going on in movies, just as there in in music. Had the misfortune of going to see the last Transformers movie at the cinema. That was just excessive.
You are absolutely right. Some quick info..
Dolby set a standard mixing level for sound teams to mix film to - known as Dolby 7. This volume is set on the cinema processor unit installed in any Dolby licensed mix or playback theatre. Directors pushed the limits with this (because 6 channels of full scale audio at Dolby 7 is pushing 110-115 dB SPL) and thus, cinemas began turning down mixes for playback. They would have their projectionist watch the movie (or the first 20 mins or so) and adjust the volume to what they deemed correct.
Well this was a nightmare. The 'louder is better' directors hated that, and ended up pushing their mixes up further and further. The 'louder is going to hurt your audience' directors ended up having their film sound too quiet in the cinema. Lose lose situation.
So we have a generation of sound teams working at lower volumes, pushing their mixes louder to compensate for cinemas turning their mix down too far. On going battle nobody will win.
As a bass player who's lost count of the number of gigs I've played, I'd be a massive hypocrite to complain about loud bass.
However, last time I went to Vue cinema it was so loud it was overdriving the sound system, completely distorting when there was anything more than plain dialogue playing. Completely ruined the film for me.
It was the last straw for me as far as cinemas go to be honest, and I haven't been back since. I'm quite happy now to wait for the bluray release and watch at home.
That cinema was not adhering to Dolby's playback specification! It would've been fine when they were licensed by Dolby but haven't given it the proper maintenance. Unless it's an awful mixer/s on the film, dialogue
will not distort in a cinema that keeps their room in spec. The number of times i've complained to Vue and got free tickets or money off - do it! They can be real thieves and not care about how a film sounds despite the work that's gone into it. I went to see 'The Maze Runner' in my local Vue.. I didn't last beyond the first advert. The dialogue was coming from the right speaker instead of the centre. After complaining and going to the projection room myself to take a look.. somebody had very obviously noticed the centre speaker's diaphragm had gone and swapped the centre and the right speaker to punters could hear the dialogue again (from the WRONG speaker). Crooks.
Exactly. I think the projectionists are forced to turn up the volume in Cinemas these days (The bass in particular) & the systems I don't think are designed for that kind of volume levels, even though they are professional Cinema surround sound systems (I think the speakers in the Auditorium were JBL)
On the contrary - cinemas turn it down! Also.. most modern multiplexes now no longer have on-site projectionists. All digital projection is scheduled and ran from a centralised site somewhere else in the UK. As i've said above.. films are mixed at 'Dolby 7' with the intention to be played back at that level so you hear exactly what the director and sound team worked to achieve. Some directors pushed the limits, cinemas reacted by turning it down, now you have a nightmare of push/pull. Films like 'Man of Steel' mix at a lower Dolby level.. creating a louder mix overall.. because they expect the cinemas to turn it down. If you are in a cinema that (and this is rare..) actually plays back at Dolby 7.. you will have your head blown off by those kinds of films. But if you saw a film done by a smart director and good sound team who didn't want to pre-empt cinemas turning the mix down.. you'd walk out a happy chappy.
Granted, some people might just find films to be too loud in general. I take work experiencers at my studio where some of these films are mixed and their first comment is always 'thats pretty loud' when we're mixing.. because they're not used to it. If the cinema is properly maintained and following the guidelines for playback and you still find it too loud.. the onus lies with the director.. because that's how they wanted it! I think they aren't held accountable half as much as they should be for the volume of their films.
No, Its my right to whine & whinge at almost 50 if I don't like something.
