Audio Formats: Which One Is Winning? by Scott Burnette Among the conferences offered at this year's ShowBiz Expo was "The Format Wars: Sound Recording for Film and TV." Sponsored by the Cinema Audio Society, the session was one in an ongoing series of discussions over the multitude of audio formats, and it addressed the use of digital audio from start to finish in film production, a subject admittedly much bigger than the one hour scheduled for it. Moderating was John Coffey, president of Coffey Sound and Communica-tions, with speakers Mark Ulano, a production mixer, and David Fluhr, a post-production mixer at Todd AO Studio. Current practices on the set belie the rapid changes underway. Ulano noted that 1/4" analog remains the predominant recording format. Meanwhile development of digital audio is moving in new directions, even as DAT machines are gaining acceptance in production and postproduction. One new recorder is Deva, for example, which records audio (96 kHz, 24 bit) to an internal hard drive - not tape. Jaz drives are then used to transfer the audio to post production as a file format. Another technology mentioned is a laptop computer with "Pro Tools-like" software. However, the 1/4" Nagra remains the benchmark for reliability and is considered necessary as a back-up, although Ulano described Deva as the first recorder he's seen designed to handle the rigors of production. Because there is no clear standard, communication is becoming more important between production and post-production people, the "sound community" as Ulano calls it. Among the considerations, noted Fluhr, is whether equipment "handshakes down the line" from start to finish. Of course, pre-planning is helpful, but not always possible. Sometimes the major production decisions have been made before post production houses become involved. Facilities such as Todd AO must be flexible, adding new formats to accommodate clients. While costly, the present climate affords opportunities as well - for those with the willingness to work out unexpected problems. Fluhr recalled that recently a studio approached, "with a limited budget, not a lot of time and they didn't care how we did the mix." This became an opportunity "to push the envelope" using a Fairlight Digital Audio Dubber and "a potpourri of digital formats," including DA 88s and hard drives, in addition to analog audio. Fluhr and his colleagues were given a chance to learn the good and the bad. The good: picture changes are much easier (and cheaper) recording to digital drives. The bad: the system struggled with complicated edits (a lack of processing power was the problem) but a workaround was developed. Later, the music editor's computer system would suffer a hard drive crash. However, helped by analog back-ups, the project stayed on track and finished on time and on budget. As actual broadcast of HDTV draws near, Fluhr sees more growing pains when six, or even eight tracks of audio will be available to home viewers. Consoles are getting larger to accommodate more tracks, yet technology won't change the craft involved. The Exorcist stands out as an example where "the use of silence gave you the creeps...the use of sound was elegant, simple." The future holds questions not just for the eventual format winners, but for the longevity of current digital tracks. Coffey noted that some digital recordings are useless after just five years. As Ulano noted, actual release of a show is everyone's primary focus, but proper archiving should be a part of the process, preserving the corporate and creative equity involved. For more information on the Cinema Audio Society and its meetings, contact Laura Long at (818) 752-8624.   Scott Burnette is the Avid assistant on 'Emma's Wish', a movie of the week.   Reprinted from The Motion Picture Editors Guild Newsletter Vol. 19, No. 4 - July/August 1998   Guild Home | Newsletter Home | Top of Page   Copyright © 1998, All Rights Reserved by The Motion Picture Editors Guild, IATSE Local 776