Customer Reviews

Sound for Picture 2ND ED. (Mix Pro Audio Series)

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This is a collection of interviews done with famous sound designers and engineers for a magazine. Which is entertaining and can be quite informative. Be warned that there is no hands-on information and no clear tips and tricks. It reads more like a long magazine and some of the interviews are very hollow and uninformative. Others, however pack some interesting historical and/or amusing information and sometimes even useful tips. Ex: water and voice are roughly on the same frequency range making it difficult to mix dialogue and water in a movie - interesting, huh? At least I thought so...
If you are looking for a book to explain to you how to create sounds for film, this is not it. If you are a sound designer and are interested in reading what other sound designers are doing and have done, this can be useful and/or entertaining. But not all chapters.

I've read this book's 1st edition long years ago.. It was a powerful mind-opener at the time when sound for film and video were just emerging from being a "necessary evil".. And at a time when such knowledge was exclusive to those who worked on high-budget projects.. Personally, I do not like books that tell me how it's done. I prefer being given the tools, the goal and the obstacles.. I would then work my way to success, not that a few hints or examples will not be an inspiration..
An important issue to address is that digital recording, editing and sound manipulation are now available to the masses.. The young today are very much in a hurry and often get trapped between little knowledge and powerful machines. They need both a push to understand the equipment and software, as well as guidance as to how the top guys up there achieve their goals..

I cannot comment on the 2nd edition as I have not read it, but I would recommend this book nevertheless..