And, on that note, Gill goes on to say that, “a lot of films fall down on the soundtrack. Again, I think this is due to budget constraints. The main issue with scoring is an overpowering soundtrack but even Hollywood blockbusters have this issue.”
While, issues with things like music rights and clearances seem to be less common than production issues, and lack of time/funds invested in post-production sound, they do come up, and cause problems for filmmakers who take a cavalier attitude to music rights and licensing. I was told the Galway Film Fleadh, “has disqualified films due to rights issues in the past. It doesn’t say good things about the production if they don’t have that kind of basic due diligence done.” And Rob Gill responded by saying, “We’ve had to disqualify a number of films for not having the correct clearances.”
My source in Galway summed up the aesthetic side nicely when he said, “Production issues will be more common at a certain level of submissions that we receive. I would be conscious of the fact that some of these films are self-financed, produced at an amateur level or on a limited budget. (Conversely many amateur/independent productions will have fantastic production values). This won’t buy the production a pass on poor craft but can influence decisions such as: do we enter into a dialogue with the filmmakers about fixing problems in post, undertaking ADR perhaps, or spending money on a new mix. If the vision, talent and craft is there, then we want to give the production every chance to succeed.”
Film Festival Tech Talk:
Knowing that the sound options on some festival applications can be daunting for filmmakers, I poked around a bit and asked about the technical side of submitting your film’s sound. Are there sound formats that signal inexperience? Are there formats that are simply unacceptable? And, are the festival format requirements (for sound) based on aesthetic sound quality, or the capability of festival venues?
Shane Malone, the Technical Co-ordinator for the Galway Film Fleadh, puts it this way, “At the submission stage, we will accept any standard of sound scope, as these submissions are being watched on streaming links/platforms or downloaded and played through VLC or other media software. As they are all being played on computers or home television setups, any sound standard above 2.1 is being transformed back down to stereo by the playing hardware.”
He continued by saying, “Upon successful entry to the festival, a film is asked to pick from a large list (1.0, 2.0, 2.1, 3.0, 4.0, 4.1, 5.1 & 7.1). This information is used to inform the projection team of the film’s audio standard. We also ask if a film uses enhanced audio capabilities, again just to inform the technical team (Dolby Atmos, DTS-X, etc.).”
When asked about the importance of post-production sound, Rob Gill from RHIFF felt that, “A lot of sound issues can be corrected in post. But I think a lot of low budget film-makers haven't budgeted for proper sound-mixing in post. That's fine if the location sound is perfect. But if there is background noise overpowering the dialogue and it's not cleaned up, that's an issue.”
When queried about venue capabilities at The Fleadh, Malone had this to say, “Although we list several capabilities, our venues are mostly capable of mono, stereo, stereo and sub/centre and 5.1 surround. Currently our venues do not support enhanced audio capabilities, but this may change this year with the Pálás coming online. Asking for all types of sound specifications is just to inform our technical teams where the exceptions to available standards are, so they can know to test any films specifying standards outside of those we officially support can be tested first and any issues relayed to the film crew.”
And with regards to post production quality, standards, and formats, he summed up his feelings about sound formats by saying, “It is not so much an issue of film quality, as to differentiate here would be detrimental to low-budget filmmakers who are doing the best they can on the resources available to them. A 5.1 mix is an expensive thing, and shouldn’t preclude a good story from being told, provided the audio quality is not detrimental to the cinema experience. A good story doesn’t require pristine visuals or audio, they just need to be of a minimum quality that the viewers experience of the story is not disturbed.”
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In essence, festival programmers are pulling for you and your film. If you make an effort to present a good story, well told, with at least moderately competent sound (and visuals) that shows you have some understanding of the value of post production (finishing techniques), sound design, and music scoring and rights issues, they’ll do their level best to help your film get seen.
Please address your questions, comments, or criticisms to [email protected].
What do you listen for, and what are you hearing?
COLUMN
CinÉireann / February 2018 69