The issue is when dynamic range exceeds the buffer you have in your viewing environment.
So you can easily mix a movie with 45dB dynamic range, and you have been able to distribute that to the masses for 30+ years. And so you can also accurately and easily portray a stage whisper at 50dB and then have an action sequence peaking at a modest 95dB in a relatively soundproofed cinema with 30 speakers and a couple of thousand watts behind it.
But for me to hear that movie on my TV in my 65dB environment means the next action sequence is now 110dB, well past the capability of my TV speakers to accurately reproduce, and also well past the level where I would consider it to be fucking loud.
If you’re mixing audio for a home release you need to compress your dynamic range to 30dB or so to suit. The number of viewers that have a sound system and a viewing environment that can comfortably allow 45dB of range is very, very, small, and if those people want to complain about the lack of dynamic range, they can get themselves an expander and go nuts.
Oh absolutely. A simple “home theatre room” kind of setup can do wonders, but even at that point you’re starting to get beyond what the average person has.
Dynamic range is basically just this but on autopilot. Dialogue will still be barely audible after an action scene, then when it goes back to action it gets obnoxiously loud again.
Oh no loud sounds are loud now dynamic range nooo
The issue is when dynamic range exceeds the buffer you have in your viewing environment.
So you can easily mix a movie with 45dB dynamic range, and you have been able to distribute that to the masses for 30+ years. And so you can also accurately and easily portray a stage whisper at 50dB and then have an action sequence peaking at a modest 95dB in a relatively soundproofed cinema with 30 speakers and a couple of thousand watts behind it.
But for me to hear that movie on my TV in my 65dB environment means the next action sequence is now 110dB, well past the capability of my TV speakers to accurately reproduce, and also well past the level where I would consider it to be fucking loud.
If you’re mixing audio for a home release you need to compress your dynamic range to 30dB or so to suit. The number of viewers that have a sound system and a viewing environment that can comfortably allow 45dB of range is very, very, small, and if those people want to complain about the lack of dynamic range, they can get themselves an expander and go nuts.
GOOD post
Good room acoustics can make dialogue discernible at lower speaker volumes.
Oh absolutely. A simple “home theatre room” kind of setup can do wonders, but even at that point you’re starting to get beyond what the average person has.
I feel like this is one of those “practicality beats purity” situations.
Dynamic range is basically just this but on autopilot. Dialogue will still be barely audible after an action scene, then when it goes back to action it gets obnoxiously loud again.
It’s not a solution, just a stopgap.