This arrived in my email. I like the way they wrote it. Now if they'd just send us a damn KDM we'd all be happy.
Screenshot 2026-08-27 142750.png
Screenshot 2026-08-27 142750.png
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So, what he's saying is...we need compressors to avoid losing the quiet bits? -
As with all these "play it at 7" letters, he isn't the one who will have to face angry customers coming out and complaining that the movie is too loud, the fallout from complaints to city code enforcement departments, etc. etc.Comment
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I plan to give it my usual test, based on a quiet dialog scene. But I'll watch some test minutes at 7 just to see how it sounds. Our keys just arrived.Comment
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Anybody else have issues with the DCP for this movie? I tried loading it today and it consistently failed to ingest, and most times it failed to even scan into the ingest page. Called our tech group and find out that there are a bunch of similar reports with this release.
And we haven't received keys either. Qube didn't even have a booking listed for us when I called yesterday.Comment
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Your average home and garden variety AVR has a button for that: Midnight Mode.
Maybe our shiny, professional sound processors should get a similar button, although I'd call it "Screw You, Nolan! Mode"
Maybe you should put a little service trailer in front: This movie was mixed by Acme Sound Studios in Acme Digital Surround, please redirect all complaints regarding the sound of this movie to Acme Studios.Comment
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I screened Coyote vs Acme in our Atmos house last night while I waited for a late Indian feature to let out and I ran it at 5.5, It pushed my boundary on volume just a little bit at the beginning. 7 would be unlistenable. What are these mixing theaters like that they run everything at 7?Comment
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We didn't receive keys either. I didn't know who to call about them but our booker took care of it. Turned out they didn't have our server model and serial number.
I tried the first 20 minutes at 7.0 and thought it sounded loud, but really good. Great low end on the various explosions and such. But the voices were a little over the top so we'll probably run it about 6.5 or so. Very pleasant experience compared to noisy "Odyssey" that just ended.
They must have heard my complaint about the "silent" WB logo at the beginning of "The Day The Earth Blew Up" two years ago -- this one starts with real Looney Tunes theme music, as the good Lord intended.
The title doesn't show up in the beginning, but it isComment
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Tried the OV version first. Same failiure. Something about 'bad parameters'. This was on an IMS3000.
Never did get keys or any kind of followup from my call. We decided to kick it and play Insidious instead. Qube doesn't seem to be ready to play in the big leagues.
The best theaters in the world. Top notch sound systems and acoustically ideal environments with very low reverberation. But like any audio, if you listen to it at a high enough level your ears acclimate and it takes days to fully reset. Spend a few weeks in that environment for multiple hours a day and it's not too surprising that some movies come out of the end of that process a bit loud.What are these mixing theaters like that they run everything at 7?Last edited by Jon Dent; 08-28-2026, 05:36 PM.Comment
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A correctly tuned and set up, capable audio system does play movies that adhere to the standard, pretty well at 7 to 7.8 on the fader.
Lowering the mix by just 1.5 dB over intended PB level, the surround field collapses.
that's known, and published for years.
It's the theatres with don't comply with recommended standards and equipment.
I recently learnt about a theatre which still existed in the design I remember from the early 80s.D-cinema projector 38500 hours, ok still image present.
Sound system is (beside the AP20 installed around 2013) the same speakers made by a "workshop for people with intellectual disabilities" (not meant "discriminating", it was the actual name of a manufacturer making quite ok wooden boxes, and mounting woofers in these.)" in 1980. And QSC series 1 type 1400 amps from the same period of time, refusing to fully quit operation.
These are the sites which create the problems, and normally lead to film mixes acommodate these sub-standard systems, by lowering dynamic range, frequency extension towards low end, and high end levels.
Pure dynamics is fun, and often makes the difference. It is key factor to liking a film. I was told at the sound dept, 85% of the film's impact is based on sound. That's how they tried to master tracks in the 1990s.
Nice to learn, there are still fil makers around that follow this rule.
Not so nice, there are plenty of halls not following the recommended design basics for theatre sound systems.Comment
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I'm not going to claim I'm the alpha and omega in reference here, but I've been involved in one form or another with the mixing of some movies, but also quite a few live productions. To be honest, you encounter quite some ego in this field,.. some of it earned and some of it pretty misplaced.
I know quite a few production managers / sound directors / whatever they call themselves that have the tendency to mix stuf hot, because that's what they are used to, because that's what they think the audience wants or because they simply have become somewhat deaf over the years...
When you went to any big open air festival like 30 years ago and you came too close to the stage, it meant almost instant damage to your hearing. Nowadays, also due to better speakers and amplification, stricter regulations, on many festivals, sound will still be LOUD, but you can actually communicate with each other using your voice...Last edited by Marcel Birgelen; 08-30-2026, 03:02 PM.Comment
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I'd add "proper acoustic for the room". The best sound system will still sound bad in a bad room.
Sound level has been a wide subject for ages. Yes, a proper soundtrack in a proper room will sound perfectly fine at 7.0. However there is a large group of people who just don't appreciate that. Not even at 4.0. They feel LFE as annoying and surrounds as distracting. They just don't appreciate loud, surround sound. You can't make everybody happy.
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One of my favorite preshow trailers is "Dolby Leaf". Which I do not consider loud in any way. I just love, how the leaf goes around and through the room. Perfect immersive mix.
Regularly, when there are older patrons the start complaining, when the final drop occurs, "Too much BASS".
I do not think, there's too much LFE, just the right amount, with a little punch.
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If someone complains with "Leaf", what would they do with "Unfold"?
Many, many years ago someone came out of the auditorium complaining about the volume. Commercials were still running. I had two volume presets on my CP. Commercials were run at 3.8 (I had to turn them up a bit at some point as I realised that when the auditorium was half-full, the background noise was enough to cover the sound!) and were analogue sound only.
I looked at the CP, it was correctly on 3.8. I walked in the auditorium expecting some issues (a blown speaker might be reported as "sound is too loud") but no, all was good - and very very quiet.
I told the gentleman that the content was running at a very low level and I couldn't lower it any more.
So they asked me if the level would reduce once the film had started.
"No, quite the opposite, it will rise quite a lot!" The customer was shocked but I knew there was nothing I could do to make them happy if a very low analogue sound commercial running at 3.8 was "too loud"
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