Re: Ronin (no spoilers)

[Arun Rao <rao@pixar.com>]

Brett Dikeman wrote:

> >Ever noticed how the engine noise bears no relation to the acceleration
> >and gear changes, and how every car sounds like a badly tuned V8 with
> >a couple of holes in the exhaust?  How the tyres always squeal _after_
> >the corner?
> >
> Standard movie procedure.  They never use the actual motor sounds.

True, but the good sound guys will go to great lengths to preserve perceived
authenticity.  I had the good fortune to meet Gary Rydstrom of Skywalker Sound
("Saving Private Ryan", most recently) in his studio, and I came away very
impressed at the level of detail they fuss over.  One example he gave was that
of the sound of bullets: they don't ricochet with a wheee! if they're actually
hitting their targets!

I think Phil's being somewhat unfair in his blanket panning of all movies,
though some undoubtedly deserve it.

> .. Lip-sync is a much higher art now, with
> software that can coordinate mouth movements(to the point of having a
> computer animated head move its mouth to sound inputted from a recording.)

Maybe some simple animations are done that way, but most non-trivial computer
animation has to be done by hand by animators who listen to the sound while
they're animating.

-Arun

PS: Maybe we'll do a computer-animated spy thriller next!

--
Arun Rao
Pixar Animation Studios
Pt. Richmond, CA 94804
(510) 620-3526