Recording and TV Programmes

Being in sound is quite possibly the best job in the world. I love tweaking and messing and hopefully solving problems and making things sound even better. I get some challenges that have stretched me to the end of my knowledge and I have asked for help in learning how to achieve something, that is good, it means I am still learning. I have the most amazing studio it’s based around Digidesign’s Pro Tools 7.1, which is the best software on the market and is used in about 99% of the worlds top recording Studio’s and Film and TV studio post production suites. So why do programmes like Spooks and the such like show the impossible?

Here’s a common scene, someone has recorded a telephone call onto a cassette or whatever media they recorded it onto, and they “Go to the Lab” a boffin in a white coat? Tweaks it for 30 seconds, then the PC or Detective will go can we just hear just the background noise, I think it’s a bloke with a limp walking past whistling something? And hey presto from a mixed piece of audio we now have a multi tracked piece of audio all recorded separately sounding as clear as anything?
Now when I record music and I record all the individual elements; I can then “Solo” one instrument (listen to just that item) If I buy a CD of music I can’t do that, even in my studio, I don’t have the component parts, it’s a finished mixed track, if I record a Telephone call, (illegal by the way without full permission from both parties or without a home office warrant) it is a mixed piece of audio even with the greatest knowledge in the world and the best equipment what they show on TV cannot be done, you cannot remove 1 frequency without removing everything else that is actually on that frequency, In the same way you cannot remove the eggs and flour from a baked cake, so to have just the bloke walking and whistling you would have to have recorded it separately!!!!! I am not saying I know everything about recording and how to do everything, but I do know what is actually possible to achive in the real world.

So stop messing with my head Grrrrrrrrrrrr

RANT OVER

Some favourite pastimes:-

1. Eating Out
2. Going out for the day with Sheley
3. Going to the Theatre
4. Going for a beer
5. Having a BBQ

Again in no particular order I am game for any of them at anytime.