How to deal with movies that bounce from too quiet to too loud

Friday, March 13, 2020 - 13:40 in Earth & Climate

Leave that remote where it is. Unless it's on a chair someone needs to sit in. People get chairs, not remotes. (Loewe Technologies/Unsplash/)I love big movie explosions as much as anyone, but I have a bone to pick with movie studios: It feels like every time I watch an action movie, I have to turn the volume way up just to hear the characters speak, then quickly turn it down every time something explodes. And when I’m not quick enough on the draw, my sleeping wife gets very angry.Why do movies do this?It all has to do with dynamic range—the difference between the loudest and softest parts of a soundtrack. The wider the range, the larger the dramatic impact, explains Scott Wilkinson, audiovisual technology journalist and consultant (and the “Home Theater Geek” on TWiT.tv). In other words, they mix it that way so when that explosion finally happens, it kicks...

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