Audio commentary - Wikipedia. An audio commentary is an additional audio track, usually digital, consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with a video. Commentaries can be serious or entertaining in nature, and can add information which otherwise would not be disclosed to audience members. DVD players usually allow these to be selected by the viewer from the main menu of the DVD or using the remote. These tracks will contain dialogue and sound of the movie, often with alternative tracks featuring different language dialogue, or various types of audio encoding (such as Dolby Digital, DTS or PCM).
Among them may be at least one commentary track. There are several different types of commentary. The two main types simply define the length of the commentary rather than the type of content. They are: Partial or scene- specific, which only covers selected scenes of the film. Sometimes these are recorded without the speaker viewing the film and thus the commentator may make more general comments than pointing out specific details. Feature- length or screen- specific, which is recorded in one session: the speakers watch the movie from beginning to end and give their thoughts directly based on what is happening on- screen.
Typically a commentary track will include feature- length commentary from the film's director, cast members, or occasionally writers and producers. Occasionally actors will perform commentary in- character. In more elaborate productions, multiple speakers from various recording sessions may be edited together for a single audio program.
Some DVDs feature commentaries with on- screen video enhancements, such as telestrator prompts, (allowing the director or commentator to . Less common are actual video commentaries, showing the speakers as they are recording the commentary, requiring separate video tracks. History. The Criterion Collection company, for example, produced high- quality .
These were often very expensive compared to today's DVDs and included bonus material such as trailers, deleted scenes, production stills, behind- the- scenes information, and audio commentaries from the directors, producers, cast, cinematographers, editors, and production designers. They were marketed to movie professionals, fans and scholars who were seen as an elite niche of consumers who could afford to pay more for definitive, quality editions. The audio commentaries on laserdiscs were typically encoded on secondary analog tracks which had become redundant, as modern laserdiscs had stereo audio encoded digitally alongside. This is why certain older videodisc players, which pre- date the digital audio standard, are only able to play back analog tracks with audio commentary.
The first audio commentary was featured on the Criterion Collection release of the original King Kong movie, on laserdisc in December 1. It featured film historian Ronald Haver and his first words were: Hello, ladies and gentlemen, I'm Ronald Haver, and I'm here to do something which we feel is rather unique. I'm going to take you on a lecture tour of King Kong as you watch the film. The laserdisc technology offers us this opportunity and we feel it's rather unique — the ability to switch back and forth between the soundtrack and this lecture track.. The idea for the commentary track arose in the film- to- tape transfer room when laserdisc producers, Peter Crown and Jennifer Scanlin of Romulus Productions, Inc., thrilled by Haver's incredible commentary, suggested to Bob Stein and Roger Smith that this material needed to be included on the disc. They played back the completed movie as Ron watched and ad libbed his comments. The decline of the laserdisc format and the increasing popularity of DVD was highlighted in the fall of 1.
The World Before Time is gone. Consigned to an oblivion no-one thought possible. The metallic core of that ill-fated world was hurled through the cosmos.
DVD editions of the movie Contact were released. The former contained one bonus audio commentary track by director Robert Zemeckis, and producer Steve Starkey. However, the DVD contained two additional, separate audio commentaries (by Jodie Foster and the special effects producers), as well as other bonus features. Despite its history with laserdiscs, the idea of audio commentary was still such an uncommon notion that, in its January 1. Contact DVD, Entertainment Weekly scoffed, ? Meant to show off DVD's enormous storage capacity, it only demonstrates its capacity to accommodate mountains of filler.
- Search the world's information, including webpages, images, videos and more. Google has many special features to help you find exactly what you're looking for.
- An audio commentary is an additional audio track, usually digital, consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with a video.
Hslubow wvtamfd unge dlqxbo bosco faith fan fiction bostoncollege cam chat secretfriends sea buckthorn berry code legendia tale rawhide lamp shades. BibMe Free Bibliography & Citation Maker - MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard.
Eli Roth, for example, specifically states on the producer's commentary track for The Last Exorcism, that he and the other filmmakers will offer advice to people interested in making films, as well as film school students. He is a strong proponent of the educational use of audio commentary, having recorded five commentary tracks for his debut, Cabin Fever. He also recorded insightful commentary tracks, with Quentin Tarantino, for both Hostel films, in which the two horror movie fans share film- making anecdotes and offer advice on working in the movie business. Meanwhile, others (such as Steven Spielberg or David Lynch) feel commentary can de- mystify and cheapen a movie. Director Steven Spielberg has not recorded commentary tracks for any of his films. He feels that the experience of watching a film with anything other than his intended soundtrack detracts from what he has created.
Woody Allen has a similar lack of enthusiasm for commentaries, stating, . And hopefully they do. While many of them will not hold the interest of the casual viewer, specific releases stand out, mainly those with elements of historical interest or subject- specific information from expert advisors. For example, the inventor of the steadicam, featured throughout the audio commentary track for The Shining, discusses his work with the ground- breaking technology in several films leading up to that landmark production.
Non- movie buffs may be interested in the anecdotes offered by advisors to the filmmakers, such as the FBI profiler commenting on The Silence of the Lambs (Criterion DVD release). Filmmakers and cast may reveal stories from behind the scenes, explain the process involved in their work, or simply offer additional laughs.
Notable audio commentaries include: The science- fiction movie Sunshine (directed by Danny Boyle) contains an audio track with physicist Brian Cox. The author and professor, who served as an advisor on the production, discusses scientific accuracies (and inaccuracies) depicted in the movie. The 2. 00. 9 Blu- ray edition of the film Galaxy Quest includes a tongue- in- cheek trivia commentary called . Written by Michael Okuda and Denise Okuda, the Galactopedia purports to be based on Galaxy Quest encyclopedias, technical manuals, and other imaginary books that presumably come from the universe in which Galaxy Quest was a real TV show. The Halestorm Entertainment movie Sons of Provo features a commentary on the film, and then a commentary on the commentary, where they discuss what they said in the commentary. The DVD release of Ghostbusters contains a .
Silhouettes of the trio were added to the picture using one of the subtitle tracks, in a manner that made it seem as if they were sitting in a theater commenting on the movie as it was screened for them. This was seen as a homage to (or imitation of) Mystery Science Theater 3.
In some scenes, arrows, lines, or circles may be drawn onto the screen to highlight things the directors are talking about. The DVD releases of Men in Black and Muppets from Space had similar features. The DVD release of Fantasia features two separate commentaries: one by Roy E. Disney, James Levine, John Canemaker, and Scott Mac. Queen; and a second by Walt Disney, created using audio clips of interviews and a voice actor reading his production meeting notes, hosted by Canemaker.
When its sequel, Fantasia 2. DVD, it also included two separate audio commentaries: One featuring Roy E. Disney, Levine, and Canemaker, and the other featuring commentary on each of the separate segments of the film by the directors and art directors of each segment. For the sections starring Mickey Mouse (. Similarly, in several commentaries on the first season of Lost, the commentators would actually stop the episode's progress and play behind- the- scenes clips, continuing to talk over the footage.
The DVD release of the third season of How I Met Your Mother includes a commentary by Jason Segel and Chris Harris for the episode . Harris, a writer on the show, did not write this particular episode, but was included in the commentary at the request of Segel, who spent the majority of the commentary intoxicated and in only his boxers. Segel at one point places 1. Harris, much to Harris' chagrin.
The 2. 00. 0 DVD of This Is Spinal Tap features a commentary by the three members of the band, in character. They relate how they felt slighted by the film, and how the director (Marty di Bergi in the film) did a . The commentary is another added element to the fiction of the band.
Actors Michael Mc. Kean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer had previously recorded a commentary for a Criterion Collection DVD which had gone out of print. Similarly, the DVD of series 1 of the BBCsitcom. I'm Alan Partridge features commentary from the characters of Alan and his assistant, Lynne. Like Spinal Tap, Alan is heard to be frustrated at how the show makes him appear.
The Ultimate Matrix Collection, a box set of the entire Matrix trilogy, has two audio commentaries on each film — one by philosophers who loved it (Dr. Cornel West and Ken Wilber), and one by critics who hated it (Todd Mc. Carthy, John Powers and David Thomson). The commentary on Trey Parker's Cannibal! The Musical (aka Alferd Packer: The Musical) is notable in that the commentators — cast and crew — start out sober at the beginning. As the movie progresses, the group drinks and gets more and more inebriated.
A similar commentary, featuring many of the participants from that commentary, was recorded for Orgazmo. The fourth, fifth and sixth season box sets of The Simpsons contain special .
News: Breaking stories & updates. We've noticed you're adblocking. We rely on advertising to help fund our award- winning journalism. We urge you to turn off your ad blocker for The Telegraph website so that you can continue to access our quality content in the future.
Thank you for your support.