colin_alexander_7862984's profile

7 Messages

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140 Points

Tuesday, April 19th, 2016 2:00 AM

1

production sound vs. post-production sound

Why is there only one category called "Sound Department" rather than a separation between production sound and post-production sound? These two aspects are hugely different and each field contains a wide variety of unique job titles.

For instance:
Production Sound - Sound Mixer, Boom Operator, Sound Utility, A2, Playback Operator, Sound Recordist, etc.
Post-Production Sound - Supervising Sound Editor, Sound Designer, Dialogue Editor, ADR Recordist, Sound Effects Editor, Re-Recording Mixer, Foley Artist, etc.

Lumping all of these people together as the generic "Sound Department" is essentially the same as if the director of photography, camera assistants, editors, visual effects artists, colorists, etc. were all just referred to as "Picture Department."

To display credits in this way is not only confusing, but greatly ignorant of the actual filmmaking process (not to mention very dismissive to the crucial role these crew members play).

Champion

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7.4K Messages

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275K Points

8 years ago

Colin: See the response from Giancarlo Cairella in the discussion at https://getsatisfaction.com/imdb/topics/why_is_there_no_locations_department_in_the_crew_listings#re... for information as to why IMDb divides up the departments as they do.

7 Messages

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140 Points

8 years ago

I've already read it and I don't think it's adequate. "It's too difficult to do things properly" is basically the gist of it. I get that it would be difficult to implement, but that's no reason to leave things as they are.

7 Messages

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140 Points

8 years ago

and furthermore, all the qualifications listed in that post are being met in this instance. There are numerous positions in each category (I've only listed some of them above), some of these credits (Sound Designer, for instance) are frequently listed during the title cards with other above-the-line crew, and even in the end credits roll there is a clear definition between production and post. Look at the credits for any film (contemporary or historically) and you will almost never see these two departments merged into one. Production sound is always kept with the other production departments (camera, electric, etc.) and post sound is listed with the other post departments (duh.)

4 Messages

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120 Points

Can i ask a question out of curiosity. This seems like a very relevant topic to you, may i ask why?

7 Messages

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140 Points

... because I actually work on movies and I don't understand why professionals can't be credited properly in a public forum. In the film world IMDb credits are basically used instead of a resume, and when the credits are all jumbled it creates confusion. What is even the point of this site if the people running it don't understand the basics of film production?

4 Messages

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120 Points

So you want credit for your wok online. i can get on board with that. However, and im not in the business, but i doubt IMDB credits are used when it comes to seriously considering employment openings. Your resume is normally what employers use. Solid employment history along with quality references is what is going to get you employed.

7 Messages

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140 Points

come on, seriously? Are you explaining to me how my own industry works? We don't use resumes because we don't work full-time jobs. It's freelance employment. If I made a resume with every project I've ever worked on it would be 10 pages long. I promise you that I'm telling the truth

4 Messages

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120 Points

Im not trolling you, honest... I just said im not in the business. The site, i dont think, puts every single credit on any given page. It would be too technical. It doesnt seem viable in my opinion. Thats my unbiased perspective. If i were you i would want the imdb credit too.... Also, are you still listed in the sound dept., or at all, on your films page?

Champion

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7.4K Messages

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275K Points

Mike: For clarity, a credit for any job* listed in the credits of a movie is eligible to be listed in IMDb. It will only get listed if someone actually submits it to IMDb, but it is eligible. The issue that Colin is raising seems to be that he believes some credits are listed under an inaccurate department heading -- not that they are omitted from IMDb altogether.

*Certain non-jobs listed in movie credits are ineligible -- such as the Production Babies listed in some animated films' credits, or the thousands of MySpace friends listed after the main credits of Clerks II (2006).

19 Messages

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452 Points

I AGREE THAT THERE SHOULD BE A SEPARATE CATEGORY FOR POST PRODUCTION SOUND.  WHY NO ONE RESPONDS?