Just the other day a friend reminded me how I laughed at him for using earplugs at the cinema when we went to see Gladiator back in 2000.
Of course I later realised that he was right. Six years after that article I see, or should I say hear, no improvements.
Cinema should really come into own with large, visually dynamic stories (superheroes anyone?) but it seems as if some of that bombast gets carried over into the sound department.
The average viewer, possibly still in their teens, being focused mainly on the visuals probably won't mind too much, but for an audiophile, it can be a sonic disaster.
I usually prefer to sit near the middle but I doubt whether it gets any better tight at the back.
With no volume control at your fingertips, maybe it's time for headsets to be available for those who feel the need. At the least you could then adjust the volume accordingly instead of putting up with the current 'one size fits all' arrangement.
As for poor mixing, there does appear to be a simple solution. Let the sound recordists follow in the footsteps of pioneers like Welles who learned their trade working in radio. If it works on radio, it should also work on the big screen.
However that's all conjecture, a bit like asking why the recording industry doesn't want to provide the consumers with high standard sonics when it's clear that the wishes of audiophiles are probably the very least of their priorities.
Their priorities lie elsewhere, making money.
Audiophiles are probably regarded as mere figures of fun to be ignored.
Fair enough, it's a business, and making movies can be a ruinously expensive one too, and who wants to lose money?
Art be damned.
If the whole world wants to watch over the top bombastically produced superhero films which keep successively breaking box office records, then who are we to complain?
Surely there's enough in the archives to keep anyone happy?
