Audio Forensics & Hollywood

What was that… did you hear it?

In the movie The Fugitive, ‘It’ is an elevated train.

“Call them back. Tell them you made a mistake,” The FBI Agent Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones) barks to a member of his team. ‘Them’ being the St Louis police department. He turns to an agent who’s playing a recorded phone conversation with Richard Kimble (The Fugitive). “Drop the voices,” Gerard says. With the voices filtered out, bells, trains, and public address announcements take center stage.

An announcement… “Next stop Merchandise Mart.”

“That’s an El announcement,” One agent says to Gerard.

“And there’s no El in St Louis, Ladies and Gentlemen,” Gerard says “Richard Kimble is in Chicago.”

Mystery solved in a scene that is a couple of minutes long. The movie needs to carry us to the next scene, so I’ll forgive the unrealistic portrayal of how audio is filtered and evaluated. In real life, the process would have happened differently and behind the scenes … but it serves as a good example of what goes on in the world of audio forensics.

Another memorable movie scene happens in The Hunt for Red October. The character ‘Jonesy’, listening through headphones, identifies a Typhoon class submarine. Having worked with that type of thing, I can tell you the sound would be evaluated using a spectrum analyzer.

The analyzer will let you see harmonics, the range of broadband noise, dithering, and other audio artifacts to help identify whether a sound is artificial or biologic. Jonesy’s ears are not that reliable. But once again, the concept needed to be conveyed to the viewer, and most people don’t relate to seeing sound versus listening to it. In ways that are subtle to us, vision plays a big part in shaping what we hear.

In The Call, a 911 operator (Hallie Berry) listens to a recording of a cell phone conversation from a kidnapping victim and hears a clanging of metal against metal. The clanging turns out to be a steel snap hook hitting against a flagpole, a clue that helps to locate the perpetrator and victim. Most likely, it wouldn’t be the operator who would evaluate the recorded message… but that is the magic of Hollywood and the way to move the story along.

The movies Cellular and Phone Booth also have their moments and are worth watching, if for no other reason than the great suspense they create.

The movie JFK is given legs because of real life audio investigations and the resultant (but questionable) acoustical evidence. In 1978, based upon acoustic evidence contained on the Dallas Police Department radio recordings, the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) concluded that there was probably a conspiracy involved in the assassination of President Kennedy. That finding was one of several that Oliver Stone references as evidence that divulges a ‘cover-up’ in the assassination investigation.

However, in 2001, An NRC panel disputed the conclusion stating that the evidence reported by the HSCA relied on incorrect timelines, and made unfounded assumptions that when corrected did not support the identification of gunshots on the recording. If you are interested in learning more, I suggest two articles… “The Acoustic Evidence in the Kennedy Assassination” by Michael O’Dell, and “The Dallas Police Department’s Channel 1 Radio Dictabelts: The Chain of Possession” by Chris Scally.

Other movies that mix audio forensics and political intrigue are Nixon and Blow Up. I recommend them both. As a member of the Audio Engineering Society, I would be remiss if I didn’t recommend (“Watergate” and Forensic Audio Engineering)… http://www.aes.org/aeshc/docs/forensic.audio/watergate.tapes.introduction.html.

Finally, we come to more recent cases that are yet to garner the attention of Hollywood. There’s a myriad of links for the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case. All you need to do is type ‘George Zimmerman Audio’ into your browser search tool to get 3,600,000 results. Also, the recorded Malaysian Flight 370 conversation between the pilots and control tower, and the use of underwater listening devices provide several examples of the use of audio evidence in helping to solve the flight’s disappearance. CBS NEWS provides a link entitled: “Malaysia Airlines Flight 370″ that has a wealth of information concerning the investigation.

Hooray for Hollywood in its attempt to both entertain and educate us.

(c) 2016/2023 Symphonycs Press

The Legends & the Legendary

Recording Artist. Those two words capture the essence of modern music. Since the early 20th century, recording production techniques have played a crucial role in connecting artists with their audience. Good musical recordings, regardless of medium, can sway a listener’s emotions. The art behind capturing an artist’s performance and having it come alive is an often-ignored art-form.

Recorded music rose to popularity in the 1930s and 1940s, but it was the recording studios of the 1950s and 1960s that ushered in the modern recording era. Sun Studios, Electric Lady, Motown Studios, and Abby Road were studios that laid the groundwork for the modern home recording studio. It’d be hard to find a home Digital Audio Workstation without the Abby Road Studio plug-in.

The people behind the music skillfully fashioned the sound of the times. Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound, Owen Bradley’s Nashville Sound, David Issac and Reggie Dozier sculpting of the Motown Sound, shaped the classics of that era. The studios, no matter how humble, were the places where legends were born.

Considering the rudimentary technology of the 50s and 60s, the level of invention was astounding. In a ten-year period, Motown Studios started by Barry Gordy, Jr. in the basement of a house on 2648 West Grand in Detroit, produced 110 top 10 hits. What’s more amazing is many of the hit songs were recorded using an eight-track recorder built in-house.

However, the process was not without peril. The tape machines had powerful reel motors, and with a badly timed flick of a switch, a recording could be turned into confetti. Yet, perseverance prevailed. Several of the tape shredding fiascos were spliced back together and used in a final mix.

During the same period, another visionary, Owen Bradley, known as the father of the Nashville Sound started the first recording studio on Music Row in Nashville in 1955. The studio was built in the basement of a house on 16th Avenue South, then moved into an attached Quonset hut. The studio comprised several microphones, an Ampex 350 mono tape recorder, and an Ampex MX-10 mono mixer. Pretty modest considering the Patsy Cline hits “Crazy” and “I Fall to Pieces” were recorded there.

Over the years, the studio equipment improved, and the studio grew in size. It was purchased by Columbia records who expanded the facilities and the Quonset hut became studio B. Johnny Cash, Roger Miller, Simon & Garfunkel, The Byrds, Elvis Costello and Bob Dylan were artists who recorded there.

Other than Sun Studios, arguably the birthplace of rock-n-roll, the two studios most synonymous with rock artists are Electric Lady and Abby Road studios. Both studios appeared as the name of albums; Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland and the last Beatles album to be recorded Abby Road.

By the late 1960s, as rock music became the dominate industry force, recording studio techniques demanded more versatile and expansive recording tools. One of the most noted of those tools was the EMI TG12345 Mixing console. The design requirements for the console were submitted to EMI Research Laboratories by engineers at Abby Road and called for a 24 channel, 8-track mixing console with EQ (bass and treble) and presences controls.

The console was delivered to Abby Road in 1968 and took center stage as the sound processing catalyst for legendary producer/engineer Alan Parsons. Parson was an assistant engineer for the Beatle’s recording of Abby Road, and the lead engineer for Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. By the late 60s and early 70s, recording studios entered a new era, raising the bar for professional recordings, and opening the door for the emerging digitally based music.

(c) 2016/2023 Symphonycs Press

The Democratization and Reemergence of the Music Industry: The 3 Keys to Success.

Welcome to the music industry in the third decade of the new millennium. A place that is both exciting and terrifying. As most musicians know, the “Old Guard” has all but collapsed. However, outside of the major music companies and labels, there is more music available now than ever before. There are more avenues to access music than ever before. There are no barriers to enter the market. There is more recorded music (free for the taking) than ever before. So … what does it all mean?

First … it means the musician today needs to work harder than they ever did before. They need to work harder to create an audience. They will be more dependent on that audience to earn a living because their “Live” performance will be where they earn most if not all of their income. There is no longer a real market for media (Vinyl, CDs, DVDs) Recorded music for the time being will only be the means of marketing a performer … a digital Brochure, marquee, poster, business card … take your pick … but not something you charge for.

Secondly …the challenge will be for the independents to find their market. There is strength in numbers. Meaning, the independents who can unite in a particular genre, find investment money, and successfully market the artists will be the next music moguls. The Individuals who will cultivate artists and provide an alternative to the current dismal corporate culture will change the business as we know it.

The third key … is orchestrating the tools. The individuals with the vision to find new ways to combine the old and new, and understand how to introduce cultural change… they will be the entrepreneurs, technologists, artists, and game changers who will usher in a new era.

We are only in a transition period. If you look to the past, you can see the future. Remember the pathfinders from the previous era. Barry Gordy and Motown, Owen Bradley and the Nashville Sound, and the Beatles who changed rock n’ roll. Change is coming and opportunity awaits. It’s up to us to recognize and welcome it.

(c) 2016/2023 Symphonycs Press

Using Your Passion to Inspire Others During This Tough Time.

Most of the people I know want to help during this pandemic. They donate money, they offer to donate their time, and they offer ideas. While money can help, (please continue to donate) unless you’re a member of the medical community or have a good understanding of epidemiology, expect your offers to be politely refused or even ignored. It’s frustrating.

So, what can you do? The short answer – a lot. Social distancing aside, put your passion to work and involve others when possible. For example, I know people who have talked about developing a software product (application, game, device controller) and have never had the time to do it. Now is the time. And guess what? You can find people to help. All you need to do is reach out. My prediction is that startups will be cultivated during this crisis and new companies will appear. BE ONE OF THEM. If you know a technical writer, programmer, tester, and have a modicum of project management ability, you can get the ball rolling.

If you are a musician, ask yourself what is the one thing you put on the back burner. Is it writing/composing? What are you waiting for? Is it learning to play a complicated musical piece? Make that your day job. Is it teaching? Record classes and put them on the web. Don’t hesitate. It’s your chance; take it.

Are you good at cooking? Prepare a meal for your family and put your recipe out on the internet. People will appreciate what you offer. You don’t have to be the next Iron Chef, you just need to have passion in what you do and want to share it. You may inspire the next brilliant chef (maybe your own child).

Are you a carpenter? Do you have technical abilities? Share them. Who knows, after this ordeal your talents could be in demand. Let people know they exist. Give now and be surprised at what you may get later.

There are so many ways to communicate with the world and put your ideas into action (without leaving your home). Use technology to your advantage and share your talents. You have everything to gain by doing it. I barely touched on all the talents people possess that can inspire others during this tough time. SHARE THEM.

Stay safe … and let me know how you’re doing.