Bad f/x: HBO's The Pacific

[Neopeius]

Am I alone here?

So I've watched 6 eps of this show, thus far. It stands out as a sterling (but hardly unique) example of focusing on visual f/x to the extent that audio f/x are utterly neglected.

Never mind the dull, mawkish music. I really wish someone would make a movie where the explosion sounds are not simultaneous with explosion sights. It is so jarring and unrealistic. Or how about planes which only make noise when they appear on the screen even if they've been overhead the whole time?

*sigh*

The only movie that ever got it right (and then only for one scene) was Master and Commander. Flash. Boom. KABLAM! Awesome.

 

[Beagleman]

You're right.
But I'm guilty of only noticing sound effects when tey are done espacially well, Master and Commander is a great example for that! I even got a kick out of a scene in Attack of the Clones when it took a few moments for the thunder to be heard after lightning in the background (and thats something movies always get wrong and I just don't get it, have the people in charge never experienced an actual thunderstorm?)
When it's done badly I barely notice the audio fx, guess I'm just so used to it...

 

[Bisz]

I'm not a fan of the vfx on this show either (or the whole show, but that's another matter). In comparison to BoB I think The Pacific is a total and utter letdown, the planes flying overhead are grainy and out of focus, and that's when they bother to shown them in the first place versus the cop-out of a rumbling sound and the guys ducking their heads.

 

[Data Holmes]

Neo, while I agree with you on the explosions, I must say that I don't fully agree with you on the planes. I live in an area which is heavily traversed by all manner of air traffic. We have everything from small single prop civil planes, to mid sized twin turbo prop private planes, to both civilian and military helicopters, v22 ospreys, prop driven commercial and cargo planes, private jets, and all sizes of commercial and cargo jets.

Many times you will not hear the planes untill they have flown over and past you.

There are many things to take into account, from how high the plane is throttled up, to barometric pressure, humidity, wind, the planes elevation... I've seen airliners up around 30 or 40 thousand feet and never heard them. I've seen single prop private planes fly over head where you only hear it for a few seconds, then nothing, then a few seconds, then nothing. Ect.

So, While Flash and Bang explosions from a distance bug the hell out of me, near silent aircraft until they are right over head I can accept.

 

[Neopeius]

There are many things to take into account, from how high the plane is throttled up, to barometric pressure, humidity, wind, the planes elevation... I've seen airliners up around 30 or 40 thousand feet and never heard them. I've seen single prop private planes fly over head where you only hear it for a few seconds, then nothing, then a few seconds, then nothing. Ect.

So, While Flash and Bang explosions from a distance bug the hell out of me, near silent aircraft until they are right over head I can accept.

Strangeness I've lived under the landing pattern of an airfield my entire life. It's true that acoustics can be fickle, but it's also true that planes to make noise even when you can't see them

 

[Data Holmes]

There are many things to take into account, from how high the plane is throttled up, to barometric pressure, humidity, wind, the planes elevation... I've seen airliners up around 30 or 40 thousand feet and never heard them. I've seen single prop private planes fly over head where you only hear it for a few seconds, then nothing, then a few seconds, then nothing. Ect.

So, While Flash and Bang explosions from a distance bug the hell out of me, near silent aircraft until they are right over head I can accept.

Strangeness I've lived under the landing pattern of an airfield my entire life. It's true that acoustics can be fickle, but it's also true that planes to make noise even when you can't see them

I live in northern NJ... Some of the busiest airspace in the country. You can set your watch by the timing of the airliners flying over head in some areas of town. We also have a major military instillation within 15 min's of my area as well, which is why we have had military aircraft fly over head... Some of the most interesting was when they were testing new night vision equipment and had Blackhawks and Apaches flying at tree top level one night...

The V22 aspreys are amazingly cool to watch when they fly over, sound like nothing you've ever heard.

 

[Neopeius]

The V22 aspreys are amazingly cool to watch when they fly over, sound like nothing you've ever heard.

How fun!

We have NAS.. er.. MAS Miramar nearby and Montgomery Field is next door so down in Clairemont, there's every type of traffic. Not to mention the stuff heading for Lindbergh field. Busy corridor!

I still say prop planes sound the best.

 

[SlyCardie]

I actually haven't noticed this, but I have 2 weeks of episodes to catch up on. I'll probably notice this now that I watch though.

 

[Lookingglassman]

SPOILERS This series was a disappointment. I read Leckie and Sledges books and if Hanks and Spielberg stayed more true to the books, it would have been alot better. Band of Brothers was way more true to the book and the characters were pretty easy to know who was who.

In this series, other than the guy who played Leckie and Sledge, I really didnt know who nobody else was. It just seemed like this series was trying to do too much in 10 episodes and alot of stuff was straight up "filler" that never happened our was embellished and coudl have been done differently.

Case in point: last night when Sledge met the wounded Okinawan lady. In the book she did grab his gun and want him to kill her because of the pain, but instead of holding her until she died like he did in the show, he actually went for a corpsman to help her and while he was outside her hut, a newbie marine walked in and shot her in the head instead. That would have been more poignant than trying to make the event into some kind of "marine has pity on the enemy" moment.

Characters like their hated LT "shadow" could have been developed more. The times "shadow" actually showed up in the series, he was nothing like the officer in the book. Also why couldnt they have found a better guy to play Sledge. That guy who played him was not convincing at all. Everytime he got "mad" he looked like some nerd trying to act tough. I wanted to jump in the screen and slap him and tell him to run home to mama. His buddy, Shelton I think, plays a battle scarred marine real well, but the Sledge character actor is horrible for this part.

 

[JustAFriend]

Other than more gore, these shows are just remakes of all the movies and TV shows from the '60s.

....grew up watching Combat! and 12 O'clock High....

 

[Skywalker]

Case in point: last night when Sledge met the wounded Okinawan lady. In the book she did grab his gun and want him to kill her because of the pain, but instead of holding her until she died like he did in the show, he actually went for a corpsman to help her and while he was outside her hut, a newbie marine walked in and shot her in the head instead. That would have been more poignant than trying to make the event into some kind of "marine has pity on the enemy" moment.

Sounds like they took that story and moved it forward to Sledge sparing that young Japanese soldier, only for some n00b Marine to blow him away instead.

 

[T'Bonz]

Eh, it's worth the watch just to see the deliciously twisted Snafu.

I ordered three books to go on my Kindle; Leckie's, Sledges and The Pacific one. Can't wait to find the time to read 'em.

 

[Lookingglassman]

SPOILERS

Skywalker, That incident with the young Japanese never happened, at least it wasnt in the book. Nor was the scene where the Japanese chick blew herself up. Sledge never wrote about anything like that happeneing.

T'Bonz - the books are MUCH better than the series. When they started advertising for this series they kept crowing about how it will show war brutality and how tough the war was in the Pacific. Well if they actually went by the books then they woud have shown wars brutality.

Many Marines lost their minds during these battles, yet you really dont see that in the series. Yeah they had that one scene on Sunday when a Marine started shooting at the Japanese and screaming at them and when his buddies went to grab him one got shot (in the book the guy started running toward the enemy hollering and was tackled and taken way and NOBODY got shot because of him). It just seems like they just through this together.

There are many things in the books that would have shown war is truly hell, but they either watered it down or didnt show it.

 

[T'Bonz]

Dunno man, I've found it to be at times rather brutal. I winced at various things, like the guy with his head blown off, and where Snafu was chucking rocks into it.

I don't think they needed to be 100% faithful to the books. Obviously, some things were altered to suit TV preferences.

The series started out slowly, but it picked up steam as it passed the midway part.