Dare I inquire about Rio?

[Mr. Hyde]

Or will I be mocked by some young pup once more?

I read that there are problems with the audio on the dvd, major problems. Can anyone confirm this?

 

[rabies]

I have not ordered it yet. I have seen comments about the sound problems though. It sounds like that is only a problem if you don't have a system that fully supports dolby 5.1 or DTS. There is not stereo mix of the audio track..so if you try playing the DVD on a system that does not support 5.1, the sound dips as something gets directed to another channel (that does not exists on a mere stereo system).

I'll order it tonight and let you know. I have full support for DTS, dolby 5.1 and dolby stereo.

Odd that they didn't bother to provide a dolby stereo soundtrack..only 5.1 and DTS. They must have done some wild things in the audio mix...can't wait to hear it.

 

[rabies]

Ok..
I picked it up at bestbuy on the way from work. $14.99 - can't beat that price.

I watch the concert DVD (Its a 2 dvd set. 1 concert, 1 interviews)...all the way up to the 2nd encore (hallowed) before I ran out of time.

Sounds pretty damn good. They mixed it so that it sounds like you are in the front row of the concert...the audience sounds are mostly coming from the rear speakers. Dave is panned hard left, Jannick is panned hard right..and Adrian is coming from the center channel. Drums/bass and Bruce are distributed evenly along the front 3 speakers.

I am not sure how normal dolby stereo would handle it all...I have not tried yet....but the concert DVD definately only suppports DTS 5.1 and dolby 5.1. If you have the home theatre system, its a definate buy. Almost like being there.

....and the camera footage cuts back and forth real fast. They even brag about it on the website..how there are some 1000 cuts in the video footage. gets a bit dizzying sometimes. =(

For 15 bucks...its awesome!

 

[rabies]

Oh..and I have to add...the packaging is kinda...neat...but kinda a let down at the same time.

 

[Eddies cellmate]

I'll be buying it for certain, but I hate that "action scene" fast cut editing.

 

[Mr. Hyde]

F***, 14.99 for the dvd +$300 or so for a home theater system.

I think I'll get it anyway and hope that it doesn't sound too bad through my stereo.

 

[Constantine]

As usual we get screwed in Canada. I paid $35.99 at HMV.

Constantine

 

[Mr. Hyde]

I'm watching Rio right now and I had to take a break. The audio isn't that bad, it does have level changes and such though.
The editing is total absolute crap in my opinion. Just my opinion, but this is the first time I've ever had to stop watching something because I started to feel nauseous. I just finished watching "Two Minutes to Midnight." I feel dizzy, and sick to my stomach. I've ridden many a roller coaster that haven't made me feel like this. Even the Gravitron doesn't phase me, but Steve's editing, beats 'em all. uke: uke:

 

[rabies]

LOL

It does get pretty freaking fast sometimes. Ah well. I watched parts of it again last night. The audio on a DTS 5.1 system is freaking awesome. Last night, I was playing by fading accross speakers...so i could isolate and listen to just what Adrian plays on a song like 'blood brothers'. Hee hee!

Sorry to hear you Canadians get screwed Constantine.

 

[Mr. Hyde]

The speed of the edit's bother me a lot, but also the lack of continuity from shot to shot. There is one spot where the camera is zooming out from close up to a really wide shot. Then it goes immediately to an extreme close up and starts to zoom out again. Then to a mid range shot that quickly zooms in to a close up.
I wish Steve would have thought a little bit more about what people are used to seeing before he made some of those edits.


I guess the editing really is an artistic thing so I can't say that Steve didn't have the right to edit it anyway he thought worked, but it seemed (IMO) to expose his lack of knowledge about film. My lack of knowledge about the subject inhibits my ability to clearly describe what I mean, but I'll try.

If a camera is panning slowly from the left of the stage to center, the next logical thing (IMO) would be for the camera to zoom in to something on center, zoom out, or cut to a close up of something that was present in the previous shot. Maybe even to continue panning to the far right.
Steve's editing often goes drastically away from what feels natural to me. He might begin with a pan from left to right, as it reaches center stage, cut immediatly to a pan from far right to center, to a close up of the crowd as seen from the stage.
That freaks my brain out. Maybe that's what he wanted?

 

[rabies]

So i've watched it some more and have come to realize that the ONLY thing coming out of hte center speaker is Adrian. bruce/drums/bass are split accross the front right and left speakers on a 5.1 system.

..so on a stereo system, I guess its very possible that youguys hear very little/no Adrian.

On the other hand..i now know without a doubt who does what/when during blood brothers..so if you guys still want to cover that..I am game.

..and Hyde..I agree. The video editing does not make much sense....and one thing the guys on the maiden BB pointed out is that they cut to Nicko WAY too often. I thought It was crap when I read it, but watching it again, I realize they cut to Nicko at least once every 15 seconds or more. I like the guy and all... but 'Drum cams' are not particularly exciting..

 

[Eddies cellmate]

Well, I've picked it up and watched it once so far.

Oddly, on my little TV stereo, it's Jannick that I can't hear, not Adrian. I see that I'll need to get my TV setup up to par to hear this one correctly.

As for the editing.... I can't say that I like it.

In my opinion, it's shot too much like an action movie or something, rather than like a concert. I think that the goal of a DVD like this one is to somewhat capture and recreate the concert experience. That means that there should be plenty of wide shots with just enough close ups to draw the viewer in. I really don't want to feel like I'm on the stage for the whole show. It feels unnatural. And even if an editor wants to add a lot of cut scenes, they should last long enough for the viewer's eye to settle on something. Many of the cut scenes in RIR are so damn fast that it's hard to focus on any one thing in any of the shots. By the time your eye settles on something, it cuts to another scene. It's like trying to pick out and follow one fly in a whole swarm of flies. By the end of it, you're cross-eyed with a pounding headache. :s

 

[rabies]

..so you guys already kinda know this..but I accidentally listened to this DVD today with my Home Theatre system set to manual stereo (was that way for the Stevie Ray DVD I was watching)...about 45 seconds into I was like. 'wtf is wrong with my system! This DVD sounds like crap today! What is with all of these sound dips?' I honestly thought something was majorly wrong with my system. When I realized it was the fact that I was playing in Stereo and not 5.1 surround..I was a bit relieved.

Man..I can't tell you how crappy this DVD sounds in stereo compared to 5.1. If you guys ever get a chance, try to listen to it in full DTS or Dolby 5.1. Its almost a completely different soundtrack.

 

[oooarrr33]

Well, I for one think that the edits are good! The fast camera changes help to convey the energy of the night. If I watched it from one Camera angle, I'd get bored! However I do think steve went overboard a little bit, but, I mean, at least an option to watch from different camera angles would've been nice. Ah well, I cant complain, I love it!

 

[rabies]

All a matter of taste i guess. I don't think the video editing is that bad...it certainly does not make me feel ill..

I do think multiple camera angles would have rocked...that would be uber-cool...for any concert DVD.

For example, I have the G3 DVD....and there is this one Vai lick on the attitude song that I wanted to see where he plays on the neck...well..I eagerly wait for that section in the concert...and a half a second before the lick starts, the video cuts to a shot from behind Vai looking out into the audience...after the lick was done, they cut back to looking at him from the front again - almost as if he specifically did not WANT me to see what he was doing there!
Grrr!

 

[Mr. Hyde]

I've watched Rio a couple of more times now and I'm able to enjoy it a little bit more. The editing is fast and changes too quickly from one shot to the next for me to fully get into it but the lack of continuity from one shot to the next is what I think made me feel sick when I first watched it.
It was worth the money I paid for it. My gripe is that I think it had the potential to be a lot better. For one, a lot of the stage show that they had when I saw them is missing from Rio. Maybe they had some of the same things going on but I can't see them.
Another thing is that, since the shots of Nicko are frequent, the wanne be drummer in me wants to see his foot during those ultra quick patterns he plays but it usually only shows him briefly during a fill. It's the same for me with the other guys, I want to see Steve doing some of his faster gallops and such so I can really focus on his technique. I wouldn't want an entire song to focus on one thing but the guys in Maiden know what parts are difficult to play and I would like to watch them do it. I also wish they'd given everyone a little bit more camera time during some of their solos and such.
Maybe there is a little bit of a dichotomy here between those who need the quick 15 second shots to maintain their attention and those of us who want the long sustained shots so we can immerse ourselves into something specific.
Maybe Steve made this with the younger fans in mind thinking that they are all used to rapid fire images from video games and tv?

Maybe I'm just turing into an old grumpy bastage!

 

[rabies]

actually..i think the average shot on rio is about 3 seconds. A 15 second shot WOULD be a long shot.

But I think you have a point... Fast editing does seem more popular with the younger crowd.