Gunbarrels with Enhanced Audio
Matt S
Oh Cult Voodoo ShopPosts: 6,610MI6 Agent
Something in the latest episode of James Bond Radio struck a nerve with me. Neither John nor Tom liked the Moonraker gun barrel music, and I think it's because it sounds very muffled in the film. Moonraker's score might be my favourite of the entire Bond series, and I love the gun barrel music too. Because it sounds so muffled in the film, I was curious to hear how John Barry probably intended it to sound ,so I re-equalized the sound.
Listen here: https://youtu.be/cZgfG8t8xhY
I raised the highs quite a bit so the opening stabs have more attack and so that the trumpets really come through. I added reverb too so it sounds livelier. The whole thing sound sharper now. The opening stabs were also much lower in volume, and the first one fades in so there's no attack. I made the first stabs the same volume as the rest, but had a difficult time adding attack to the beginning, though I did what I could. It sounds much more fierce to me now in a way I never heard it before. I have no training in audio engineering, and this was just for fun.
Listen here: https://youtu.be/cZgfG8t8xhY
I raised the highs quite a bit so the opening stabs have more attack and so that the trumpets really come through. I added reverb too so it sounds livelier. The whole thing sound sharper now. The opening stabs were also much lower in volume, and the first one fades in so there's no attack. I made the first stabs the same volume as the rest, but had a difficult time adding attack to the beginning, though I did what I could. It sounds much more fierce to me now in a way I never heard it before. I have no training in audio engineering, and this was just for fun.
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Comments
The later John Barry gunbarrels have never been my favourite though. I feel like all of the 1963-1971 gunbarrels had very distinctive sounds which make them very interesting.
Then as Barry enters the Roger Moore era his gunbarrels start to become a bit less interesting to me in their variety. TMWTGG and MR are still fairly distinctive but then from OP to TLD they all sound pretty much the same to me which is a little disappointing. One wish I've always had is that Barry would have created a distinctive Dalton gunbarrel for TLD.
I will have a go at that, but it already sounds livelier than the Moonraker one, so I don't know how much I can do with it.
I have to admit, the OP, AVTAK and TLD gun barrels are some of my favourites, even though they essentially are the same. I agree that Dalton should have had a more unique sound, especially since he had the drum machine for his Bond theme. But Barry probably thought the drum machine was too much for the gun barrel.
The Man with the Golden Gun: https://youtu.be/mMFkIL4s0Oc
Moonraker: https://youtu.be/cZgfG8t8xhY
The Man with the Golden Gun really sounds sloppy when the treble is enhanced. There are some wrong notes, and the musicians aren't all playing together.
I'm working on Octopussy now. It's one of my favourites and I think the music needs some help to hear it better.
Octopussy: https://youtu.be/1tHGQ7xx5Vw
A View to a Kill: https://youtu.be/DksmefiXMkY
Octopussy has long been my favourite gunbarrel sequence, and now I can hear new things in the arrangement and instrumentation.
Good work, Matt S. I do prefer it when you hear the big brass blasts over the white dots. I didn't like how David Arnold just went into the main theme for TOMORROW NEVER DIES & THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH. Marvin Hamlisch did the same with THE SPY WHO LOVED ME. Sound a bit flat by comparison.
Thanks! Merry Christmas to you too!
I completely agree. I thought Thomas Newman did the worst job by having the big brass over a black screen. Every time I hear that I think something went wrong. TLD is the last gunbarrel sequence I think is without fault, both visually and musically.
I too have come to the conclusion THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS has the best gunbarrel. Great arrangement of theme & strident walk by Dalton. Classic.
Of the none John Barry arrangements, I like George Martin & Bill Conti best. Love Moore's firing at camera in his first two.
And of course my fondest affection for Barry's DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER arrangement. Don't like Connery's wonky swivel but do like the sepia sheen on the gunbarrel. And I love the thick twangy guitar sound compounded by the brass stabs.
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Thank you! I'm glad you liked them.
I think he might actually miss though! If you watch closely I think he fires way off target then points the gun at the camera