Airplane video music background sounds?

John Baker

John Baker

Final Approach
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John Baker
I'm wondering what is more preferred by you guys who like to watch airplane videos, the ones whose only sounds are from the aircraft involved with assorted radio transmissions and voices, you know, how it actually sounds, or the ones with music backgrounds?

Myself, I would rather hear the real sounds or no sound at all, rather than some of the music backgrounds that seem to permeate many airplane videos.

John
 
I absolutely despise the "music" that a lot of the videos have. Give me real audio. Please don't waste the time putting junk with it.
 
If any background music is involved, something with no lryics.
 
Being a contrarian I prefer music to sounds, especially when it's just the sound of an airplane engine droning on and on.
 
$0.02 input: I like aviation vids that have an unubtrusive soundtrack (instrumental or light vocal) ALONG with live radio/intercom chatter. I do that for my own videos and it makes the flying seem more "fun" and less like an instructional film. I like videos that are edited to highlight important scenes and leave out the ho-hum stuff.

I also like to pull down the soundtrack when radio chatter is happening and then push it back up when there's little action. A good example is the current Discovery Channel series Flying Wild Alaska. That's a fun show to watch.

I cannot stand aviation videos that try to be MTV-generation videos clips with loud, headbanger rock and lightening edits one after another.

On the other hand . . . five minutes of watching some dude at the controls as his plane drones along . . . and along . . . and along are b-o-r-i-n-g.
 
It would depend on the video and content.

It's all about composition.

A sequential run of something like the hard core night carrier landings in high seas video, radio and airplanes only.
Something artistically arranged, appropriate music.
There's nothing wrong with balance instead of extremes. This one works.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSxAAIYKPsM&feature=related

If music is going to be there, it has to be something appropriate to what is happening visually. Don't be putting head banging rapper acid rock on at the national ballet and don't put mushy wordy depressed country stuff on an up close tactical air strike. I don't care how much you like the music or the video, if they don't relate and reinforce each other, one of the two has to go.

Anything, and I mean anything at all, including very tiny sound clips or a handful of identifiable notes, from top gun is out. I can't stand that anymore. I instantly turn it off. That stuff is as overused as that annoying hawk sound clip that everyone and their drugged up neighbors uses. It's flat out repulsive due to extreme overuse.
 
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Just had another thought on this subject. In my previous life as a skydiver I found that my favorite skydiving videos to watch were the ones that made me re-live the whole jumping experience. The semi-documentary style, I guess you'd call it.

I like seeing the jumpers load into the plane, a scene or two of the ride up with the pre-jump preps and high fives, the sound of the door opening at altitude, seeing the jumpers dive out, the freefall phase, the canopies opening, under canopy, the landings, and even the post-jump celebrations.

As an aviation junky, I love the ENTIRE experience. So, a perfect flying video would incorporate as much of the process as possible while showing the pilot and his passengers enjoying it--with a suitable soundtrack beneath the chatter.

I like this topic because I bought one of those flightcams from Sportys.com that takes the audio input from the panel and I hope to start making lots of videos to share once I finish my training.

OK, make that $0.03. :wink2:
 
Frank,
That video is as close to perfect as it gets. Excellent in all aspects! :thumbsup:
 
I received all kinds of criticism for adding music to this video that I had put together showing the Delta Air Lines DC-3 at the Orlando airport.


The main reason for the criticism was that it covered up the sound of the DC-3 but in actuality the way the video was shot some of it was shot indoors so you wouldn't have heard the sound of the engines and the rest of it I had problems with the original audio so I used the music to cover up the deficiencies in the audio track.
 
That video is as close to perfect as it gets. Excellent in all aspects!
Click to expand...

Composition is everything.

Perfect is subjective though. Perfection in the eyes of some will get you justifiably fired for incompetence in the eyes of others. I've done a LOT of work in live theatre and have been taught to see, not just look. I step back and consider the whole environment objectively and can see quite a few opportunities to fix problems that I don't like because it just doesn't fit. (What's up with the screeching tire sound at the end? It's cute but doesn't fit at all) On the whole though, it's very good material.

I received all kinds of criticism for adding music to this video that I had put together showing the Delta Air Lines DC-3 at the Orlando airport.
Click to expand...

You established from the beginning that the music was supporting the video and stuck with it. Consistency. I see no problem there. You weren't making a video dedicated to the sound of a DC3 engine. Some of the live airport sounds you couldn't do much with though but no big deal.
Plot, characters, theme, diction, music, spectacle. :thumbsup:
 
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rpadula said:
Kenny Loggins. Danger Zone. FTW. :thumbsup::D
Click to expand...


:incazzato:


The two major no-nos IMHO are 1) using the same damn song everyone else used because the word "fly" or "flying" is heard at some point, or it's from a popular movie about pilots or flying (I SO do not want to hear "Danger Zone" or "Learning to Fly", etc. again!)... and 2) being all "purist" with ambient audio when said audio is just garbage (all those cool air-to-air clips where all you hear is the slipstream destroying the mic, etc).

I've tried so hard to get great airshow audio, for example, but without a rather expensive shotgun mic (and a compatible camcorder or portable audio recorder (which would then require you to sync video and audio later), 9 times out of 10 I get people talking nearby or another aircraft idling, taxiing, or running up nearby. It's heartbreaking... the equivalent to someone's head moving into frame as you're shooting that perfect video or photo moment. :cryin:

I think a judicious mix of ambient sound and music can be great...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Dk6QOJ0efQ

You gotta love the sound of the Champ, but when you want to present enough nice visual stuff that the clip's getting long, that BBBBBLLLLAAAATTT gets stale after a while, IMHO. In this one, the ambient track is still there, but it's way down in the mix. I think I succeeded in picking a song that goes well with the video, and the subject matter of the song "Found a Brand New Baby" is also apropos, even if it's an obscure reference.
But I like to fade back to ambient sometimes...for landings, in particular, because the engine is subdued and you can hear some interesting noises.

I also use just music...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEz4lPwo82U

When I use music, I try to edit the video to the music. I hated to crank up the beginning of the song again, but I didn't want to delete the last few shots. It sort of worked with this one, especially when it goes to the same song over the loudspeaker at the end.
Reminds me of a flying video pet peeve: IF YOU NEED MORE THAN ONE SONG FOR YOUR CLIP, IT'S TOO LONG!!! :incazzato:

Then there's just ambient audio...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gip53AjfPLs

I tried to keep the camcorder out of the slipstream most of the time, which helped. And a little editing goes a long way... I try to keep these clips short and to the point. But this was a rare success, audio-wise; it's hard to get ambient in-cockpit or in-cabin audio that actually enhances the whole thing.
 
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Guy I know used Jimmy Buffet's "Why don't we get drunk..." as the background music in his airplane videos.

(it's funnier if you know the rest of the verse...)

I put music in mine because the cameras are usually mounted externally on the airplane and there's nothing TO hear except wind buffet.

Ron Wanttaja
 
Music, definitely.
Videos that have that engine drone for a soundtrack make me turn off the sound for the same reason I put on headphones when I fly, to get rid of the racket.
Proper selection of the music is critical though. No "headbanger" music as someone else pointed out.
The music in the sailplane video that Jim posted is perfect for the mission.
Here is one of my favorites where the music fits the flying perfectly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9T51UsuaPU
 
I can go either way. A couple of videos of our 182 have had some nice stuff by the Air Force Singing Sargents in the background, but I didn't edit those. Nice change of pace compared to the usual "stereotypical" music behind aviation videos.

The trick is probably to be creative.

And if you're mixing a live audio track with headphone/intercom chatter and ATC radios along with the music, learn how to use the Auto Ducking feature in Audacity and prep the audio track before adding it back into the video. :thumbsup:
 
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