In space everyone can hear you scream

[Istagi]

I can hear the grumbles now about how this is going to be another nitpick essay about how there is no sound in space. Well breath easy because this is a defense of sound and to some extent explosions in our favorite space action movies.


I know that sound can not exist in space, most people already know and accept that. Many have also had that fact proven to them in High School chemistry by the instructor placing a ringing alarm clock in a vacumn bell and sucking the air out. The sound of the clock does fade away and nearly dies out all together.

As a person who enjoys watching movies, and who further enjoys watching the rare good sci-fi/sci-action film scientific reality in regards to sound is not something that I want.

2001, from what I remember, was scientificaly accurate in regards to sound. Large majestic space crafts floating across a star field accompanied by classical music. You know what it worked.

2001 however is a very different animal than lets say Starship Troopers, the recently released Space Cowboys, and our all time favorite Star Wars. These movies were faster paced with rockets igniting, laser blasts, explosions, and masive collisions.

Here on Earth these events are accompanied by massive and complex sounds. Anyone who has had the privilage of even watching a smaller Delta rocket launch from 3 miles away will describe the stomach wrenching feel of the soundwaves.

Since we all watch movies with our ears as well as our eyes, if you doubt that why do we even have DPL, DD, DTS, THX, SDDS*, 2 channel, 4 channel, or even 7.1 in our own home theaters. We humans are acustomed to hearing sound with an explosion. I bet it even goes farther than that or we would not have that oversized subwoofer sitting in the corner, or have you got two or more of them .

Try this once, watch a recent space action movie with your reciever remote in your hand and hit mute every time there is an exterior space shot....... ACK! I will almost guarante that you will feel the same disconect as I do.

If some producer was actually stupid enough to produce a space action flic that was sonicly accurate we would all think it stunk simply because what we have come to expect will not happen.

I say let it rip. I want my explosions, laser blasts, and rocket roars, they are fun and make the movie more enjoyable.

David Brown Eyes


*Yes I am quite aware that SDDS is only a theater format and there are no plans for the company to produce a home version.

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David Brown Eyes
Moderator of the Now Playing forum.

** this space for rent **
Istagi's DVD's"

[Chumley]

What brought this rant on?

[Taxi]

Uh, this place is called the Soapbox. It's for people to rant, although I hardly think that is an accurate word for describing what Istagi has written.

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Taxi - DVDFile Forum Administrator
Eleven plus two = Twelve plus one

[This message has been edited by Taxi (edited 04-20-2001).]

[Chumley]

I'm just wondering what inspired it, jeez.

[roger thornhill]

I appreciate the correct sound (or lack thereof) in 2001, but I'm glad for the classical music (which I'm pretty sure you also can't hear in a vacuum )

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dds #070

[clortho]

Well, as long as there is something to conduct the sound, technically there is sound in space..albeit limited!

Parts of space may be a vacuum, but not all of space is a vacuum with the gases, nebulae, and dust floating around.

I'm not saying that space movies are by and large accurate, just that not all of space is a soundless vacuum...the earth is in space afterall. Apples and oranges, I know, but it's just a point.

Clortho

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I am the Keymaster
clortho@hotmail.com

[lesmeek]

I don't care if there is sound in space or not. It really does not matter. All I care about when watching a sci-fi movie is that it is a SCIENCE FICTION movie - I love them all - the great ones along with the cheesy tin can ones, the nothing but action ones along with the think pieces.

[Taxi]

Not to go down a rat-hole...

Yes, the Earth is in space, and there is sound on the Earth, but that is only because there is an atmosphere on Earth. Sound vibrates the air molecules, which transports the sound.

No Air = No Sound

But I agree with Istagi that it makes for a better movie to have exploding ships in space make exploding sounds. (And fire for that matter.)

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Taxi - DVDFile Forum Administrator
Eleven plus two = Twelve plus one

[clortho]

Well, my point was that not all of space (outside of planet atmospheres) is a pure vaccum. There are plenty of packets of dust, gas, etc to conduct sound (in those instances). Flying through empty space, no sound, but fly through gases and nebulae, there's gonna be sound conducted, that's all.

Clortho

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I am the Keymaster
clortho@hotmail.com

[Miggy]

What about movies and shows that seem to forget space is 3 dimensional. Especially ST: Voyager. There's an object blocking our path. It will take 8 years to go around it. What do we do? Why not go over or under it?!

Miggy, the Thief

[clortho]

Hmm, in most of my memories on voyager the 'phenomena' is displayed as 3 dimensional and the estimated trip time is for going around it at its shortest length or any way they choose to go around it (up, down, left, right, sideways, etc), so it ends up being a 'the straight line is more difficult but shorter' instance. Though I find many of the battles in nearly all sci-fi movies-shows forgetting 3 dimensionality and just going head to head.

Clortho

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I am the Keymaster
clortho@hotmail.com

[roger thornhill]

That was Khan's mistake in Star Trek 2

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dds #070

[clortho]

Yup..that's one of the few instances where there was a clear 3 dimensional battle plan.

Clortho

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I am the Keymaster
clortho@hotmail.com

[This message has been edited by clortho (edited 04-20-2001).]

[Lo Pan]

This whole 'sounds in space' deal is pathetically easy to explain away. The microphones recording the explosion were on the ship that blew. How's that? (Yes, I'm being silly, but not as much as the 'space scenes should be silent' argument.)

And the explosions happen because all the gases stored within the ship have to go somewhere. Why can't they ignite and flare outwards?

Sci-fi is fiction. It ain't a documentary. I don't see anyone complaining because the ships travel faster than light.

"Oh, how could they film that? The camera wouldn't work properly, because it's traveling faster than light."

**Sigh**

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"Who are these...friends of yours? Now, this really pisses me off to no end!"

[clortho]

Well, technically a lot of sci-fi shows don't travel faster than light, they bend space around them to form a squeezing bubble (warp field) and that propels them through altered space thereby not even considering the relative speed of light.

Clortho

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I am the Keymaster
clortho@hotmail.com

[1138]

You are a geek. Wear your badge with pride!

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1138 - DVD File Forum Greeter
I have given a name to my pain, and it is Batman.

[LtlPhysics]

Those noble gases and beautiful nebulae we are familiar with are quite diffuse, should you find yourself inside one of them. It's only on Star Trek that you can disappear into the soup in the nick of time.

[Ambushbug]

Speaking of Voyager, it's too bad they didn't remember a WORMHOLE in the Gamma quadrant. Ok, ok. Maybe the wormhole entrance would have been a greater distance than a straight line to the Alpha quadrant, but could have at least dropped a line to that effect in the pilot episode...

And while we're throwing down the StarTrek gauntlet, what about those tears/rips/holes in space. Um, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't space considered to be an absence of anything. In other words, space is nothing. How does "nothing" get a hole in it? Damn, I knew I should've taken those physics course...

AB

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"You think you know fear? I've seen them naked!"

[Taxi]

Space is a vacuum, but that doesn't mean it's nothing. Space has dimension, otherwise you couldn't travel through it.

Since the universe is supposedly expanding, you could say whatever is just past where the current universe exists is "nothing". But when I try to think about that, it makes my head hurt.

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Taxi - DVDFile Forum Administrator
Eleven plus two = Twelve plus one

[1138]

I don't think it even has an edge. If you go far enough long enough, you'll just end up back where you were. Space is curved.

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1138 - DVD File Forum Greeter
I have given a name to my pain, and it is Batman.


[This message has been edited by 1138 (edited 04-25-2001).]

[Lightivity]

And if it's not curved, and you do get to the end of it, you would be so far away that you couldn't contact anyone on earth about it...which would probably mean that your experience wouldn't be worth anything. If you can't generate any meaningful feedback, you wont stay human for long

[This message has been edited by Lightivity (edited 04-25-2001).]

[LtlPhysics]

Space is curved by the matter within it and the notion that you would eventually bump into the back of your head requires more matter, both visible and dark, than the Universe has. Of course that could change overnight.

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Throttle, more throttle

[Eye]

Of course that could change overnight.

There's night in space?

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..:: Eye | Moderator | eye@dvdfile.com | Picture of foot. | AIM: heavybutt