March 26, 2008

CHACE READIES 'CLOSE ENCOUNTERS' SOUNDTRACK FOR BLU-RAY RELEASE

The Blu-ray release includes the first home video release of the complete 1977 Original Theatrical Edition, as well as the re-edited 1980 Theatrical Special Edition and Spielberg’s Director’s Cut, which was originally released in 1998 on the Collector’s Edition DVD. Chace Audio relied on Clarity Audio Restoration by plangent processes and Chace Digital Stereo to bring the soundtracks to their maximum fidelity. In 1998, Chace worked on Close Encounters of the Third Kind for its initial DVD release, but the new incarnation benefits significantly from recent technological advances made in audio restoration.

“Chace Audio was already intimately familiar with the vast amount of audio material from Close Encounters of the Third Kind from our previous work on the first DVD release,” says Grover Crisp, VP, asset management & film restoration, Sony Pictures Entertainment. “We sought to maximize the capabilities of the Blu-ray format while remaining true to the artistic integrity of each version of the film. The amount of audio content required, because of subtle mix differences in each version and the desire to maximize the overall fidelity of the soundtracks as much as possible, made this a challenging project.”

To present the three versions, Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition uses a relatively new technique called “branching.” While the continuity of the films is nearly identical, there are several scene with dialogue and music differences. Branching works by incorporating each version’s unique scenes and the scenes common to all the films, providing a seamless rendition with continuity flowing together as if it were a single recording. In terms of audio, the high data capacity of Blu-ray also allowed for the presentations of both DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby Digital TrueHD audio selections. This is Sony’s first DTS-HD track for Blu-ray.

Chace Audio improved overall fidelity by returning to the two original 35mm magnetic soundtracks that together contained all of the audio for all three versions. These mags included a 35mm 6-track (L/boom/C/boom/R/S 70mm version) from the 1977 Original Theatrical version, which provided the bulk of the source material, and also the 6-track from the 1980 Special Edition.

These were digitized at 96kHz and 24-bits to take advantage of the higher bit-rate encoding offered on Blu-ray. A digital transfer on the Sondor OMA-SE Chace, was then made for the Clarity process. Clarity is a combination of proprietary digital signal processing and hardware designed for the playback of 35mm magnetic sound film and audiotape to remove mechanical instabilities. Clarity was a critical tool to correct the instability anomalies that were the result of the analog technology used in the 1970s to record the film.

“Clarity does not add any new information to the audio, but simply reveals the maximum potential of the original recordings,” notes senior digital audio restoration engineer Brian San Marco. “Today most restoration or re-mastering technology relies on removing or adding content, often to the detriment of the original material. It was essential that a film of this caliber be presented with the highest audio integrity, and Clarity proved critical to improving the fidelity.”

Clarity also delivered stability to composer John William’s score, especially in portions featuring long sustained strings, and it improved the intelligibility of the dialogue, even in scenes where it might otherwise sound muffled.

The final mix sessions took place in Chace Audio’s Mix One studio and were completed by senior mixing engineer James Young. In all, Chace engineers spent over 300 hours preparing Close Encounters of the Third Kind for its 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition Blu-ray debut.