A DATE WITH "THE BRIDE" by Peter M. Bracke

Recently your webmaster paid a visit to a commentary track recording for the disc "The Bride Of Re-Animator." If you thought commentary track recordings were fun, quick and fascinating affairs, well, you are about halfway there...

Late in the week, I received a call from the fine folks at Sharpline Arts, one of the top special edition producers in the business. It didn't take me more than a second or two to say "yes" to their offer for a quick visit to the commentary track recording for The Bride Of Re-Animator, on which they were contributing to for a Pioneer Special Edition DVD. Since I've listened to my fair share of commentary tracks both good and bad, I certainly was intrigued to see how these things are recorded, and if the image of a bunch of filmmakers and thespians sitting around laughing and drinking beer was how it really goes down.

After making my way through obnoxious LA traffic, I arrived at the location of the recording, Chace Audio, a extensive audio post-production house for video, film and broadcast. Some of you more observant DVD watchers should recognize their name, especially their "Chace Surround Sound" test programs that appear on many discs. They have produced some major restoration challenges, including such recent projects as the Ben Hur, Wizard Of Oz and Calamity Jane six-channel remasters (see, I had to get some title info in their for you).

Chace took me on a tour of their facilities, and they are impressive to say the least. They are a oft-utilized facility for DVD production by most of the majors, providing such tech services as the "Chace Optical Sound Processor," "Sync Conversion," "Re-Vitalization Services" and "No Noise Audio Repair," as well as sweetening and voice-overs, amongst other things. Though I think I caught a lot of it, sound was never my forte, so most of the time, I just sat openmouthed while the talented audio folks twisted knobs and fiddled with switches and made everything sound really, really cool. Sweet!

Finding The Cheese

Anyway, after wandering around Chace and trying to find the actual commentary recording booth like a rat in a maze, I stumbled upon it by accident and said hello to the Sharpline folks and spied stars of the day, Bride Of Re-Animator director Brian Yuzna and star Jeffrey Combs. The first thing that struck me about the recording studio was its size. Perhaps because I'm an aw-shucks Midwestern kid at heart, I was expecting some giant room with chandeliers or something. In reality, recording studios are not for claustrophobic types!

Although I'm sure there are many kinds of setups, talking with a couple of techs, this track recording was pretty standard. There is the "control booth," so to speak, which is where I and the recordist were sitting, and then off in another adjacent room, visible through the glass, sits the commentary participants. They are "miked" up and have headphones, so they can listen to the audio without it interfering with the recording. A standard monitor (playing back a VHS copy of the film!) displays the video, and from there on out, it is pretty much what you would expect. The participants talk along with the picture, and off we go. (And, in the first five minutes, I managed to knock over a can a coke and in general make lots of noise like a big dork.)

Now, let's face it, we've all heard some pretty bad commentary tracks where the person just sits there and reiterates what is on screen, makes some sort of bodily noise, and then lets a bunch of dead space hang in the air like a moldy closet. Pretty terrible. Avoiding this is where the real work in producing a commentary track comes in, and what separates the amateurs from the those can actually produce a real piece of work, not just an adequate one. There is a difference between just recording people talking, and actually crafting and creating an entertaining and informative commentary track. Just how can this be done?

An Art Versus An Exercise

Now here is my cue to introduce the men behind the mask of Sharpline Arts. If you think you are unfamiliar with their work, you actually probably aren't. I'll throw a few DVD and Laserdisc special edition titles out there and see if you recognize them: The Thing, The Sound Of Music, The Abyss, ALIEN and ALIENS, The King & I, the soundtrack to the Star Wars Trilogy special editions, the upcoming The Last Starfighter, as well as another award-winning Sharpline Pioneer Special Edition, Rambling Rose...need I go on? See, I told you you'd recognize 'em. It is folks like Sharpline Arts that are often the unsung heroes of DVD and laserdisc, because when many major studios and independents "farm out" the work to producers like Sharpline, often (and unfortunately) they get overlooked when someone says "didn't Studio X make a great DVD!?."

Sharpline's David Fein and Michael Matessino, who were there to oversee the recording, helped me understand a bit the process of creating a commentary, and it was quite informative to say the least. Unlike some commentaries we've heard, where the producer just lets whomever blab on and on without stopping, Sharpline and other good producers of material take active steps to ensure quality and overall entertainment value. I sneaked a peak at the commentary recording notes, which is basically a rundown of the film and some of the more important points on the production and questions that fans of the film would want to ask themselves. The nice thing about Sharpline was that they seemed genuinely interested and knowledgeable about the film, which is nice to see.

Sharpline producer Rob Klein sat in with Mr. Yuzna and Mr. Combs for the length of the recording, helping keep the commentary going during lulls or moments when things may stray off the topic or become "two guys watching a film." That's another common occurrence I've noticed on commentaries, where the participants nod off and just start watching the film, which can be fun, but then no real information gets related (which, I suppose, is the point of a commentary in the first place, isn't it?). The key is to "manage" a commentary, so to speak, thereby guiding the participants during the commentary, without being intrusive or destroying the atmosphere with heavy-handed direction.

Now, as the commentary progressed, something that may startle some of you happened. Yes, they stopped the tape, rewound, and started recording again. I know, it may be hard for some of you to hear, but commentaries are not always recorded "straight through" (and, I'm afraid, the Easter Bunny isn't real, either). However, some may say "hey, that's cheating!," but after hearing all the problems, goofs or tech glitches that came up, thank god commentary producers like Sharpline take the time to go back and "reedit" the commentary (and believe me, recording this stuff takes longer than the length of the film).

In addition, the comments of the Sharpline principal who is sitting in on the commentary is edited out as well, so what you get is live comments from the participants recorded in sections, and then reedited to make an entertaining and cohesive whole. And, as often happens, additional participants may come in at a later date to record their commentaries, and then it will all be edited together seamlessly (if done right).

After the commentary started to heat up, it got to be really entertaining, and I noticed more how much a commentary can "ebb and flow," with in this case Mr. Yuzna and Mr. Combs hitting their stride around the middle of the film (and right after lunch...coincidence?). It was quite fascinating spying on them through the glass, watching their expressions and seeing how the Sharpline folks managed the commentary. Almost like a tap dance in spots, and for the first time I realized how difficult it can be to make a good commentary, really an art, and a lot more than just letting two people go at it on a microphone.

Now, I'm sure some of you will say, "Oh, it ain't that hard!." Well, compare John Carpenter's solo commentary on Vampires (ugh!) to the Carpenter and Kurt Russell commentary on The Thing. Did you know that that entire commentary is chopped up and edited extensively? It seems so seamless listening to it, but it is edited as much as any movie. Impressive in it seamlessness, isn't it?

Wrapping It Up

Soon, the film reached its conclusion, and I must say I was a bit sad. It was really fun watching it all be "put down" on tape. After the commentary is done, and any additional participants are brought in for subsequent recordings, Sharpline takes the material and reedits it into one whole. Then, it is usually sent out to be authored and added to the disc. Of course, there are other supplements to be produced and added to the disc, but that would be a separate article...

After the track was done, I was introduced to Mr. Yuzna and Mr. Combs (I'm calling them Brian and Jeff now), and of course they didn't have any idea who I was (What!?). We chatted for a bit, and made fun of the soon-to-be-dated digital effects in Star Wars (can I say that?), and it was quite a nice brush with fame for me. Maybe someday I'll get to meet Madonna.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little visit to a commentary track recording. Wish I had took some pictures. But the next time you listen to a commentary track, close your eyes, and try to picture it being recorded. It can be an eye-opening experience. It was for me.

Thanks to David Fein and Michael Matessino, as well as all at Sharpline Arts and Chace Audio. For more special on-the-scene and industry stories, visit the Special Reports Index.