The Ugly Dachshund was on Hallmark Channel last night, and it got me thinking...

[Retrocool]

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The Ugly Dachshund - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This isn't an advertising thread, but this movie was on Hallmark Channel last night (it's a sweet little story, and it was released while Walt was still alive), and it got me thinking about those classic old live action Disney movies.

I noticed that one thing about movies like this that I particularly recall with such fondness, interestingly enough, is the flat mono soundtrack (RCA Sound Recording, according to IMDB), which you just NEVER hear anymore (since stereo is the norm now, and there have been numerous improvements in sound recording and reproduction). I have to say, though, although I love stereo, I miss the sound of movies from that time; that flat, kind of LOUD sound, where dialogue is clear as a bell and there's no question of what's being said and heard. With modern sound recording and reproduction, sure, the dialogue and sound can seem more natural and realistic, but there's something special about that deliberately artificial sound that was a part of the classic Disney live action movies of the 60s and 70s.

So anyway, I was thinking, wouldn't it be interesting to see if one could make a modern film that looked, and sounded, as if it had actually been made in the mid-60s, and it was so convincing that even experts would think it was some long-lost footage that hadn't been seen in years? Getting the visual look would probably not be TOO difficult for a skilled cinematographer (since the lighting in movies like this were mostly direct lighting, and some of the film stocks from that time could be used and then digital intermediates made from them), but getting the soundtrack right? Wow, now that, I think, would be the tough part.

I mean, I know that nobody's clamoring for such a thing. But that's not the point. Would it be possible to make such a film, using modern tools, or would one need to use the actual original equipment from that time in order to get it to look and sound the same way?

I, for one, would love to see if this could be done.

[Aladdin]

Re: The Ugly Dachshund was on Hallmark Channel last night, and it got me thinking...

At the beginning of "The Incredibles", they made it look like older film footage. And for the "Up" score, they did use older recording machinery in order to create an authentic old fashioned sound.

So if there is some artistic value and/or purpose for creating a movie they way you describe, they quite possibly would use a combination of old and new technology.