Paul Verhoeven on Image and Music

In the April 2007 issue of Post Magazine, Director Paul Verhoeven says:

"I always feel that any image is open to interpretation, but with music you look at it in a very specific way, and if you want that, then music is very helpful."

Tony Gilroy on ADR for Michael Clayton

In the March 2008 of Post Magazine, Tony Gilroy talks about ADR on Michael Clayton.

"I've been obsessed with sound for years, and from the first day I told everyone, 'I am not looping one line,'" he recalls.  "I cannot stand it.  I've been involved in post for years as a writer, and I know what I like,and that's virtually nothing that's looped.  And of the looping sessions we did, every single one was a disaster and I couldn't stand it.  So we ended up going with our original tracks."

Director Paul W.S. Anderson on the Importance of Audio

From the August 2008 issue of Post Magazine:

When asked how important audio is, the Director and Producer of several Resident Evil movies, he replies:

"Hugely, and if you make action and horror films, which I've done almost exclusively, you soon realize how vital sound is. It's a cliche, but it's true. Make a scary movie and turn the sound off, it's just not scary anymore. Make an action film, turn the sound off, and you're just watching a lot of fast cuts. So the sound is what makes it an immersive experience..."

To: Directors, From: Your Sound Department

Another article I saved from the original print Mix Magazine I found online now:

http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_open_letter_directors/

The online version is titled "An Open Letter To Directors From the Production," but the original version is titled "To: Directors, From: Your Sound Department."

I think it's a great read for anyone in movie-making.

Sound Design on Disney's Dinosaur

This article I saved from the print publication Mix Magazine is now online. 

http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_dinosaur_disney_chris/

Lemurs:
- penguins for whoops for excited movement
- a fox named Socks the Fox for mournful yips and yaps for happy and sad Lemurs
- capuchin (a type of monkey) for chirps
- human vox for happy bellows

Raptors:
- 10-year-old Chihuahua with emphysema (trills and growls for menace) + goose hisses + yellow-blackbird caws

Carnotaur:
- pissed leapord in Florida (mic'd close for guttural, wet snarls, breaths, and chuffs) + elephant for regal, growling sound
- leopard + large boar + macaw for high shrieking element for terror

Making A Case For Index Fund Portfolios

Richard Ferri and Alex Benke have recently published a great article entitled A Case For Index Fund Portfolios.  The article is available in this month's Journal of Index, here.  In essence, you are statistically much better off investing in a portfolio of index funds versus a portfolio of actively managed funds.  And as additional asset classes are added and as your holding period becomes longer, this index fund portfolio beats the portfolio of actively managed funds 90% of the time, even with low-cost actively managed funds.

Prudent Target-Risk Indexes

In the August 2013 of the the Journal of Indexes, the article "Prudent Target-Risk Indexes" discusses a portfolio of I believe all ETFs used as a benchmark for a global allocation portfolio.  It seems like a great basis for portfolio construction.  Below are the investments used and weightings: