Intrada Soundtrack Forum

I know each release is a case and the labels must take their decisions based on the material available to them (sometimes mixes/transfers done by third parties. sometimes no stereo mixes available, etc).
Warlock for example was a less than perfect original mix. on which Intrada did a great job remixing it from multitracks on the other hand many have complained that Condorman sounds too different to the film mix, not being familiar with the film mix I'm very pleased with the sound of that release.
Some are complaining the new Superman from LLL has issues with its dynamic range (this is indeed a problem on several Varese releases from a few years ago and even some of LLL like Superman Returns), on the other hand some have complained that Intrada's Rocketeer do not sound as powerfull as the album and that's because it has preserved the dynamic range of the original recording.

Even considering that each release is a different case I'd like to know your "general preferences" in the mastering.

My personal preferences tends to be having 1) the closest mix to the film mix as possible, usually from the original stereo masters 2) some reverb/not too dry sound to the extent it makes the orchestra sounding too thin 3) natural dynamics preserved, so that a crescendo or a big climax in a track still sounds like that 4) hiss excluded/reduced as much as possible - as I find hiss terribly distracting.

The intention is not to motivate complains on specific releases (this already usually happens on the respective anouncements treads), but to know your general preferences on these topics.

It depends on the recording, but generally, if it is orchestral music, I prefer it to sound as natural and dynamic as possible. But also put into consideration the original intent. I enjoy the grand, vast sound of Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings scores, but also enjoy the close, dry sound of Intrada's Jason and the Argonauts sound. The recordings (and the mix, though I know it's mostly the recording in my examples... I use them because I think most of the people in this forum know them) are totally different, yet exactly right for the kind of music it is in each case.

A new mix from multitracks is generally preferred on grounds of better detail, granted that all of the elements are available and the mixer has keen knowledge of the particular score. Without engineering documentation or good familiarity with the work, however, just use the stereo mix made at the time. Condorman is a fantastic mix, and I don't understand what problem some people have with that one.

I generally prefer not to have reverb artificially added to a recording. Even the best programs and engineers can sometimes make the sound unnatural and unable to fully convince the listener. Depending on the venue, even heavy amounts of natural reverb can be an issue for me.

Preserve dynamics as best as reasonably possible. Some recordings are extremely anemic on the low end, though, and benefit greatly from some compression. People complain about compressed dynamics on releases that have very little of it relative to what we've listened to before, which often leaves me scratching my head.

Extremely limited noise reduction in some cases, unless it is a situation where noise greatly overpowers the music.