Dream Theater-Chaos in Motion 2007-2008 (2008) (NTSC)

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General		Extras
Category	Music	Menu Animation & Audio Featurette-Behind The Chaos On The Road (87:01) Music Video-(4) Music Video-Live Screen Projection Films (4) Featurette-Behind The Scenes-Stage & Backstage Tour Gallery-Photo Easter Egg-(2)
Rating
Year Of Production	2008
Running Time	187:14 (Case: 180)
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (98:20) Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Mike Portnoy
Studio Distributor	Roadrunner Records Warner Vision	Starring	Mike Portnoy Jordan Rudess John Petrucci John Myung James LaBrie
Case	Amaray-Transparent-S/C-Dual
RPI	?	Music	Dream Theater

Video (NTSC)		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	480i (NTSC)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Chaos In Motion follows U.S. progressive metal band Dream Theater as they tour throughout the world during 2007 and 2008 in support of their most recent studio album Systematic Chaos. The back cover describes the content as "around the world in 180 minutes", and you couldn't ask for a more accurate description. Disc one contains over three hours of live performances and a few brief interviews, compiled from gigs the band performed in The Netherlands, Argentina, Canada, the U.S.A. and Thailand. The band members are as follows:

• James LaBrie - Vocals
• John Myung - Bass Guitar
• John Petrucci - Guitar & Vocals
• Mike Portnoy - Drums & Vocals
• Jordan Rudess - Keyboards & Continuum

    Dream Theater have been around for more than a decade and have cemented their reputation as one of the most technically proficient, challenging bands out there. Their musicianship is simply astounding and the best way to appreciate it is to witness them performing live. I had the pleasure of seeing them in Sydney in January 2008, and it was an experience to behold, certainly not the kind of gig you forget in a hurry!

    Anticipation for this DVD package was building for some time; with such an extensive tour under their belt and the last two tours yielding superb companion DVDs (Live At Budokan and Score respectively), it wasn't a question of if they'd release a live DVD of this tour, but when. The quality of their past DVDs has been fantastic, despite managing to fit lengthy concerts on the disc their official productions have always been top notch. The band have also branched into the official bootleg market, producing DVDs independently for their perpetually hungry fanbase. Rather than employ a support act, the band have been known to perform an entire "classic" album in its entirety prior to their show - Metallica's Master of Puppets, Iron Maiden's Number of the Beast, Deep Purple's Made In Japan and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon have all received the treatment and surfaced as official bootlegs. Their rendition of the latter is a particular favourite of mine.

    There's a reason I'm telling you this. Those who purchase Chaos In Motion expecting a product consistent with their previous DVDs may be in for a disappointment, because the production quality of this title actually falls closer to that of their official bootlegs rather than their past DVD releases. The majority of the live performance footage is culled directly from the cameras that are used to feed the big screen behind the band, and appears to have been edited on the fly. Some of the wider, or static camera shots linger uncomfortably long. Fans who are accustomed to their official bootleg products may not be too concerned about this, but I personally feel that the bulk of this material shouldn't have been made widely available, certainly not at a premium price. We've come to expect a lot better of video quality nowadays, and this product simply doesn't cut it. I can appreciate the point of view that a compilation of performances such as this produces a broader, richer experience, and it is great to see them trying something a bit different. But, I personally would have preferred to see just the whole Vancouver show on Disc one (video quality in this show is far superior), and relegate the remaining compilation of performances to a bonus disc, or even better, official bootleg status where it belongs.

    These concerns aside, Chaos In Motion is a fantastic experience for those who admire the band, and as a package it will provide hours upon hours of entertainment. The song selection represents a good cross section of old and new material, so most fans should be satisfied. I should also note here a surprise guest appearance from Opeth vocalist Michael Åkerfeldt, contributing a superb vocal to the track Scarred.

    The Chaos In Motion promo trailer can be viewed here.

Video

    This is an NTSC video transfer, with the majority of the footage having been captured on standard definition DV equipment. The image is 16x9 enhanced and presented in an 1.78:1 aspect ratio.

    Video grain and an overall lack of detail are the main issues here. The image quality isn't the greatest (amateur would be a good description), and as I stated above, we've come to expect a lot better nowadays. One could argue that the quality of the performances make these shortcomings worthwhile, and maybe they do. Maybe.

    Sharpness and clarity is below average. Black levels reach a dark grey at best. Persistent video grain and noise occupies the image.

    Three of the songs in the feature (Forsaken, The Ministry of Lost Souls and Shmedley Wilcox) were recorded on HD equipment at Vancouver, and the quality of these passages is outstanding next to the remainder of the feature. To confuse things even further, I noted during a number of performances the use of a single, static HD camera at the rear of the venue for distant (and often lengthy) shots of the stage. This would indicate that even though their equipment may have been limited, their placement of the better camera was spot-on.

    MPEG compression artefacts pop up from time to time, usually during motion on stage. Considering the soft and grainy appearance of the video, I imagine a limited bitrate would struggle to make an effective render of the video in some places.

    No subtitle streams are included at all.

    The feature is authored on a dual-layered disc (DVD9 format). The layer break is situated at 98:20, between the songs Scarred and Forsaken and was not noticeable on my equipment.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There are two soundtracks available on Disc One. The default soundtrack is Dolby Digital Stereo, encoded at 192 Kb/s. A Dolby Digital 5.1 option (448 Kb/s) may be selected via the setup menu or on the fly.

    With the exception of two songs, the audio mix is credited to Kevin Shirley, a longtime producer and engineer with the band. Kevin "The Caveman" has also produced DVD soundtracks for bands such as Slayer, Iron Maiden and Led Zeppelin, so he's a respected and talented chap in this field. I had no doubt this would be a great audio experience, and the disc certainly lived up to my expectations.

    The band is very well balanced, with Drums, Guitar, Bass Guitar and Keyboards spread evenly across the front soundstage. Petrucci's Guitar tends to hang slightly to the right most of the time, while Jordan's Keyboards occupy the left. The vocals are also spread across the front left, right and center speakers, and have a great presence. James LaBrie's enunciation is excellent and the vocals are always prominent in the mix. Audio sync is perfect.

    The rear channels are used to replicate the acoustics of the venue for the most part, with some slight echoes and the like spilling to the rears. Audience applause and cheering from the rear channels is dominant between songs. I noted a couple of brief occasions in which the keyboard or guitar wandered to the rear channels, usually with a clean tone during the instrumental passages.

    In comparing the soundtrack options, I found the stereo default a bit flimsy in the bass department. The surround is my preferred, it's more spacious and has much greater depth.

    A little dedicated subwoofer activity is used to augment the kick drum, but not the Bass Guitar. I found the LFE usage conservative, but having said that it wasn't lacking in the slightest. The bass guitar was very well carried by the front channels alone.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    Disc Two is dual-layered and contains a great array of bonus material, most of which is 16x9 enhanced. There are no subtitles at all, and the audio is stereo only (Dolby Digital, 192 Kb/s).

Menus

Documentary- Behind The Chaos On The Road (87:01)

    This is a great tour documentary (Directed by Sebastian Beloch), with lots of insight into the logistics of putting on such a big show. It repeats some small passages and interviews from the concert on disc one, but as a whole this is a humorous, revelatory piece that fans will love. It's split up into four sections, playable separately or via a play all function.

• Pt.1 - The Band - The first part of the documentary is very self-congratulatory and doesn't contain a lot of new information for existing fans of the band. The elusive, enigmatic bassist John Myung makes a rare verbal contribution.
• Pt.2 - The Crew - We're taken backstage to meet the crew; Production Managers, Assistants and Techs, to get a feel for their day-to-day jobs and responsibilities.
• Pt.3 - The Pre-show - An interesting look at how the band prepares for the show, their habits and rituals that are performed right up until the house lights go down.
• Pt.4 - The Show - A lot is going on behind the scenes while the band is playing on stage, and this part of the documentary explains some of the things that can go wrong in a performance and how they're put right.

Promo Videos (25:39)

    There are four promo videos here, viewable individually or via a play all function. The first two are letterboxed widescreen, but are not 16x9 enhanced. The In Studio clips are 1.33:1 full frame. The same stereo audio applies here, but it would've been nice to have the 5.1 mix as an option.

• Constant Motion (5:09) - Directed by Andrew Bennett, this video cuts between performance footage of the band in full flight, and excellent CG animation. This is actually a heavily edited version of the song.
• Forsaken (5:36) - Featuring astounding rotoscope-style animation Directed by Yasufumi Soejima, this video suits the themes, emotions and sentiment of the song perfectly.
• Forsaken (In Studio) (5:50) - Home video footage of the band in the recording studio, cleverly edited to make a music video. Very handy if you're curious about how a certain musical passage is played.
• The Dark Eternal Night (In Studio) (9:02) - Similar in visual style to the above, this is one of my favourite songs from the Systematic Chaos album.

Live Screen Projection Films (36:51)

    These are the projection films that are screened behind the band while they're performing on stage. The animation and overall visuals are kaleidoscopic and slightly surreal in places, reminiscent of Storm Thorgerson's work which can be found on Pink Floyd's Pulse DVD. All three of these appear vertically stretched on DVD, so I suspect they are missing the 16x9 flag. The appropriate audio is included, of course.

• The Dark Eternal Night (N.A.D.S.) (7:51) - An hilarious animation - my favourite - that sees the band vanquishing a giant werewolf-demon-monster-thing. It's Directed by Mika Tyyska.
• The Ministry Of Lost Souls (14:57) - These next two are Directed by Lasse Hoile, who has also contributed similar films to another favourite band of mine, Porcupine Tree. I recall seeing these films at the concert in Sydney and they were very powerful, visually.
• In The Presence Of Enemies Pt. 2 (16:36)

Featurette- MP Stage Tour (8:23)

    Mike Portnoy takes us on a quick tour of the stage area from left to right, looking at the band's gear and stage setup.

Featurette- MP Backstage Tour (5:27)

    "Iron Mike" now shows us backstage, the rooms where the band warm up and prepare for the show.

Gallery-Photos

    A plethora of photos from the tour, many of them taken as the band are saying goodbye to the crowd.

Easter Egg #1 (9:15)

    These are pretty funny, and are worth checking out. There are two Easter Eggs to be found in the (SPOILER ALERT: highlight with mouse to read) chapter menu for the documentary. To access the first egg, highlight a chapter and press the left arrow on your remote to reveal a dollar bill. Press enter to witness Drum Tech Eric Disrude as he attempts to swindle a dollar from each of the guys in the band.

Easter Egg #2 (3:25)

    To access the second egg, highlight (SPOILER ALERT: highlight with mouse to read) a chapter of the documentary and press the right arrow on your remote to reveal a razor blade. Press enter to view Drum Tech Eric Disrude's lame neck beard, as well as a short chat about the power of neck beards with John Petrucci.

    The video quality varies and is disappointing overall.

    The great audio mix has been overseen by none other than Kevin Shirley.

    The extras are both extensive and insightful.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall