Eargasm (2001)

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General		Extras
Category	Music	Main Menu Audio & Animation Scene Selection Anim & Audio Interviews-Cast-Band Interviews (8) Biographies-Cast Trailer-Eargasm 2; Good Times Trailer-Spriggan; Grass; Tackle Happy; Akira Easter Egg
Rating
Year Of Production	2001
Running Time	43:22 (Case: 48)
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	None Given
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	None Given
Case	Click
RPI	$29.95	Music	Various

    Eargasm is a collection of modern punk rock tracks mixed with footage from various extreme sports. Some of the sports on offer include surfing, skateboarding, BMX, wakeboarding, motocross, wavepool and snowboarding. The live performances appear to have been recorded during the Van's Warped Tour in 1999. The following bands are included on the disc, each performing a single track: Bad Religion, Good Riddance, Strung Out, NOFX, Snapcase, Lagwagon, Guttermouth, Unwritten Law, Suicidal Tendencies, Face To Face and Pennywise. The band's respective tracks are listed below.

    The combination of music and various extreme sports is a common coupling which works well, but the short running time may put off some viewers.

Video

    The main feature's video transfer is disappointing with the extras offering a much higher quality transfer. It appears that these problems are mostly due to the original source material (16mm film) and are not a direct result of the DVD transfer.

    The full frame transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.

    The transfer is always slightly soft and never reveals high levels of detail. The shadow detail displayed during the transfer is generally poor and little information is able to be seen in the dark sections of the image. Some low level noise may be seen throughout the transfer. Each of these problems with the transfer is quite disruptive to the viewer.

    The colour palette displayed during the transfer always appears slightly muted and is often poorly saturated.

    A number of MPEG artefacts may be seen throughout the transfer. The image always looks as if a flyscreen has been placed over it, with the picture constantly appearing to be on the verge of obvious macro blocking. Some moderately distracting MPEG artefacts may be seen at 11:33 and 22:47. Obvious posterization may also be seen constantly throughout the transfer and this is also moderately disruptive to the viewer.

    No aliasing artefacts were detected at any time during the transfer.

    A number of film artefacts may be seen during the transfer. Some examples of these artefacts may be seen at 4:02, 5:02, 6:04, 10:00 and 10:55. These artefacts are only slightly distracting.

    A number of obvious NTSC to PAL conversion artefacts may be seen throughout the transfer. Some examples of these artefacts may be seen at 1:39, 3:34, 5:09, 7:50 and 15:34. These are minimally distracting.

    A number of analogue tape artefacts may be seen during the transfer. Some examples of these may be seen at 4:32, 9:58, 17:15 and 22:05. A very obvious tape artefact may be seen at 9:29 but it is possible that this is intentional. All of these artefacts are only slightly distracting.

    No subtitles are provided on this disc.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    The lyrics are clear and easy to understand at all times.

    No dropouts or problems with audio sync were detected at any time during the transfer.

    The surround and subwoofer channels were not utilised during the transfer.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Menu

    The animated menu is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.

Band Interviews

    A number of short interviews discussing their music and involvement with extreme sports are provided for the following bands: Bad Religion (11:14), NOFX (3:41), Good Riddance (3:18), Unwritten Law (4:44), Snapcase (1:34), Lagwagon (3:44), Strung Out (3:38) and Guttermouth (2:21).

Band Biographies

    A series of pages are provided for each of the bands providing a short listing of biographical information, a listing of band members and a band discography.

Trailer: Eargasm 2 (1:11)

    This trailer is presented with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.

Trailer: Good Times (4:23)

    This trailer is presented with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.66:1 and it is not 16x9 enhanced.

Trailer: Spriggan (1:17)

    This trailer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack and it is not 16x9 enhanced.

Trailer: Grass (1:38)

    This trailer is presented with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.

Trailer: Tackle Happy (2:46)

    This trailer is presented with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.

Trailer: Akira (1:15)

    This trailer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.66:1 with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack and is not 16x9 enhanced.

Easter Egg (2:10)

    This is a short interview with freestyle motocross rider Carey Hart discussing his sport and his views on music. This interview is displayed by selecting the ear ring on the extras page.

    Both versions of this film appear to be nearly identical and as the quality problems appear to be due to the original source material I would have no preference for either version.

    Eargasm is an entertaining combination of music and extreme sports but its short running time may disappoint many viewers.

    The video transfer displays a number of artefacts but the majority of these problems appear to be due to the original source material.

    The Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack is suitable for the music video style of this feature.

    The collection of band interviews and biographies provides some interesting insight into the bands featured.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall