Mix with the old taste.

[ilnoce]

Dear All
I'm approaching to mix a movie, that open in the theatre in a couple of month.
The movie is an Italian comedy, with a very sofisticated look.
Shooted in Panavision using anamorphic G series lens, and the costume, remember the taste of the 60'.
Now my idea and also the idea ofthe director was to mix the movie with an analog console like SSL 4000 and record the master on perforated 35 mm Mag coded in Dolby sr.Now in Rome there are no enymore mixing room with that technology.
To replicate the sound of the 60'
And the budget of the movie do not allow to go to London and mix the movie over there.
Do you have some suggestions about such plug in that emulate the test of an analogue chain?
Do you have an Idea of some outbord to let the final mix to pass through and have such kind of warmth loose with the passing of the time?
Thank you very much
Maurizio

[Henchman]

To be safe, I would mix it normally.
And then alter the final mix stem.

And mixing on an SSL4000 isn't the way to go, as they did not mix movies back in the 60's on transistor consoles.

Is it going to be mono?, because that's a big part of that retro sound.
Mono.

If its 5.1 then really, might as well just mix it like any current film, instead of tying your hands.

But that's just my opinion.

[Gary Nattrass]

What you really need is something to totally wreck your mix and emulate the optical sound that made cinema sound so dreadful, add a few pop's and crackles and off you go.

Personally I would do the best job you can and forget anything retro or simulating retro sound quality, the pictures will carry the stylistic aspects of it but you could always push it thru some final tube compression and crush the dynamic range down a lot to emulate the limitations of the optical systems.

[ilnoce]

Thank you very much for the answers.
yes I really make's my explanation very unclear.
Yes of course I really made a mistake explane myself in that way.
I mean that the movie have a look in the image of the 60'.
I don wont to give to the movie a sound track that sound like the movie of that age.
Of course I need and I wont to mantain all the dynamic range and the clearness of the modern way to mix the movie.
My Ideas is to do replicate in some way what Lance Brown, Aaron Glascock, did on "Good night and Good luck" a George Clooney Movie.
Off course I will like to find a characterization only on the dialogue stem.
something that sound like the last analogue chain just before the switch to the digital domain.
(SSL 4000 Westrex 6 Tracks Mag 35mm coded with Dolby Spectral recording.
Just before to put the 6 Track's mix on the optical film.
Just one step before.
Something like a Tube finalizer, to let the dialogue stem to pass through during the mix just before the mastering.
But I don't know any 6 channel outboard device or a plug that emulate this kind of sound. Like the Manley SLAM.
I hope that I make myself a little bit more clear.
sorry for my confusion.
Mu english as you can see is not so good.
Sorry.
Maurizio

[FlorianE]

Maurizio,
beyond the technical restrictions of 60's sound systems, which you may or may not try to imitate (it's very mechanical, usually), there are some other - not purely technical - aspects to that era's cinema sound. For a start: no radiomikes, and one Boom only. Rarely condenser mikes, more likely ribbons, which have low sensitivity and low depth of sound field. Consequently actors having over all to speak a little bit louder than today. Only the most obvious sound effects. Virtually no ambiences, or then exaggerated. And so on. Listen to some European movies of the sixties, you'll hear plenty things you can use to make your mix sound old without it becoming ugly to listen to.
Cheers
Florian

[Postman]

Perhaps Reel Tape Suite, or Heat will add some of the flavor you are looking for. I personally do not think you need to worry about 6 channel processors. Three stereo processors should do the exact same thing, I think. Phase accuracy between channels should not be a problem. In fact, maybe mono is enough for only the center channel.

[capt kirk]

some sort of a layback thru a mis-aligned MCI tape machine otta get you the sound you want. then thru a 3/4" video deck , then re-mic it from a Auratone speaker. ta-da.....

[tamasdragon]

I would mix that as usual, but use more "analog mojo" plugins to mimic the sound of 60's. Going to the SSL will tie your hands, and I see no reason to miss the workflow, the possibility of recall, etc.
As mentioned above, there are many great options out there, including:
Heat
Reel Tape suite
Slate Digital VCC
Soundtoys Decapitator
etc.

It is much better to experiment with these and with many other options than to choose a technology that will limit your options.

[BobbyDazzler]

Do you have any old vinyl sound FX libraries? The old BBC ones have that classic crappy-ness to them.

[philper]

The biggest single thing you can do to go retro is mix in mono. For a "modern retro" sound, ie mono theatrical mix done with current gear, check Woody Allen's "Midnight In Paris". You'll find that when mixing in mono you'll want to thin out your BG textures and bring your dialog very up front, also retro-sounding. Don't intentionally degrade your sound until you can hear it on a dub stage and A/B it for all concerned.

phil p