How room size affects my mix

[Scott G]

My question is how room size affects my mix.

I recently mixed a documentary for TV in a studio on nearfield speakers that was approximately 4.5m x 4.5m squarish. It was then played in a large meeting room that would seat approximately 75 people with very high ceilings. On playback I found the music beds and sound effects were much quieter than when I mixed it and I’m just trying to work out if that’s an issue with the PA system or just the physics of the room. I know that mixes for TV and mixes for cinema should be done in different size rooms and at different levels and I wondered if that’s what’s going on here.


Thanks

[dr sound]

Put your room dimensions into this and see what is happening in your mix room:
http://www.mcsquared.com/modecalc.htm

That is where the Mix issues are.

[fossile]

there's a couple of possible factors - is your mix room calibrated to proper levels and generally the frequency response and RT? is the listening room calibrated as well?
it's possible the levels in the mix room were higher which meant you may have mixed things quieter. or the listening room system cannot produce enough levels with conforming audio sources. cross-checking with calibration audio and/or reference audio will help.
a square room can be less than ideal - but sometimes it can assist especially with smaller or lower powered monitoring as the "room gain" and "LF reinforcement" can actually help - however - you need to test to determine if the effects are beneficial or not.

[smurfyou]

Could be several causes as mentioned.

Was this a stereo mix or 5.1?

What is the playback system? Speakers / b-chain specifically. "Meeting room" to me could mean soffit mounted loudspeakers, small recessed ceiling speakers, or a portable PA setup.

Have you done it before or is this the first time listening in this room?

[paulo m]

Originally Posted by Scott G

My question is how room size affects my mix.

I recently mixed a documentary for TV in a studio on nearfield speakers that was approximately 4.5m x 4.5m squarish. It was then played in a large meeting room that would seat approximately 75 people with very high ceilings. On playback I found the music beds and sound effects were much quieter than when I mixed it and I’m just trying to work out if that’s an issue with the PA system or just the physics of the room. I know that mixes for TV and mixes for cinema should be done in different size rooms and at different levels and I wondered if that’s what’s going on here.


Thanks

A lot of TV shows are mixed in smaller rooms. Your translation check should be on an average living room with sound coming from the TV itself or from a home cinema setup, soundbar etc. Not in a room that was mainly used for a presentation and that doesn´t represent the final audience target of the mix.

Having said that, despite proportions, you should check if your room acoustics have minimum specs and balance frequency wise, reverb time etc.

Also, mixing SPL also affects your perception of the mix. For rooms of the size you´ve mentioned, I personally would mix between 73 and 79 SPL C weighted/slow. Adjust the SPL on each of your monitors and stick with it at the same level during the mix.