Help with audio

[hki]

Hello fellow ducs?

I am helping a friend of mine with his project. It's a live video recording of stand up comics at a local club.

The audio is from dat, one channel being audience mic and the other is the stage mic. He would like me to just deal with the levels, I would like to give it a bit more. What is more you say...I don't know.

I want to treat the track with some EQ, but I am also thinking about compression.. I am not yet sold on the compression, but that is what this forum is for right?

Your advice is valued believe me, I visit this place a couple of times a day.

What would you do, with a project like this, to get a good balance between the audience mic and stage mic. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
SoundMonk

Bill

[philper]

Hello fellow ducs?

I am helping a friend of mine with his project. It's a live video recording of stand up comics at a local club.

The audio is from dat, one channel being audience mic and the other is the stage mic. He would like me to just deal with the levels, I would like to give it a bit more. What is more you say...I don't know.

I want to treat the track with some EQ, but I am also thinking about compression.. I am not yet sold on the compression, but that is what this forum is for right?

Your advice is valued believe me, I visit this place a couple of times a day.

What would you do, with a project like this, to get a good balance between the audience mic and stage mic. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
SoundMonk

Bill

Well, use your ears and mix the show? Balance the audience against the stage mic. Maybe compress the stage mic a bit, see if you think it could use some eq, maybe some low-rolloff if there is handling noise. Perhaps use a reverb ambience program to make the mono audience feel more stereo and envelope the stage sound. Otherwise ride the audience up and down around the stage mic, watching your peak levels. If this is for broadcast then watch your average levels too.

Philip Perkins

[hki]

Thanks for your advice. I feel stupid asking for help but I am not a mixer, I cut efx's and bg's.

This would be my first "real" mix that on a project that could be distributed on dvd.

So all advice is welcomed.

[tj_davies]

If the levels of the comedian are varying a lot then ride them with the fader first, and then put the compressor on a bus to compress the sound. But first try to even the levels out, don't try to use the compressor for that, as the loud parts tend to sound horrible then.

If time is pressing, try to use a sidechain compressor, meaning, when the comedian is talking the audience track is ducked.

Good luck.
Timothy

[hki]

Thanks for the advice Tim