question for audio post experts !!!

[dw]

i come from a music background but have been doing audio post for the past year with great success. I have a few questions for all you experts out there.
I do mostly short film, documentary, videos. Since these are smaller projects I end up doing all the audio post for them ( VO, SFX, ADR, Foley..mixing ).
Even though my clients are very happy with my work, i like to hear from seasoned pro commenting on certain topics :

1- What are the different mix references for film, TV, video ??? I find myself often getting an excellent mix BUT the overall result is too low !!! I'm personnally not too crazy about any of those limiter/maximizer out ther ( Waves L1+, Maxim ). I find them altering the sound too much. I end up putting an commpressor on the Master out and compress the mix slightly and add gain from the plug-in itself.

2- I often have difficulty making smooth transition between amb scene ( like exterior to interior...

3- Do you guys have a basic session setup for amm and SFX ?? I often find myself putting different amb on the same tracks, making this a bit confusing when mixing.

Thanks

[Arno Peeters]

1. I believe the overall delicate balance of the mix will be best serverd by the L1, certainly no compressor... Remember that during broadcast it will be multiband compressed again, so leaving some dynamics won't hurt.

2. Sometimes crossing before or just after the splice can help. If I have a hard time, I usually fade down and then up (not Xfading)

3. Whatever you try: every project will need new settings in the end. Even tracking layout can change dramatically. I've learned that starting from scratch makes working easier when in progress, than having to adjust and tweak everytime.

just my few ¢



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Arno Peeters
Tape TV Productions

[georgia]

if your levels are too low ... it might be a calibration problem.. make sure you have calibrated your outputs from protools to 1.23 volts with a 1khz sinewave at +4db.. Then calibtate your listening environment to the specs listed for Dolby and/or DTS levels for all speakers with the ISO film curve between your rig and the speakers for film. For Video and/or TV I usually mix on flatter eq's and check with film crve i just to make sure all is in order.

if your dialogue is hitting betwen 0 and +8 you are basically in the pocket for film projects...at that point its a "taste" issue

if your room levels and output levels are calibrated what you hear at around 85 db is what you should hear in a calibrated movie theatre...


cheers

georgia

[This message has been edited by georgia (edited January 29, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by georgia (edited January 29, 2001).]

[doug sjostrom]

Hey Georgia,
Where can I find info on the ISO film curve?
DS

[georgia]

its alos know as the x-curve

its basically 3db roll off per octave starting at 2k with a -2db / octave roll off below 60 hz ( check these as it's been a while since I wrote these and im not TOTALLY sure of the exact numbers)

You will need a pink noise generator set to +4 feed it into your speakers and adjust the EQ via a spectrum analyzer for the curve settings.


I also believe the ANSI/SMPTE TV curve is 6db/octave below 100 hz and 1.5db rolloff/octave above 2 khz

cheers

georgia

[This message has been edited by georgia (edited January 29, 2001).]