LO3: Apply professional Pro-Tools editing and mixing techniques in a Audio Post Production situation for a film project.
The Mixing Engineer’s handbook is an essential piece of reading for anyone looking to get into mixing in either a post production or recording environment. Although this specific text features a lot of information in regards to mixing music, it offers vital information in regards to approaching a mix, a skill that’s transferable to any form of post production. As someone who’s mainly focused on field recording, its imperative to the overall project that I familiarize myself with the correct mindset and planning when it comes to creating an overall final mix.
The mixing engineer’s handbook distinctly lays out the most important steps when it comes to creating a final mix. First and foremost, the engineer must figure out the overall direction of the final mix, this will include determining multiple factors of the project such as style and mood. This play’s a key role in determined use of sounds and music, depending on the amount of information given by the director; the post production sound engineer decides what will be suitable for the flow of the overall film. The handbook then moves onto discussing the next step that is entitled “Develop the groove and build it like a house”. This stage hints towards the idea of comparing mixing to building a house, meaning that it’s a huge layering process where you add bit by bit. The final key stage if the idea of focusing in on your key element and doing everything in your power to emphasize it. Within the two pieces of filing me and Ed aim to do this semester, the focus slightly shifts between the projects. As one of them is a documentary focused around kickboxing we need to personify impacted based sounds to heighten the impacts themselves where as within the short film, there will be a focus on amplify clear dialogue ensuing the audience isn’t left unsure when it comes to the overall storyline.
The book also has key information in regards to file types and whilst this is mainly relevant to the field recordist in terms of filming in mono or stereo, it’s important for me to know what rates i’m mixing in and what file formats i’m asking for from the director of each film crew. From the director, I will be asking for a OMF file. This is so that I have a clear view of every separate element that has been thrown into the pre-mix as posed to being given a single wav/mp4 outputted onto one individual track.
Overall, whilst this handbook was heavily focused towards post production in the musical sense a lot of the information was still relevant to post production in the film sense. This text offered vital information in regards to planning a post production session and various other factors.
Another key element the book puts over is monitoring your projects at a comfortable level, putting over the importance of not listening back too quiet or too loud. “If it’s too soft, you might be fooled by the nonlinearity of the
speakers and overcompensate. If it’s too loud, certain frequencies might be masked or overemphasized by the nonlinearities of the ear itself.”. This will be a factor I need to consider when it comes to listening back to my mixes as it’s very easy to be swayed to change factors dependent on the volume you listen back at.
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