Audo for Doc/Interview Work

[Scott Lamoreaux]

Hi Guys - New to working with Sound. By sound I mean dialog from interview type settings.

When in post, is there a general rule of thumb for where the audio track levels should be in relation to the dialog audio so the audio/music track doesn't become too loud or distracting from the dialog?

Thanks,

Scott

 

[Marc Wielage]

When in post, is there a general rule of thumb for where the audio track levels should be in relation to the dialog audio so the audio/music track doesn't become too loud or distracting from the dialog?

Yes. But a lot of that boils down to great monitoring. You need a great room with good acoustics and great loudspeakers without distractions in the room.

The normal mixing reference level for feature films is 85dB, but for TV and home video it's typically 82dB (and some use 79dB). There are also specific LUFS (loudness units full scale) specs that you have to hit for acceptable results, both for peak dialogue and average dialogue levels. It's fair to say this is a very, very complicated area.

There are numerous books on the subject; Jay Rose's Producing Great Sound for Film & Video is one example, but I'll warn you that a lot of this stuff is like trying to learn how to ride a bicycle by reading a book. It takes years of practice to figure out how to ride levels between dialogue, music, and sound effects so that they don't conflict with each other, everything is audible, and the entire mix is still technically acceptable for broadcast (and/or home video, cable, or online).

The Gearslutz Forum also has an extensive section for post sound mixing, particularly in terms of dialogue and sound effects for film & TV.

 

[Scott Lamoreaux]

Yes. But a lot of that boils down to great monitoring. You need a great room with good acoustics and great loudspeakers without distractions in the room.

The normal mixing reference level for feature films is 85dB, but for TV and home video it's typically 82dB (and some use 79dB). There are also specific LUFS (loudness units full scale) specs that you have to hit for acceptable results, both for peak dialogue and average dialogue levels. It's fair to say this is a very, very complicated area.

There are numerous books on the subject; Jay Rose's Producing Great Sound for Film & Video is one example, but I'll warn you that a lot of this stuff is like trying to learn how to ride a bicycle by reading a book. It takes years of practice to figure out how to ride levels between dialogue, music, and sound effects so that they don't conflict with each other, everything is audible, and the entire mix is still technically acceptable for broadcast (and/or home video, cable, or online).

The Gearslutz Forum also has an extensive section for post sound mixing, particularly in terms of dialogue and sound effects for film & TV.

Thanks Marc,

I'll look into it for sure. In the meantime is there a basic rule of thumb in FCPx or Premier of where my levels should be for just personal web work?

 

[Marc Wielage]

I'll look into it for sure. In the meantime is there a basic rule of thumb in FCPx or Premier of where my levels should be for just personal web work?

Not beyond just listening, no. But you do need to understand LUFS loudness values, and there are plug-ins for many sound mixing programs.

My personal opinion is that it's not a good idea to try to cut or mix sound in a picture editing program like Avid, FCP, or Premiere. I think you're much better off doing this in an audio-only program like Pro Tools. The question is how high or low you're able to set the bar on quality.

Sound mixing is much, much harder than it looks. Just finding a way to get each track to stand out and be audible without interfering with the other track is a real challenge. There is one general rule: "dialogue is king." If you have to compromise the music or sound effects so that the dialogue is intelligible, do it.