Big, scary post job---need some education!

[Sean McCoy]

Well, sometimes you have to be careful what you ask for! Looks like I'll being doing both sound design and mixing next month for a film for theatrical and DVD release. I spent a small fortune building this room for surround mixing five years ago, and now it will finally get put to the test.

I've done a couple of surround projects for live presentations, so I'm not overly concerned with that aspect. But all the other feature films I've mixed have gone straight to video or DVD, while this one will ultimately end up being re-recorded (or whatever the process is) on one of the big stages at Todd A-O, Skywalker or somewhere similar, and my understanding of that part of the process is limited enough to make this a little intimidating.

Since I'm out in the boonies and time is limited, I'm hoping to hook up with some folks online who are as knowledgeable about the movie audio post process as people here are about, well, everything! Hopefully as helpful as well, though that's asking a lot. Any advice on where to go to ask bonehead questions without getting laughed out of town? And where I won't be immediately disqualified because I'm not doing this in Pro Tools?

[tomasino]

Sounds like you're working up a "preview" of a soundtrack - considering it's gonna be re-recorded. Usually the 5.1 surround sound version is done as the final re-record.

I'd say go with what you know and work out from there - just make sure you know what format they want/need as the final deliverable.
You can totally deliver the goods with SawStudio, no problem. In fact, WOW 'em!

Be sure to deliver an LFE channel mix - but don't over do it. Most of the LFE's I've seen are surprisingly sparse. The only audio data in 'em are from the action scenes or places where they want to convey movement in the audio to coincide with the scene.

Sounds to me like you'll be fine.

[Pedro Itriago]

You don't have protools for this? :D

[Sean McCoy]

You don't have protools for this? :D
Et tu, Brute?

[Sean McCoy]

Sean, you indicated you would be doing sound design and mixing.

What are you mixing?

Mark
I'm doing everything: sound design, dialogue editing, ADR, Foley, music editing and final mixes for both theatrical and DVD releases. My image of film mixing is that big to-do at Skywalker or Universal where the dialogue editors, sound effects editors and music editors bring their millions of tracks---all in some state of premixing--for Gary Summers to mix with the director, while each department's spokesman lobbies for more of their parts in the mix. (Is this re-recording?) In this case, I'll be all of those things and will be working only with the director, so I'll have control over every element---except the music mixes, unless I can get the composer to send me stems.

The director mentioned a screening for Dolby certification. So I guess the main mystery is what happens after I finish with regards to marrying the tracks to the release print for theater and the DVD master. Probably 5.1 and 2.0 AC-3 files for DVD, but what for film? Six discrete aif or wav files? Also, I don't know how guys like Gary Summers work. Do they use a lot of compression and limiting for slamming tracks, or do they try to preserve dynamic range? How hot is each stem? Etc., etc...

[Ian Alexander]

This thread may help.

http://www.sawstudiouser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6030

Most of the DVDs I watch seem to follow the ideas in this thread. In other words, most of the dialog and environment is pretty low, to leave room for the cataclysmic explosions and such that happen near the end.

[Sean McCoy]

Good advice, guys! In fact, there is a cataclysmic explosion near the end of this film, so I may use that as a hottest point reference and work from there.

More questions to come as I think of them! Meanwhile, I'm going to peruse the post production forums at Gearslutz and elsewhere.

[Sean McCoy]

This job was actually started by another sound designer who has to give it up due to severe health problems (a massive heart attack, actually). So I'll be receiving whatever work he's done thus far on disc in its original Pro Tools format. I can probably arrange an OMF export for conversion to SS, but for safety I'm thinking this might be a good time to add PTLE to my rig. Assuming he's using HD or another of the full PT versions, what will I lose (other than the plugins I won't have) in trying to open these files in LE? How does it handle tracks beyond its physical limit?