mixing background music for film..help!!

[Michael]

Ok. I have typed every conceivable combination of words in every conceivable search engine and have not found one (1!!!) post on what I’m looking for. I am making music for a small film company. I’ve made all the music, synced it to the video, etc. What I’m trying to do is now mix that music in the background of the film. More accurately, I’m trying to make that music sound as if its coming from the other side of the room or another room completely. Now I know I can use the “ambience only” mics for this effect in Superior, but I need that sound on all the instruments. I’m sure its some combo of reverb and compression, but I’m having no luck in Cubase. Any ideas from people who have had to do this before?

Topic

[Scott]

I would use Altiverb with the many room IRs to simulate the sound of an actual room.

Scott Sibley - Toontrack
Technical Advisor

[Platinum Samples]

Also check out their Speakerphone: http://www.audioease.com/Pages/Speakerphone/speakerphone.html

You want to send the whole mix into the reverb/effect and mainly use the return with less of the original… EQ out the top end.

Check out the Digi Post forum — they may be able to steer you towards a forum geared to post audio.

Rail

Professionally Recorded Multitrack Drum Samples
http://tinyurl.com/26k2xjo
www.platinumsamples.com

[Michael]

whoa!! Thank your for the Speakerphone link! Wow. That has got to be one of the coolest post production plugins I”v ever seen. You see, thats why I post here. Helpful advice in less than an hour. Thanks to you both.

[Michael]

ok next question. now when I do put a reverb on the track, it has a tail. So when the scene cuts away, the music stops but the reverb trail remains. On the reverb I’m using, its not that noticeable but could be a future problem. So the only solution I see is to export the music mix with the reverb on it back into the project and just re-cut and snap it into position. Is there an easier way? Not that the process is too tedious or time consuming to do, but any workflow time gained is a plus.

[Platinum Samples]

I would print it and then edit/fade as required.

Rail

Professionally Recorded Multitrack Drum Samples
http://tinyurl.com/26k2xjo
www.platinumsamples.com

[Michael]

I am SO not being sarcastic, but was that a “yes”? By “print it” you mean bounce/export as an audio file with the reverb on it and then fade in/out at the cues?

[Platinum Samples]

Yes 🙂

Rail

Professionally Recorded Multitrack Drum Samples
http://tinyurl.com/26k2xjo
www.platinumsamples.com

[Whitten]

You got the dope from Rail, but just to add……
I did ten years in music for film.
The final dub (mix to picture) for small films and television is usually done with stereo music mixes.
So you mix the music how you want it to sound, then reimport the finished mixes into a new page that is the final film mix.
Then you can fx, reverb, re-eq and hard edit/fade any of the stereo files to taste.
In the past we’ve hard cut from one music title to another, or crossfaded between them, or gone from a full mix hard in to a next door mix (like you were recreating) and back to the full mix.

[Michael]

Thanks. I’m still new to this, so what is a “hard edit” & a “hard cut”? I don’t know all the lingo yet and I’m the ONLY audio guy with all these film nerds (ha ha) so I don’t quite understand what you mean by

In the past we’ve hard cut from one music title to another, or crossfaded between them, or gone from a full mix hard in to a next door mix (like you were recreating) and back to the full mix.

Full mix hard into a next door mix? I don’t wanna seem dumb, but the advice here is high quality so I wanna make sure I understand it all.

When you reimport the file and do a stereo mix, are you using only one 2 track stereo mix of everything and basically mastering it?

Also important, and I have found many differing opinions, but what are the mix levels? I’ve heard generally -12 for dialogue and about 2 below that for music.
So when I do the final stereo mix, am I going to limit and compress everything to sit at 0 like modern audio?

Thanks in advance.

[Whitten]

‘Hard edit’ may not be an accurate technical term.
Everyone has their local tech lingo.
I just meant, when you work with stereo files on a final mix to picture, you can end up doing some radical (and unmusical) things.
A hard edit would be to cut an end to your music at a particular frame of the film, no fade, no rhythm of the music taken into account.
You’re following the picture, not doing musical edits.
Anyway, as for levels, compression and all that, first you need to find out what the ‘deliverables’ are.
Each tv station, film company has a set audio standard they require the mix to be delivered in. Don’t deliver it to that standard and they wont accept it.
In situations like these I also find it valuable to talk to other people in your area doing similar gigs.
Pick the brains of the film editor, the producer, try and get into another film sound company and spend a day picking their brains.

[Author]

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