Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1259912
C A S Q U A R T E R L Y S P R I N G 2 0 2 0 13 So, circumstances forced our hand. We invested in a modest 5.1 home studio, and one of our two bedrooms became a home studio. With an ISO rack for temperature and sound control of our equipment, a separate video playback rig, a 5.1 speaker array (JBL LSR4308's in LCR, LSR4306's LsRs, and LSR4312SP sub), some sound baffling, a battery backup, obscene amounts of licenses and software, and a few other bits of hardware we could offer our services directly to clients. We treated the room, calibrated the speakers, and edited and mixed documentary series, independent films, pilots, and scripted streaming series for years. Our workflow was streamlined for digital delivery. A password-protected link from picture editorial via Aspera, Frame IO, or Vimeo of a screening copy was used for virtual spotting sessions. We received turnovers from picture editorial via Dropbox, Hightail, or WeTransfer. Foley was outsourced, and ADR was shot at other high-quality home studios or formal facilities, often using Source-Connect or Skype. We assembled the dailies and a remote sound editorial team would jump into action, digitally delivering elements back and forth. Before the world was on lockdown, a pre-dub would typically occur in our home studio and then finalize on a four-walled dub stage. With relationships with studios all around town, clients would have their dub stage of choice in their part of town. After the mix was approved, we would print and leave with files that we would use to create detailed deliverables based on network specs or theatrical distribution documents. This final mix stage is where it is crucial to know the limitations of your small room and how it will translate. It is this knowledge I have had to come back to in the last few weeks when mixing for a couple of clients exclusively from my home studio. Most recently, after pre-dubs and a temp dub in my home studio, an approval QuickTime was securely sent to EP's, producers, writers, the picture editor, and the music editor. Notes were streamlined by a shared Google Doc, which we addressed together on a Source-Connect Live session. This process allows me to play in near real-time my mix changes with picture and audio in perfect sync. After printing and QC'ing my stems, I send them to my engineer, who packaged everything up for final delivery to the network from his home system. In the end, deadlines are hit and goals met. David Barber CAS MPSE: Fellow re-recording mixer David Barber CAS MPSE is also a veteran at remote mixing. David and Juniper Post have been devising an ingenious system of remote mixing for years, which has allowed them to service many clients from all over. Having completed the mix for the feature films Force of Nature, Axis Sally, and The Uncanny, all 100 percent remotely, Barber offers some thoughts as well. Westwind Stage 3