Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1316380
30 I M PS E . O R G drama, and it fills holes in the mix as well. It also emphasizes the marketing points that we're all trying to get across. Sound design should never be more than a third of the sound of a spot. So start off mixing it in thirds, and then find out where you can pull yourself back, or push something forward for a moment. Can you add a sound effect in there that gels it all together? That's the real purpose of sound design in short-form." Beyond the projects themselves, there are some unique perks of working on commercials. "That's where the cool new gear is! When I started at the Post Group, I was working with the newest digital nonlinear editing systems that were out, and not everybody was using them yet, and some people didn't want to. I had a fresh attitude about learning the new benefits of digital workflows." If you have a home studio, you might be wondering what you need to be properly set up for commercial sound editing work. "Well, you've got to have Pro Tools. I'd anticipate that you're going to need to change your computer every three or four years. Does it have to be the top Mac? No. Try to make it as easy as possible. Get something that works reliably. It's going to cost a little bit more upfront, but it'll save you a lot of time and effort in the back end if it's a reliable system. The Pro Tools stock plugins are all perfectly usable. Nobody knows what plugins you use when you print a stem, so they don't need to be incredibly fancy. You might as well get one of the Waves 'Top 30' plugins. Everyone's got them everywhere, and once you know the three or four things that are cool that you can do, then you can always just go into the bag and pull that one out, no matter where you are, without having to have a custom template. Anytime you can get through a session with a stock plugin with no presets, you're in good shape. Always have that in your pocket. Have a good limiter that you trust and know, because you have to deliver the mix within the specs required. It's very important that you know exactly how the limiter works. The best way to work is mix it all the way through, with no limiters on anywhere. And then you drop it on just a little bit, and listening to it should make you say, 'Ahh.' If you start off limiting on the first place, you'll be hearing the over-squashed mush and then you're mixing into an over-limited mess. Just get the mix right in the basic, broad strokes. Then later add the limiters to it, and do some creative things there to try and control your peaks and get it legal. Have a stock reverb with settings you trust, your go-to. There's nothing like adding a reverb that sounds like you're not doing anything but making everything sound a little bit more lively and realistic. That, and a delay. Have them built into your template and you can make a lot of things happen quickly. No one is ever going to know what you use after you print stems. Whatever the basic tools are, you've got to be able to make it work with those. You might find special reverb plugins that you discover along the way as you grow and learn more. Use those for special occasions. But a really good understanding of what the stock ones are, and how to get the best sounds out of them will go a long way. I'm a big proponent of using the simplest things that get the best bang for your buck at all times—not just when you're starting off. If you can afford more things one day, add them, and then learn them. And then they can become your secret weapons." Commercials have been around for a long time, but in these unprecedented times, every industry is subject to change. Perhaps commercials will persist in the same way they have for ages. But could they change in some fundamental way? "For commercials in general or in-house promos, I don't think we'll go back to the way it was for a while. Not this year. I think the people that are going to be successful at it already have