Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/19885
used to that idea, but I know my Lt/Rt mix is not going to be heard.So, that’s why I always make sure my 5.1 mix works as is, and as a fold down to stereo.” Kris has mixed for both film and televi- sion, and has seen a wide variety of audio requirements.The many broadcast and cable networks’ audio requirements not only vary greatly, but may even contradict how audio levels should be used. “Every network has a different audio spec, which is most often a dialnorm value. As problematic as the dia- logue normalization number can be, espe- cially on show with a lot of music like Treme, if everyone understood it and mixed for it, we could see a standard with all the net- works and the mixing rooms. But, it was never the intention for this loudness mea- surement to become a standard. “The original idea was that a mix would be done without predetermined levels, then the measurement would be taken and the networks would know how to adjust the mix to their needs,” he continues.“But now, it’s the opposite.The networks are telling the producer s what n umber the sho w needs to be mixed at.They are dictating to us how our mixes should be, which is not what this technology was made for.” Other areas for variation are the deliver- ables and the final layback of the show.With the advent of new formats and technologies, there are new and varied requirements. “HBO has about as man y deliverables as most film studios do,” says Kris.“We are de- livering 5.1 mixes, the Lt/Rt mix, laybacks to HD tapes, Dolby E, broadcast WAV files and the M+Es. It is pretty astounding the amount of things needed. All these different markets are something that many people don’t take into consider ation. Once the f inal mix is done, many people don’t realize how many other mixes are needed for a single episode. This can impact b udgets and time . It can take as much time to make all the deliver- ables as it did to mix the show.We can be outputting for hours on end and there is never enough time for that.” The diff erent HD videotape f ormats offer a large number of audio tracks com- pared to most standard definition tapes. Sony’s HDCAM SR format has 12 audio tracks available and most networks have each of these tracks accounted for with their audio deliverables.“A lot has changed with what we are asked to do and pro- vide,” says Kris.“We deliver three SR tapes for a single episode.Tape one has the Lt/Rt on tracks 1 and 2 and then the 5.1 mix goes on 3 through 8. Another tape has the Lt/Rt mix on 1 and 2, a Dolby E on 3+4, the M+E on 5+6, etc. So, even 12 channels isn’t enough! That’s why we make three tapes.And Dolby E can print eight tracks of audio encoded into tw o channels so it’ s theoretically possible to print six Dolby E streams onto one tape for a total of 48 tracks on one videotape!” Kris mixes using Pro Tools|HD. “I’ve al- ways mixed in the box, even early on. It is great f or k eeping up with the picture changes, which means w e don’t ha ve to work with pre-mixes.The mixing process is much more organic because of that.” Sound One uses D-Control with 32 faders.“The video plays on a separate Pro Tools LE system that has the Blackmagic video card in it,” says Kris.”There is a new feature in Pro Tools 8 where you can play out any HD video format through this card. What is reall y great is that it links ups with my main system using Avid and Digidesign’ s satellite link.They have a protocol that works with Ethernet. We lock up to four systems together without timecode and it is sample accur ate. It’s been great because I have one system for video, my main HD system, we print to a third system, and all those three systems are linked just by that satellite system. “I also love Audio Ease for Altiverb,” says Kris.“That is our go-to plug-in for re- verb. For dialogue, I have been using the Massenburg MDW high-res EG plug-in. We also have four rooms outfitted with the Nev e Digital Film Console, so we are used to this really rich and transparent EQ sound from the DFCs. The Massenburg plug-in is the closest match to the sound of the DFC. For compres- sors, I use the plug-in made by Flux, which is great for broadcast. I can hit it pretty hard, but y ou don’t hear the pumping or an y b y- products. For filters, I use the McDSP NF575 noise filter, which is great for cleaning up dialogue.” Sound One has dev el- www.postmagazine.com November 2010 • Post 49 oped a great working relationship with plug-in man ufacturer Waves. “We ha ve been beta testing for Waves dialogue noise suppressor, the WNS.The user interface is similar to the Cedar version, but the plug-in is just amazing for noise reduction. I can clean up dialogue pretty quickly and it does- n’t have the artifacts that the other plug-ins do.We have a good relationship with the Waves team and they will send us stuff to test out.We sometimes give them and idea for a plug-in and they get it done so quickly. The next thing you know, it’s a complete product. I don’t know how they do it, but they do great work.And we give them a lot of good feed back as Waves gets into more post production stuff.”