Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1500716
The ways all of this can affect dialogue intelligibility in mixes is of paramount importance. If we assume everything is measured full program, and we take a show that's mixed with an appropriately wide dynamic range between dialogue and full program in the 6-8 dB range, it can also reasonably be presumed that this will not be the range for every episode. If it's 8 dB one week and 2 dB the next, then this means the dialogue is shifting 6 dB from episode to episode and from show to show and platform to platform, which means the viewer will be forced to raise and lower their volume level in order to keep the dialogue level consistent. This flies directly in the face of the intention of A/85. The conditions in which we mix play a huge role in dialogue consistency. It seems sensible to "mix for the format." Since theatrically released movies are mixed on a theatrical stage, if the show or movie is going to be watched in peoples' homes in which the best case playback scenario is a decent home theater system or soundbar, but much more likely those awful built-in speakers on TV's—or even laptop, tablet, or phone speakers—then, perhaps, mixing a TV show in a theatrical mix stage might not be the most appropriate format for best translation. I'm not arguing whether we should mix specifically for the lowest common denominator, but I always say, "Mix for the best case but protect for the worst." Since films that are released in theaters are first mixed to play in that format, the case can be made that not all of those are given adequate time or attention on a nearfield mix stage to best translate to the format that, if we're honest, most people will see and hear them in the long run (at least in our current climate). The reality is that even a lot of episodic content is mixed on bigger stages, and that can be driven more by client expectation than the real world needs of the project. I'm a big proponent of checking the mix on a pair of small (~5 inch) speakers throughout the main mix process as you can more easily hear when ZMT4-X Lasts Day to Night Lasts Day to Night Lasts Day to Night U P T O 16 Hours