Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1512678
78 W I N T E R 2 0 2 4 I C A S Q U A R T E R L Y I'll share an example. I mixed a podcast where in the final episode of Season 1, there's a flashback going back to the 1800's. There's a barn on fire with horses running around, gunshots, a sorcerer pulling trees from the ground and throwing them against the bad guys—pure sound insanity! This single scene took almost a full day to get done. Without pre-dubs from the sound design team, it would have taken me two days, easily—especially with all the panning in Atmos. Remember, there isn't any picture telling you where the trees are coming from. There's one thing that I bring from my production set experience when mixing these shows, the dialogue sound. Since all the dialogue is recorded in the studio, it always sounds "too good." I love to EQ the characters to make them sound more like "production sound." I like it better than the "studio sound" for narrative content. For me, it's more convincing than having dialogue that sounds like a narrator or announcer. I like it because it places you more into the story. The mixing process varies and can be anywhere from three to five days of work from dialogue pre-dub to client playback. After that, we go through a couple of rounds of notes, usually two, but sometimes four or even six! Of course, it all depends on the production company, directors, writers, etc., and the length of the episode. The client review process is similar to motion picture. I usually use the production QC procedure or some online platform, like Frame.io, but have even used my own spreadsheets. Deliverables are pretty straightforward, typically, including English dialogue, foreign dialogue, sound effects, music, music and effects, or whatever others the production company asks for. Regarding levels, it all depends on where the show is going to play, YouTube, Spotify, etc., as each has their own specs, but are mostly -24 LUFS or -18 LUFS. These shows can be heard on any streaming service, such as Spotify, Apple Music, or Amazon Music. Although these mixes work very well through the speakers, they work better when your brain is playing tricks on you, I mean, when playing through headphones, since they are designed for this purpose. However, if you prefer listening through speakers, they translate pretty well, too. That's it! I hope you have enjoyed reading this, as I am really enjoying creating this new sonic universe. It has been an incredible journey so far, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for all of us. AI? That's another story! Lamps Lampadinha Some of the immersive podcasts I'm the re-recording mixer for.