Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1529890
C I N E M A A U D I O S O C I E T Y. O R G 45 c e l e b r i t i e s like P. Diddy (yes ... I know), Andy Garcia, and Samuel L. Jackson. While these were incredible projects to be working on, I was probably not experienced enough to take these on solo, being under 20 years old and pretty green. Yet, the clients were always happy. If I told you there were three stereo tracks of music: a stereo music reverb, 2-4 tracks of dialogue, and 4-8 of mono/stereo FX and ambiences, this would be generous. The shows were fairly groundbreaking, but had slow-moving floating photographs for GFX visuals cut in between archival film clips and talking-head interviews. The work felt important and helped me figure out the path to success in the industry. I learned how to craft a solid mix in a reasonably short time, make the clients happy, and pass network deliverables. On the other hand, reality TV was at a much more grueling pace. For 10 years, I worked on shows like The First 48 and more than 450 episodes of MTV's True Life, Amish Mafia, and similar spinoff series, but also many great sports documentaries for ESPN's 30 for 30. Typically, it was three days in and out for a 45-minute program. That contained a full dialogue/B-roll edit, all ambiences, and as many FX as you could add to make it all work. This also included an almost final mix to present to the client. Much of it was a blur; you had to use your instincts to craft the audio. This was in preparation for the 4- to 6-hour client- supervised review on the third day. There was a lot of Sony/ Sonnox de-noising and Waves de-clicking—the basic restoration tools if the studio didn't provide a Cedar NR box or plugins. And just when we thought we had a system down for mixing with VU and peak meters, the Dolby LM100 and its Dialnorm spec were put into place to help combat some of the loudness manipulation some "mixers" were achieving through digital limiters and compressors. I'm sure we all remember when the $3,200 LM100 turned the industry upside down for a while—and how annoying it was to initially implement. Sidenote: I actually purchased one from eBay for prosperity for $15 a few years back! In the long run, that meter and its digital equivalents allowed for greater level stability across a network (well, sort of). And once iZotope RX hit the market around 2007, we were able to bring clarity to compromised source dialogue that was previously unimaginable (with exponential improvements ever since). I had been grinding at that pace for years. I became aware of guilds, awards, and the mix magicians at the top of the game. I started analyzing who I looked at as the masters of the documentary and nonfiction mix: Ken Hahn, Bob Bronow CAS, and Dominick Tavella, to name a few. Personally inspired, I was growing my skill set through experience and analyzing the work of others. I always tried to add a higher level of storytelling through audio and my mix. This also aligned with the evolution of documentary projects, which were no longer just telling stories about a celebrity success, a historical figure, or an event-specific timeline. Networks, directors, and viewers were requiring so much more. There were deep dives into obscure moments and stories you may not have heard of before. In my humble