Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1543070
C I N E M A A U D I O S O C I E T Y. O R G 31 the amount of effort and care we put into making sure every line is clear. So, when given the opportunity to hear a panel on the topic, I jumped at the chance. I won't re-deliver the whole discussion here but will instead give you my big takeaways. (Videos from the event should appear on the CAS website shortly.) First though, a little about the speakers. The discussion was moderated by longtime industry insider and audio post engineer Brian Slack, currently of the Glen Glenn Film Center. The panel was composed of re-recording mixer Marc Fishman CAS, re-recording mixer and sound designer Jon Greasley CAS MPSE, and VP of Advanced Media Systems at Dolby Labs Jeff Riedmiller. The Big Problem At the top, Brian laid out a situation where end users feel compelled to "ride" the volume up and down on their remotes or complain about not being able to make out what exactly was being said. What was happening here? Our panelist mentioned several reasons contributing to this phenomenon: 1. In the analog broadcast era, the audio was compressed. When the move to digital broadcast came around in 2009, these compressors where removed. Suddenly, the audience was hearing a far more dynamic program, and as the streaming era took hold, this dynamic range was further enlarged. 2. Most actors no longer learn their craft in the theater; many of them have no experience projecting their dialogue. This coinciding with the wide implementation of lav mics on set has exacerbated dynamic range issues. There are times actors deliver lines so quietly that there can be noise-floor issues when bringing them up to a listenable volume. This can lead to further degradation of the dialogue with heavy de-noising use. 3. Some TV manufacturers have added compression modes, usually referred to as something like "night mode," to smooth out programs too dynamic for low-volume monitoring. These, however, are not rapidly remote-ready. One has to dive into the settings menu to find this feature and turn it on and to turn it off. 4. TV manufacturers currently put little emphasis on audio. The box the TV comes in is often more expensive than the audio components. Speakers tend to not face the audience anymore and are rear firing off the wall. 5. Soundbars and home surround systems alleviate much of these issues if the systems are properly set up. This, however, is often not the case. 6. There have also been stylistic changes in the way shows are mixed. In the streaming era, far more are mixed dynamically like a film than statically and dialogue-forward like a sitcom from the '90s. 7. The average audience member can perceive a 1 dB difference in dialogue volume, but a 12 dB difference in SFX. 8. As the move to digital broadcast advanced, advertisers were taking advantage of this new dynamic range to push the overall volume up way beyond that of regular program material. 9. In 2012, the CALM Act was supposed to force broadcasters to ensure that their advertisements would have the same average loudness as programs. Instead of turning down their commercials, many broadcasters re-encode shows to meet the new spec. Effectively turning every program up to meet the level of the commercials and largely distorting, or destroying the mix work. 10. As Dolby AC-4 and ATSC 3.0 come closer to reality, Atmos broadcasts will bring challenges of their own. We have all heard the harsh and loud fold-downs of Atmos as it migrates from immersive to 7.1 to 5.1 to stereo. Many films get around this issue by having separate mixes for some or all of these formats. That is not likely to be realistic with the time and budgetary constraints of a broadcast project or lower budgeted film. After discussing these issues, the panelists provided some suggestions for mixers to consider. 1. Because many of our creatives, showrunners, and other filmmakers have no knowledge of these issues, it is largely mixers and editors who will have to be conscientious and act proactively. 2. We need to think deeply about setting up the circumstances and following approaches that make our mixes sound their best in all environments given the limitations of each production. 3. We need to educate the broadcasters about the limitations and constraints of their specifications, many of whom are far too old for today's state of the art.