Transcript Sound Mixing Audio post-production at Todd

Sound Mixing
Audio post-production at Todd-AO Studios with
director, Brian Baugh
Andy Crisp
Multimedia Teacher
Laguna Beach Unified School District
July 27-28, 2009
Todd-AO Sound Studios
Todd-AO is a full-service audio
post-production facility, with
locations in Hollywood,
Burbank, and Santa Monica.
The studio is recognized as a
pioneer and innovator in mixing
and delivering audio post
production services.
Todd-AO has won an academy
award in sound 6 out of the last
8 years.
Sound Mixing a Feature Film
To Save a Life (2009)
There are two mixers and one technician on
smaller budget feature films. One mixer is in
charge of dialogue and music and the other is in
charge of effects and foley. The technician
handles all the technical elements of the mix,
allowing the mixers to focus on the creative tasks
at hand.
Mixers use a combination of sophisticated sound
boards and Pro Tools software to achieve a
professional sound mix, while the sound
technician ensures the proper function of all
technical elements.
Four Components to a Sound Mix
Dialogue
Music
Effects
Foley
Dialogue Mixing
To Save a Life (2009)
Dialogue Mixing
Dialogue mixing includes
balancing audio from one actor
to another and from one scene to
the next. Once the dialogue is
clear and balanced, the mixer will
apply any necessary effects to
the vocal tracks.
While the mixers are busy
working away, Director Brian
Baugh watches intently and
provides intermittent
feedback...letting the artists
perform their job efficiently and
effectively.
Music Mixing
To Save a Life (2009)
Music Mixing
After the dialogue is mixed, the
primary mixer will start at the
beginning of the reel and work on
music. The music includes
songs licensed from bands and
orchestrations created by a
composer.
Music editing is an artistic and
technical process with the
primary goal to invoke a certain
feel during a scene and/or scene
transition, often times in the form
of underscoring.
Effects Mixing
To Save a Life (2009)
Effects Mixing
The second mixer is responsible
for assessing the quality of
sound captured on location for all
things other than dialogue. In
this particular scene the mixer
needed to replace the location
sound of a mouse click with a
better, ‘canned’ mouse click.
The Director and Producers often
attend and provide input to the
mixers during the mixing session.
While each director has his/her
own style, the process is very
collaborative. Brian plays an
active role in all aspects of the
film’s production, but balances
this with allowing the mixers to
be creative.
Foley Mixing
To Save a Life (2009)
Foley Mixing
Foley is the process of creating
sound not captured (or not
captured clearly) on location.
The day before I was at the
studios, Brian had foley artists
create a variety of sounds on a
foley stage to be used in the film.
In this particular scene, Brian
needed the sound of people
talking in the distance, as if
coming from behind the door
pictured to the right. After
recording the audio, effects are
applied in Pro Tools to make the
vocals sound distant and muffled.
My experiences at Todd-AO will be used to highlight the importance that sound plays in a
professional film production. The prodution quality of student films can be dramatically
improved when students pay attention to things such as dialogue, music, effects, and foley.
While the equipment used at Todd-AO is state of the art...the principles of good audio mixing
can and should be applied at every level.