Furthermore, the OMF file I was provided had everything in stereo-even the mono dialogue tracks. Some scenes had multiple sound effects, as well as dialogue among three or more people, which of course means extra lav tracks. The last one I did- The Architect, for Alexandre Pulido-had around 20 scenes. Organize your session.Ī short film can be anywhere from a minute to thirty minutes, in my experience. Now, I consider how much time it’s going to take, and add a few days on to my quote, depending on the project. I used to give the director quick deadlines, and found myself working all hours to achieve them. If you’re working with an experienced editor, and everything works fine out of the gate, the worst that can happen is you have extra time to mix. Still, for your own sanity, try to get at least an extra day in your schedule.
I know time is a precious commodity, and availability can be the determining factor in landing the gig. Or, you may discover that a line of dialogue you thought was salvageable actually no longer works in the context of a processed mix.
#Lav audio mixing movie
You may get a new cut of the movie half-way through, which has certainly happened to me. The director might decide they want looped dialogue to replace a line they can no longer use. This is not a problem unique to me-my peers experience it regularly.Īlso, you never know what might happen during a session’s timeline. Either the file is corrupted in some fashion, or re-linking the files becomes a carpal-tunnel-inducing exercise in mousing around a hard drive. I can count on one hand the number of times opening an AAF or OMF session in Pro Tools has gone smoothly. I’ve worked on quite a few short films and web series, some backed by production companies and others financed with sheer willpower. In the indie world of short films, even getting the files to work can take longer than you’d expect. At least add a couple days more than you think you’ll need. Read the above sentence, and really take it in: when working with a director, consider how much time it’s going to take to finish the movie, and double it if you can. Take the amount of time you think you need, and double it.
#Lav audio mixing how to
We’ll walk you through how to budgeting your time, focusing on editing, and making the right individual moves within the mix. Consider this article your step-by-step guide, and refer to it whenever you need to figure out how to mix a short film. Mixing a short film can be daunting for the novice engineer.