| i second londontown on solo woodwind etc. they have to really go down against dialogue. percussive sounds are very hard to mix too - if they are over a line, they will either cover it, or (if mixed low) they will be mistaken for a diegetic sound.
for the show i'm currently working on, i, unfortunately, get music mixdown (no separates), so i can't duck just the offender, but also the strings/pads - it often ends up sounding like solo clarinet as the rest of it gets inaudible.
if you want to pre-mix, i suggest you slam a limiter (-10dB) over temp dialogue you got, and for every scene roughly adjust the dialogue volume to about -20dB RMS (short term, measured only when they speak). then ride music levels against that while monitoring on an actual TV set or small cheapo speakers with your window open. you'll be amazed at how much you will have to turn up the quiet parts.
and again, +1 for what londontown said - it's composing around dialogue that is the most important part of the mix. |