Gearslutz.com - View Single Post - Standard mixing levels for movie theater, DVD, broadcast TV, commercials etc

f1sound · 2nd February 2009

When doing location sound for a feature it seems that the trend can vary to setting a level of -20 to -12. I've been told that for HD media a level of -20 should be set because there is little head room before distortion occurs... In the past I've set my level to -20, and have been told my levels are "low" (clearly an audio signal though) so now sometimes I'll make the best judgement on the application (say sit down interviews) I would set level -12 (going to camera on a standard HD tape, MINI DV, P2, etc) because its pretty much a controlled enviorement; whereas for a film I prefer -20 for a maximum range for a scene that can have say whisper and shouting dialogue.

Is there a recommended standard or preference for the guys and girls in post; or does it go back to keeping it simple, "as long as it sounds good"?

2nd February 2009	#31
f1sound Gear interested Joined: Jan 2009 Posts: 4	location tone level When doing location sound for a feature it seems that the trend can vary to setting a level of -20 to -12. I've been told that for HD media a level of -20 should be set because there is little head room before distortion occurs... In the past I've set my level to -20, and have been told my levels are "low" (clearly an audio signal though) so now sometimes I'll make the best judgement on the application (say sit down interviews) I would set level -12 (going to camera on a standard HD tape, MINI DV, P2, etc) because its pretty much a controlled enviorement; whereas for a film I prefer -20 for a maximum range for a scene that can have say whisper and shouting dialogue. Is there a recommended standard or preference for the guys and girls in post; or does it go back to keeping it simple, "as long as it sounds good"?