Dynamic Range Day - SHOUT OUT against the Loudness Wars !

[ianshepherd]

Hi All,

Hopefully this is something some of you might like to get involved with:

We are organising "Dynamic Range Day" on March 20th 2010. The idea is to raise awareness of this issue using "Social Media", blogging and any other online methods we can.

The idea is simple - on March 20th, anyone who opposes the trend of "Loudness for it's own sake" (as opposed to high levels or distortion for artistic purposes) can join in by SHOUTING (typing in all caps) in all their online correspondence for the day.

So, if you'd like to take part, all you need to do is SHOUT on Twitter, on Friendfeed, on Google Buzz, on your blog, wherever - use the #DYNAMICRANGEDAY hashtag, and crucially, explain to anyone who asks *why* you are shouting.

I've put up a page explaining what it's all about that you can point people at:

Dynamic Range Day - Loudness War Protest

and there's a Facebook Event they can sign up to here:

Dynamic Range Day Facebook Event

So, there you go - hope you like the idea, please spread the word and get involved, if you do - especially if you have contacts in the "real world" media !

The guys from Turn Me Up! are on board, and I'm hopeful we can make a great deal of noise about our desire to be quieter :-)

If anyone has ideas or suggestions, I'd love to hear from you - the easiest way to get in touch is via Twitter

http://twitter.com/ianshepherd

Thanks for the bandwidth (headroom ?!?)

Ian

[seany]

that's actually my birthday!

[seany]

it's also a great idea, well done for doing this. thumbsup

[Philw]

hi Ian,

great idea !

The guys from Turn Me Up! are on board, and I'm hopeful we can make a great deal of noise about our desire to be quieter :-)

ah ! they update their site finally !
I am registered for so long I can' remember, sending mails from time to time for news and never had a reply... :(

kind regards
Phil

[Key]

Er nevermind just woke up haha. Yeah I could do it on that day lol

[Bob Yordan]

Why does the link to the facebook point at this???

[url http://tinyurl.com/dynamic-range-day-event ]Log In | Facebook[/url]

Will you capture the login & password????????

I got logged out, from FB, when I clicked on the link.

[ianshepherd]

Originally Posted by Bob Yordan

Why does the link to the facebook point at this???

[url http://tinyurl.com/dynamic-range-day-event ]Log In | Facebook[/url]

Will you capture the login & password????????

I got logged out, from FB, when I clicked on the link.

Facebook won't allow custom URLs for events, so I used tinyurl - it's a well-known link-shortening service.

Log In | Facebook

is much friendlier than

Log In | Facebook

- don't you think ?

Edit - Urrgh, the board has hidden away the URLs so that doesn't make much sense. Never mind, you get the point.

The long link is needed because if you link directly to the event page, you get a blank screen unless you're already logged in. It's annoying that it logs you out, I agree ! But, I don't know of a better way round it - anyone ?

Ian

[Bob Yordan]

Originally Posted by ianshepherd

Facebook won't allow custom URLs for events, so I used tinyurl - it's a well-known link-shortening service.

Log In | Facebook

is much friendlier than

Log In | Facebook

- don't you think ?

The long link is needed because if you link directly to the event page, you get a blank screen unless you're already logged in. It doesn't log you out, it just requires you to re-enter your password. That's annoying, I agree, but I don't know of a better way round it - anyone ?

Ian

Oki, thanx for the clarification. thumbsup

[Waltz Mastering]

Will it still count if I just yell at everyone all day?

[seany]

as long as you explain exactly why

[Waltz Mastering]

Of coarse.

[streetbeats]

Nice one Ian thumbsup

[misjah]

shout at 0db? lolll..

[Table Of Tone]

We should all agree to pull back 2db RMS from what we'd normally capture?

I'd love to be allowed to master at lower volume.
I try to sneak it down at every given chance!
I always try to convince the client that their stuff will sound better a couple db down, even though I do have the right tools and experience to get good sounding volume!

Trouble is, there will always be some prick that wants to get noticed by slamming the hell out of it, and it's normally that same prick that doesn't have either the right tools or the experience!

That's the real problem we've got here!

The loudness war itself has been around since the 50's!

[finleysound]

Nice! Love the idea.

[Happy Musicfan]

Newbie question for all mastering specialists : If you were to get the final mix by a very dynamic 4-piece alt rock band, what generally and ideally would you like to see the db maximum peaks at ? -10db or so ?

[ianshepherd]

@ Table Of Tone - Hey, I like that idea ! Dynamic Range Day is intended to raise awareness in general, not just engineers and audio fans - but for those of us who already know and care, having another goal is a great idea ! I'm going to think about how to sell that one...

@ Happy MusicFan The short answer is - it's OK to peak right up to just below 0dB, but the RMS is better kept down to -10dB. A dynamic range of 8dB for the loudest moments is the very loudest you should go, in my opinion.

For a more detailed answer, check out this post:

TT Dynamic Range Meter - How to avoid over-compressing your mix

Hope that helps ?

Ian

[Happy Musicfan]

Thanks ! Found this too ----- How to avoid over-compressing your mix: The TT Dynamic Range Meter - Mastering Media Blog ----- (other link wasn't working). Also, (for anyone) is the dynamic range of a (pre-mastered?/non-mastered?) Brahms 4th symphony much greater (than in rock), and can future forms of very progressive rock possibly try to reach or approach that ? For example, in a long, epic ballad type song with a grand crescendo ending (ff), and with a middle section of just the electric guitar playing light fingerstyle (pp), are these general reasonable dynamic range limits for the final mix at least theoretically flexible, or have they actually been attempted to be pushed beyond suggested limits ?

[Waltz Mastering]

Originally Posted by ianshepherd

@ Happy MusicFan The short answer is - it's OK to peak right up to just below 0dB, but the RMS is better kept down to -10dB. A dynamic range of 8dB for the loudest moments is the very loudest you should go, in my opinion.

Is that an ITU weighted measurement?

Looking at crushed commercial releases (rock), that's basically where they live. rms = -10 dB fs, or is this measured differently in the UK?

[zapsmith9]

no need to go to extremes wrt dynamic range in rock. what if you're in a noisy envirnment.. like a truck. classical has it's place, but rock and pop just cant afford to get that quiet or people tune out.

[Format6]

Hey guys,
I have just started a new online show ( The DSP project ) about music production and engineering. As part of this I really want to help bring some attention to the loudness wars hopefully reach some newer producers that might not be aware of the problem.

As such I am trying to find a studio slut who lives in London and is passionate about this cause and willing to do an interview about it.

So if your want to help make a change and feel you can make a great case for dynamics (and get some free promotion you and your studio) please email me inboxat theDSPproject dotcom.

Thanks!

[Bob Yordan]

Originally Posted by Format6

Hey guys,
I have just started a new online show ( The DSP project ) about music production and engineering. As part of this I really want to help bring some attention to the loudness wars hopefully reach some newer producers that might not be aware of the problem.

As such I am trying to find a studio slut who lives in London and is passionate about this cause and willing to do an interview about it.

So if your want to help make a change and feel you can make a great case for dynamics (and get some free promotion you and your studio) please email me inboxat theDSPproject dotcom.

Thanks!

Cool, thanx for sharing. thumbsup

[ianshepherd]

Originally Posted by Waltz Mastering

Is that an ITU weighted measurement?

Looking at crushed commercial releases (rock), that's basically where they live. rms = -10 dB fs, or is this measured differently in the UK?

It's measured using the TT Dynamic Range Meter, which uses the AES Standard AES17-1998 - where a 0dBFS sine wave is calibrated to read -3dBFS. If a square wave is used for the calibration instead, the reading will be 3dB lower - which would be closer to the -10dB reading you're seeing, I guess ?

Ian

[Bugstone]

Brilliant. I am there. Nietzche said, "without music, life would be a mistake" If he were living today he would say, "without dynamic range in music, life would be a mistake"

Bugs

[LFF]

Awesome!

However, I think the media will be displeased with the lack of punch. They will want our message to be louder - like Jay-Z maybe. They might even feel we are being too muddy and not bright or clear enough.

You get me?.............You get me?

[ianshepherd]

Originally Posted by LFF

Awesome!

However, I think the media will be displeased with the lack of punch. They will want our message to be louder - like Jay-Z maybe. They might even feel we are being too muddy and not bright or clear enough.

You get me?.............You get me?

Damn, you could be right. Maybe I should boost the contrast and saturation of all the images on my site, use orange and green text and very large font sizes... :-p

[LFF]

Originally Posted by ianshepherd

Damn, you could be right. Maybe I should boost the contrast and saturation of all the images on my site, use orange and green text and very large font sizes... :-p

LOL!

[Arksun]

Originally Posted by ianshepherd

Damn, you could be right. Maybe I should boost the contrast and saturation of all the images on my site, use orange and green text and very large font sizes... :-p

Hahaha, great idea

[Alécio Costa]

is it ok like this?????????

[Odeon-Mastering]

Originally Posted by Alécio Costa

is it ok like this?????????

lol ...thats like -2db RMS