Theatrical Mix Levels & Processing

seanmccoy · 7th October 2007

Hi all. Just starting on final mix for my first 5.1 theatrical. I've read and understand the many references to proper monitor calibration, and gather that, when properly set up, mixing becomes fairly intuitive. But I haven't found any mention of any absolute maximum peak levels or recommended RMS levels. Are there any, or does Dolby Digital allow for some freedom of choice here?

Also, I understand that wide dynamic range is desirable, but knowing that many movies are mixed loud (and this one will have some very loud moments) I'm wondering how much use of compression and limiting is common---particularly on dialogue in loud scenes. I've mixed a lot of music and even more commercials, so I'm used to pretty unabashed slamming. Is there a consensus on a middle ground for theatre mixing?

Steven1145 · 7th October 2007

Hi Sean,

if you have a properly calibrated film mix room there will be a few peaks up to 0dBFS (room set up for -20dBFS ref level, and 85dB (C) for 0VU pink noise). There should'nt be much constant levels up there (at 0) because otherwise you'll be getting deaf (and so will the audience) pretty quickly.

I would advise using limiters to avoid high levels, not to make everything sound louder... I often use a brickwall limiter at -0.5dBFS for example just to be sure that the Digital track wont suffer from overs. However you'll have to hold your horses a bit anyway to make the analog SR track that cant take what the discrete digital 6 track can. If you intend to slam the sound like you would a commercial to keep it VERY loud, you should know that the audience will start hating you quite fast.

In Jurassic Park, the dialog was mixed quite low to make the dynamic range as big as possible. That certainly got the dinosaurs to roar very loudly, but not all the sound was loud (far from that).
I truly believe that a properly set up theater with the Dolby playback level at 7 should provide all the headroom you could need without having to limit and overcompress stuff to get it louder.

Just my .02$ of course.

Steven

seanmccoy · 9th October 2007

Thanks for the info, Steven. I guess this subject is too old and tired for most people to get involved with. If anyone knows of a pertinent earlier thread that I've been unable to find, please post a link and I'll check it out.

7th October 2007	#1
seanmccoy Lives for gear Joined: Nov 2006 Location: Central Point, Oregon Posts: 1,451 Thread Starter	Theatrical Mix Levels & Processing Hi all. Just starting on final mix for my first 5.1 theatrical. I've read and understand the many references to proper monitor calibration, and gather that, when properly set up, mixing becomes fairly intuitive. But I haven't found any mention of any absolute maximum peak levels or recommended RMS levels. Are there any, or does Dolby Digital allow for some freedom of choice here? Also, I understand that wide dynamic range is desirable, but knowing that many movies are mixed loud (and this one will have some very loud moments) I'm wondering how much use of compression and limiting is common---particularly on dialogue in loud scenes. I've mixed a lot of music and even more commercials, so I'm used to pretty unabashed slamming. Is there a consensus on a middle ground for theatre mixing?

7th October 2007	#2
Steven1145 Lives for gear Joined: Feb 2007 Location: Paris, France Posts: 501	Hi Sean, if you have a properly calibrated film mix room there will be a few peaks up to 0dBFS (room set up for -20dBFS ref level, and 85dB (C) for 0VU pink noise). There should'nt be much constant levels up there (at 0) because otherwise you'll be getting deaf (and so will the audience) pretty quickly. I would advise using limiters to avoid high levels, not to make everything sound louder... I often use a brickwall limiter at -0.5dBFS for example just to be sure that the Digital track wont suffer from overs. However you'll have to hold your horses a bit anyway to make the analog SR track that cant take what the discrete digital 6 track can. If you intend to slam the sound like you would a commercial to keep it VERY loud, you should know that the audience will start hating you quite fast. In Jurassic Park, the dialog was mixed quite low to make the dynamic range as big as possible. That certainly got the dinosaurs to roar very loudly, but not all the sound was loud (far from that). I truly believe that a properly set up theater with the Dolby playback level at 7 should provide all the headroom you could need without having to limit and overcompress stuff to get it louder. Just my .02$ of course. Steven __________________ Steven Ghouti Paris, France Heavy Nuendo users "I don't care what they're talking about, I just want a nice fat recording" Harry Caul My blog: http://www.filmmixer.eu

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9th October 2007	#3
seanmccoy Lives for gear Joined: Nov 2006 Location: Central Point, Oregon Posts: 1,451 Thread Starter	Thanks for the info, Steven. I guess this subject is too old and tired for most people to get involved with. If anyone knows of a pertinent earlier thread that I've been unable to find, please post a link and I'll check it out.