Mixing TV documentary in Pro Tools..peak/levels HELP PLEASE!!!!!!!!!

[Eanan Patterson]

Doing a mix for TV on a documentary. Usually i just score but am doing audio mix (dia.sfx) as well.
what is the maximum peak level on my meter that i should be seeing.
- 6 ...- 8... - 10???
please help ASAP!

[jahtao]

-10

[Eanan Patterson]

hey, thanks for the reply..so just to DOUBLE CHECK....

main dialogue, the VO, SFXs and music should not exceed -10 on my master levels for broadcast on TV...

is this correct? :-)

[Whitecat]

Originally Posted by eanan

hey, thanks for the reply..so just to DOUBLE CHECK....

main dialogue, the VO, SFXs and music should not exceed -10 on my master levels for broadcast on TV...

is this correct? :-)

Correct, but there may be even more to it than that depending on your market/broadcaster...

Look at the sticky at the top of the forum, it's very useful...

Standard mixing levels for movie theater, DVD, broadcast TV, commercials etc

[philper]

Originally Posted by eanan

hey, thanks for the reply..so just to DOUBLE CHECK....

main dialogue, the VO, SFXs and music should not exceed -10 on my master levels for broadcast on TV...

is this correct? :-)

Who knows? What do you mean by "correct"? Do you mean "sounds good"? Do you mean "will translate well to multiple playback situations"? Do you mean "will pass network QC"? Find out the spec from the network your show is going to, review what you've agreed on with your producer and read the TV levels stickies at the top of this forum.

Philip Perkins

[georgia]

well.. mostly correct... You need to get a set of delivery specs from your client or from the broadcast company you are delivering to. There are many many issues that need to be addressed or you stand a better chance than not of getting it kicked back from QC.

cheers
geo

[Eanan Patterson]

the producer wants an OMF from me...
basic 4 tracks:

Dia
VO
SFX
Music

So im trying to mix everything best i can without having any plugins on final tracks.
again, i'm a composer, so excuse my ignorance in all this, dont have experience in mixing for TV/Film

Im doing everything in Pro Tools 7.4 LE
The doc is for Irish television.

[jahtao]

Give em final mix as well and make sure none of em exceed minus ten peak. In future you should always request the 'tech spec' document

[Henchman]

Originally Posted by eanan

i'm a composer, so excuse my ignorance in all this, dont have experience in mixing for TV/Film

Well, maybe you should find someone closer to you, who does.
Save yourself the aggro and costs in case t gets kicked back by QC.

[philper]

Originally Posted by eanan

the producer wants an OMF from me...
basic 4 tracks:

Dia
VO
SFX
Music

So im trying to mix everything best i can without having any plugins on final tracks.
again, i'm a composer, so excuse my ignorance in all this, dont have experience in mixing for TV/Film

Im doing everything in Pro Tools 7.4 LE
The doc is for Irish television.

You may have a tough time making a satisfactory dialog track without the NR and compressor plug ins often used for doco audio. If you are lucky and the production sound is good (and wasn't bolluxed in the edit) then you might be ok with the plugs that come with PTLE. But nearly all films I get these days need various sorts of noise reduction, compression, multiband dynamics etc to get to a finished sounding track that will pass QC dialnorm specs. Do you have access to an LM100 or the PT plug in equivalent? What are the network specs in play?

Philip Perkins

[josh broome]

I can see why you would consult a forum such as this first, but it appears you need to encourage a stronger line of communication with the producers of the piece, at this point you should worry more about what they actually expect from you than what plug-ins to use. A wise engineer once told me "it's all about the client" if they don't know the tech specs, find out who does and contact them yourself. Asking questions will never make you look as stupid as making a stupid mistake will. Good Luck!

[huub]

In europe, the loudness thing (lm100) isn't important yet.. I would guess for irish tv the good old bbc norm would be required which basically means: peak at -10dBFs, but don't push -10 all the time, stay a couple db's lower most of the time..
Do you have a plug in that does bbc ppm metering? peak at 6 ppm, stay between 4 and 5 most of the time..

[Kwackman]

Originally Posted by huub

I would guess for irish tv the good old bbc norm would be required which basically means: peak at -10dBFs, but don't push -10 all the time, stay a couple db's lower most of the time..
Do you have a plug in that does bbc ppm metering? peak at 6 ppm, stay between 4 and 5 most of the time..

As Huub says, probably PPM metering is best for this.

I've dubbed progs for RTE and TG4 and reqs were max of PPM6 on each leg of the final mix.
So, the stems may peak differently (lower) in isolation.