TV Commercial Mixing - Versioning/Cutdowns/Changes across cutdowns etc.

[ThisIsSka]

Hi Guys,

Good news, I'm working on my first TV Commercial sound design & mix! I'm very happy and excited to be working on this.

I'm working on a TV Commercial mix (unattended), where there are various cutdowns of a main, longer promo. (A 60s main, and a few cutdowns of the main feature, plus a couple of 30s & 15s which are completely different to the main commercial).

Thing is, when the director asks for changes to the mix (or changes the cut(!)) in one, I have to revisit each cutdown-mix and change levels/placement manually. Surely there should exist some faster way to do this?

I've put each cut into it's own Pro Tools session, and make use of 'import session data' to move over individual track settings, but automation and re-spotting effects takes time by hand. And I'm importing .movs and .omfs from FCP for this.

While writing this post, the director just got emailed me to say the client's scrapping 20 and 25 second versions of the cut. Happy days!

Thanks,
ThisIsSka

[UnderTow]

Originally Posted by ThisIsSka

I've put each cut into it's own Pro Tools session, and make use of 'import session data' to move over individual track settings, but automation and re-spotting effects takes time by hand. And I'm importing .movs and .omfs from FCP for this.

When I do this kind of thing I always put everything on a single time-line in the same session. This is not only faster but it also means you can more easily have a consistent sound for all versions.

It helps if you know all the import dialogue options very well. The time offset is useful to place the imported stuff at different points in the time-line. The "match-tracks" + "merge playlists" options are useful to put stuff on the same tracks without removing the stuff that is already there. Etc.

Being very familiar and organised with markers is also useful. Give each version a marker with a clear name at the very beginning of your session. (Do it at the beginning so that they get logical increasing numbering). Then if you want to check the first version, .1. will get you there before you can blink. .2. the 2nd version. .3. the third etc etc... You don't even have to stop playback for this.

This approach also means that if you have SFX that are at a consistent time from the start you can very quickly copy them to the right spot. Let's say you have a hit at second 23 of the first spot (and all subsequent spots) that you want to replace. Make sure your SFXs are always trimmed to the start then all you need to do is press .1., hold shift and select that SFX. Now hit .2. and press CTRL-V (or the equivalent on your control surface), .3. CTRL-V, .4. CTRL-V etc etc and the SFX will be copied to second 23 in all the versions. (It doesn't matter if there are other SFX on the same channel before the SFX you want to change as long as they are the same on all versions, you are just recopying them).

And so on and so forth. Use the available tools to make your life easier and quicker. :-)

Good luck!

Alistair

[Max Holland]

Yeah, one timeline with all the versions laid out is the way to go, if I have any say in the matter I try to have producers lock down the longest version of any spot, and then work from there, so more than likely the first and longest version is the standard I am matching back to, but sometimes you dont have any say in the matter!

[ThisIsSka]

Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely use this method (single timeline) next time!

The other trip up I've had is that this TVC is in 3 languages! I thought I'd be a smart-arse and try to print all 3 languages at a time by routing everything to separate busses, so each pass I'd make a full mix in each language, dialogue only in each language, a M&E for the whole shebang as well as music-only and SFX-only stems. Not had much luck as one language then had it's own cut different to the other 2 languages, then I gave up with that plan and only print 1 language at a time.

So far, I've completed the 60sec main (x3 languages), a 20 second re-cut (can't recycle much) (in 3 languages). And currently completing 30 second recut (can't recycle much) (also 3 languages).

Even the VO artists aren't constant through these versions, and the VO is frankly horrible (distorted or recorded from the next room) as we didn't do them. (I rejected the first ones that came in and was then promptly resent the same mp3s from the studio, then told by the producers to give up on trying to get the studio to send us better ones!)

To maintain a consistent sound I've got a print of the main 60s versions I did when the director was here, which I'm using for reference.

Would a handy thing to do in future be to have version 1 start at 01:00:00:00, version 2 start at 01:05:00:00, version 3 start at 01:10:00:00 et al?

This is certainly a learning experience! Any other advice you can give to us for further TVCs?

Fortunately, the producers have been happy as larry with what we've delivered so far. All's well that ends well.

[Shortwave]

As stated by others, and as you now know, use one single timeline for the entire thing. Things will remain consistent, there is less guesswork, and you will be saving time since you won't be switching between sessions.

Sometimes we are given things that are done poorly, since audio is mainly considered "the last stop" in a spot's production, and then it is up to us to turn water into wine. Inconsistent VO, noisy/distorted tracks, plus delivery as an MP3 equals = . Once you get written confirmation from the agency to stop asking for better sounding elements, then you do the best you can with what you have. From what I have read, you are doing just that!

Using timecode is essential what we do. It ensures a cleaner timeline and gets you speaking the same language (no pun intended) with the editor. If I happen to know how many versions of each spot I will have, I like to prep my session and set up markers (memory locations) for each version, then create "clusters" of spots by spacing them out. If you zoomed out, my session would look something like this:

(60)1 2 3 4 (5min space) (30)5 6 7 8 (5min space) (15)9 10 11 12

The :60 base spot would start at 1 hour, and then the versions of the :60 would begin on the EVEN minute mark to allow for proper spacing. The :30/:15 spots can line up every minute. The cluster spacing depends on how many versions I have, but I try to space them out 5 mins apart (if possible). For example, if I have 4 :60 versions (should end on 01:07:00:00), my :30 sec cluster will begin at 01:12:00:00

This may be a little overboard and take some time up front, but this will allow me to copy all of the work, go to the next marker, and paste it in. All that is left to do at that point is making the necessary VO changes. Plus, this will ensure that I am copying EXACTLY :60/:30/:15 secs and I have no audio going beyond that. I have had sessions that have had over 100 spots with multiple cut downs and this kind of organization helped me immensely.

Lastly, make use of grid mode so that you are snapping to picture exactly. This is especially useful when you have cut downs and are conforming to picture. I also like to use it when I'm sound designing. It helps me line up to those explosions! Though, if I am dialog editing, I am in Slip.

I'm sure that other may have some better tips for you but this helps me. Congrats on finishing your first spot (very exciting!) and here's to many more. Also, sorry for the long post!