Mastering for film

[dusty cooper]

Hi,

a quick question: when a film is mixed, I understand that the most common way is to first mix down to stems (dialogue, music, sfx etc...) and then do another round of mixing with those for the final mix.

In this last stage, is there any processing (compression, eq) applied on the master bus (which could be 2.0, 5.1 etc...)?

Related to this: what exactly happens when a film is mastered to Dolby specs? Is it just a specific encoding or is there more at work here?

thanks in advance

[rcutz]

Hi Dusty, I all ways mix in 5.1 to cinema, but I`m also record it striped on stems. Maybe it only a language matter, but for me at least, there aren`t 2 mixes, but only one mix that is recorded in some different ways.

When I`m doing my the print master, not matter of the final released will be on film or digital, I`m use a TC System 6000 5.1 multi band compressor + limiter on my main 5.1 buss. But I take easy with the compressor/ limiter, and I also just use it on my final print. I did not mix the movie with it on.

But I guess there are several ways people are doing it around the globe.

[iluvcapra]

Originally Posted by dusty cooper

Hi,

a quick question: when a film is mixed, I understand that the most common way is to first mix down to stems (dialogue, music, sfx etc...) and then do another round of mixing with those for the final mix.

Just so we're completely clear about our terms, you never "mix" your stems, which is to say, you never adjust the levels of your stems as you're making the 5.1 printmaster. The "final mix" is what makes the stems, and once you have the stems you're done mixing -- everything after that is faders at zero, except for very restricted corrections to make the 5.1 fit in a limited medium like an LtRt or mono.

[JoeMilner]

Units (individual tracks)>Predubs (hard or virtual)>Stems>Printmaster

However, in the case of the music, the separate premixes done by the scoring mixer (strings, percussion, brass, synth etc) prior to the final dub, will often be referred to as "stems" even though they are technically predubs.

And what Jamie said

[danijel]

The concept of mastering, where you apply certain processes to the entire length of the piece is suitable for short form audio that is consistent in content, like a song or a commercial. In a long form, you will have sections with dialogue, sections with gunfiring and explosions, sections with orchestral music, soundtrack etc, and so there is usually not one set of processes that will make them all happy. That's why it is not usuall to overally alter the mix that you have been fine tuning for days or months, section by section, line by line, sound by sound, unless you are adjusting the mix for a different media, like it has been explained above.
That said, many people have limiters and sometimes compressors on auxes or masters, but they are there throughout the mixing process.

[Tom Fleischman]

Originally Posted by dusty cooper

Hi,

a quick question: when a film is mixed, I understand that the most common way is to first mix down to stems (dialogue, music, sfx etc...) and then do another round of mixing with those for the final mix.

In this last stage, is there any processing (compression, eq) applied on the master bus (which could be 2.0, 5.1 etc...)?

Related to this: what exactly happens when a film is mastered to Dolby specs? Is it just a specific encoding or is there more at work here?

thanks in advance

Although many mixers (and directors) at one time routinely used the printmaster pass to fine tune mixes, it is a very bad idea and is rarely done anymore. If you do that the stems will not match the final product and I guarantee you that it will come back and bite you in the ass when the new generation of QC departments gets their hands on it. At that point it will be a bitch to fix, so don't do it. I don't do anything to my mixes in the printmaster. If I find a problem, or something I want to fine tune, I stop printmastering, put the stems back up, and fix it. Treat the printmaster as a transfer, just combine the stems at unity and monitor the mix carefully. If you hear something you would like to fix, stop printmastering and fix it in the mix.

[Henchman]

Originally Posted by Tom Fleischman

Although many mixers (and directors) at one time routinely used the printmaster pass to fine tune mixes, it is a very bad idea and is rarely done anymore. If you do that the stems will not match the final product and I guarantee you that it will come back and bite you in the ass when the new generation of QC departments gets their hands on it. At that point it will be a bitch to fix, so don't do it. I don't do anything to my mixes in the printmaster. If I find a problem, or something I want to fine tune, I stop printmastering, put the stems back up, and fix it. Treat the printmaster as a transfer, just combine the stems at unity and monitor the mix carefully. If you hear something you would like to fix, stop printmastering and fix it in the mix.

Yep.
And the only thing I personally would fix, woud be a technical fix.
I don't like changing things after the client has signed off on them.

[ggegan]

Originally Posted by Henchman

Yep.
And the only thing I personally would fix, woud be a technical fix.
I don't like changing things after the client has signed off on them.

+1
I won't change anything during the printmaster unless the director signs off on it, unless it is a technical issue that was clearly not intended.