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  4. Delivering 'stems' to a 5.1 mixing pro

  • Delivering 'stems' to a 5.1 mixing pro

    R
    R

    Hi there,

    This film I just finished the Director has upped the budget to allow a mixer to put everything in 5.1.


    This is new to me so I was hoping someone could advise on a couple items:


    1.   I will provide 'stems' (strings, ww's, brass, etc.) to him.    He has Altiverb XL (5.1), so I give him 24 bit / 48K stems (without any AV here)?

    2.  I am using SvK's (3 ER's and 3 tails on send/return template on Todd AO - which I love).   The mixer said he could use those same instances.   What is the best way to send him those settings?  AV presets of each instance?


    3.  I am a little nervous of him having all that 'final mix' capability on my music.   He is suppose to be real good.   But any advice here of things I should tell him?


    --any other advice would be appreciated.   He did say if I wasn't happy with the first cue he did this way that I could just provide him with Stereo mixes like I have now (with my doing the AV) and he would wash just a little 5.1 IR over it (if I understood him correctly.)


    Many thanks in advance for any help / advice you may have.

    Rob

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    @Another User said:

    --any other advice would be appreciated.   He did say if I wasn't happy with the first cue he did this way that I could just provide him with Stereo mixes like I have now (with my doing the AV) and he would wash just a little 5.1 IR over it (if I understood him correctly.)

    This is a last resort, but stereo songs get away with it in movies. There should be no reason to go here, unless there is a huge disaster.

    Last bit of advice. Make sure that you print your automation, unless he is mixing within your session. The one time I sent a demo out to be mixed, the engineer gave up and had to come back to my place to mix, because he couldn't even get it to sound as good as my demo. The engineer needs to know that when all faders are set to 0.00db, the balance within each section is sort of how you like to hear it. Don't expect him to know that you always set the strings to -5db and the Brass to 0.00db.

    DG
  • D
    D

    Hey wait a minute. Are you talking about a 5.1 music mixer, or a 5.1 dubbing engineer? If the latter, you should deliver stems already mixed in 5.1, with all effects printed. Dub mixers have enough to worry about, without having to deal with adding reverb, EQ, effects etc. If the former, then my previous advice still stands.

    DG
  • R
    R

    Yea Daryl - this guy is the dubbing mixer (mixing music, sound fx, dialog, etc.)  Man I really feel uncomfortable to let him have final say.  I am two states away from this guy and cannot run shotgun - wonder if I should just do the stereo mixes of all the cues.   Could he then take than and 'wash' it with just a tad of AV 5.1?

    Many thanks.

    Rob 
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    @Rob Elliott said:

    Yea Daryl - this guy is the dubbing mixer (mixing music, sound fx, dialog, etc.)  Man I really feel uncomfortable to let him have final say.  I am two states away from this guy and cannot run shotgun - wonder if I should just do the stereo mixes of all the cues.   Could he then take than and 'wash' it with just a tad of AV 5.1?

    Many thanks.

    Rob 

    I think send him stems, with all effects printed, in stereo, if you can't do 5.1, and then let him do what he likes with it. I would never let a dubbing mixer mix the music (of a predominantly orchestral score) at the dub. Asking for trouble IMO.

    DG
  • R
    R

    Thanks Daryl,

    Thinking about him being 800miles away I think I'll just send him the stereo mixes and let him fold it into 5.1.   I worry about what he thinks is a right balance between stems of strings, brass, ww's, etc.

    Thanks again.

    Rob 
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    @Rob Elliott said:

    Thanks Daryl,

    Thinking about him being 800miles away I think I'll just send him the stereo mixes and let him fold it into 5.1.   I worry about what he thinks is a right balance between stems of strings, brass, ww's, etc.

    Thanks again.

    Rob 

    Probably the safest thing. Now, if the director has found some more money, what about doing the music in 5.1 to start with? Oh, there's no more money for music? What a surprise.[;)]

    DG
  • R
    R

    Yea - imagine that DG [:P]
  • J
    J
    I wanted to take this opportunity to ask a little advice on a similar problem. I also have to provide stems for a 5.1 mix. The engineer asked me to provide my dry music stems, and a stereo pair of reverb-only tracks, as well. However, since I use altiverb, there won't necessarily be any separate reverb tracks... nor will there necessarily be any dry tracks, for that matter. How do people deal with this kind of request from an engineer when altiverb is the reverb of choice?

    Any thoughts appreciated.

    J.