Audio Post Production for Film 101 - Mixing in Pro Tools pt. 2

[@jmerdsoy]

Your tutorials are a life saver. Thanks so much for putting up all this amazing info Thomas.

[@ThomasBoykin]

I appreciate you taking the time to watch

[@Nomad_Audio]

This is incredible! Being able to watch how someone else works is invaluable. I sit and mix/dialog edit almost every day, mostly on much smaller scale stereo TV projects, and getting to see your workflow really challenged my thinking a lot, especially the speed with which you automate your plugins to scenes. Thanks so much for this important series...I'm learning so much. My morning off has been well spent. :)

[@dwaynewyatt3]

This has seriously been the best series of videos I’ve ever seen on this topic. I’m so appreciative that you did this. I’ve learned an obscene amount from these videos. Please keep putting out content!!!! Subscribed all day long!!!! Thank you 🙏🏻

[@ThomasBoykin]

Thanks, I will try to but I have to balance it with work and family.

[@pxlmvr7]

Cinema picture editor here ... *subscribed!* Great seeing how post-production audio works!

[@paulkazibwesekyeru]

This has been the best video on audio post mixing. And I have looked around to see how someone else does it. You have surpassed them by far. Thanks Thomas

[@ThomasBoykin]

Wow, thank you!

[@paulkazibwesekyeru]

Hi Tom, what would it take to be your apprentice or intern of some sort? I'm interested. Would like to take the craft to the next level this side of the world.

[@ERICDIZZYASMR]

Thank you Thomas for saving my life! Getting into Dolby Atmos so I had to switch from reaper to pro tools. It was intimidating at first but after watching this and a few other videos, I am a lot less scared. thanks bro

[@bbtodrum]

Thank you very much Thomas. I honestly feel your have a gift for transfering information. If this is on video , I cant imagine what you will bring on a face to face situation educationally speaking. I have started retaking my sound editing & mixing craft from my studio days because I've been doing a lot of field and on location sound mixing for the last 15 years. I got say I am very happy I stumbled with your4Lo digital content. I recently work as field recorder on a low budget film, and I had the audacity of pitching the audio post with some collegues a a studio owner. You are our north star combined with our experience and listening criteria. Great stuff!!! Thanks for sharing.

[@ThomasBoykin]

Thank you for the kind words. I'm glad to help people either get started or continue their journey in post audio for film and TV.

[@allexfenty]

Absolutely cannot wait to see part 3!!!

[@luist4373]

Production sound Mixer here. It's always interesting what you guys do in post. I always try to go in post and speak with the sound editor or mixer. Even in preprod when they are booked but thats not always the case. Anyway, you are doing a great job and it's really interesting to follow your working process. Cheers from Belgium ;)

[@ThomasBoykin]

Thanks!

[@aaronhowells5641]

44:52 Couldn’t agree more, unfortunately it is all to common to have to turn up the volume to hear dialogue and then immediately have an explosion that blows out your ear drums. I wish more film and television sound mixers had the attitude like you of mix correctly so the viewer isn’t constantly reaching for that remote.

[@napatsnidvongs6611]

Just want to say thank you for doing this series. It's a lot of work

[@shamirrodriguez6222]

Love your videos Thomas, I wish this would've been available for me to watch 10 years ago haha. Regardless, it is always good to witness someone else's work flow and learn something new everyday. This are super valuable tips for mixers that are unable to access the big studios to mix films. Thanks for sharing.

[@Kamarkarze]

I'm loving this. I'm going to have to watch this one a few times though. You work so quick I got lost a few times.

[@ThomasBoykin]

Sorry, it’s a holdover from working lots of flat rate jobs.

[@19Stride]

WOW! What a great Workflow! Please continue this series!

[@bent513]

Picking up so many great things from this series. Thanks for putting in the effort!

[@bryandensley6220]

This series is rocking my world. Love seeing how someone else with some actual experience does this stuff instead of being in my own little vacuum figuring out things as I go, or having the blind lead the blind. I do have Cedar, but betting I'm not getting the most out of it. Would love to see how you actually work with that some time. Also, do you ever audiosuite some of these changes to the clips, particularly noise reduction on maybe some serious problems, or do you strictly keep everything as automated inserts? Thanks!

[@ThomasBoykin]

I use some tools as audiosuite but Cedar as an insert. I could do a short video on how I use it. Thanks for the idea!

[@danwool]

Thank you for these videos. They are all so great, and an amazing gift to the community! So no surround reverb on dialogue ever? I'm almost sure I've seen mixers put a small amount of room on DX, particularly on lavs to sort of put them in the same room as the BGs. Why mono verb?...Come to think of it I've only seen one mixer do this. Was that mixer just nuts? It made sense to me. I assume special effect verb could go to surrounds (caves and large spaces). I'm more wondering about room verb. If Thomas or anyone with some insight could weigh in I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

[@ThomasBoykin]

I always ask “does the story need this?” If the answer is no I don’t do it. Sometimes a surround verb is perfect. But in most scenes it’s completely unnecessary

[@danwool]

⁠@@ThomasBoykinCool. Thanks. That’s sort of my point. I would have thought that putting the audience in the room with the characters, with subtle use of surround reverb, might help the communicate the story better…however, with dialogue clarity in mind, mono reverb makes more sense. Thanks again for these videos and for responding! ❤

[@stephanecarreau]

Best compression is riding those faders.. With a good sound source.... woooo

[@FilmVideo-z9l]

Thank you bro, I always watch this video for our proceeding workflow. Thanks - From South Korea Dialogue Editor. Especially, If I have less time for work, Voice De noise on Insert chain is very helpful.

[@juanpmc]

thank you thomas for this amazing series!

[@juanpmc]

why option+shift+? , print me the plugins parameters in glide mode?

[@juanpmc]

works with ctrl + alt(option) + ?

[@michaelanctil4972]

I didn’t know that you could punch in automations the way you did at 3min. That will speed things up. Thank you so much!

[@venkmanofficial9450]

Love this series of tutorials

[@mcproducciones4310]

Amazing video man! Really helpful series 👌🏻

[@dreampetrucci]

Hi Thomas, thank you for sharing your infinite knowledge. I just have a quick question: in order for the "Write to all enabled" automation thing you do in preview mode to work, does the option "Plug-In controls Default to Auto-Enabled" under the Mixing tab in the preferences have to be ticked? Or am I missing something?

[@ThomasBoykin]

Yes or you can manually enable the parameters you want for each plugin

[@dreampetrucci]

@@ThomasBoykin I just realized that I missed the part where you explain exactly that on your video haha. My bad, and thanks for the kind reply anyways!

[@YungMako]

This Is Incredible Thomas, Where Can I Study For Doing the Same Job As You, I'm a Music Producer but I'm Know more interested in the mixing Sound Design Side Of things In Audio

[@nikg1751]

Thank you Thomas! I've enjoyed your working style and got some new workflows and hotkeys. But I do have a question: if for example i need the traffic/forest/ birds to be heard outside the window or flat, should i make an EQ in Editing phase or leave dry audio and do all filtering on pre dub? I mean it seems to be logical to find it out on pure dub, but how does it usually works when working in team (editors + re-recording mixer)? Thanks in advance and have a nice day!

[@ThomasBoykin]

Every mixer is different. Most I work with like tracks to work as-is when they hit the stage. In those cases I will use clip effects to filter or EQ to make it work. It’s then easy for the mixer to strip that info and discard if they want to.

[@nikg1751]

@@ThomasBoykin Thank you for answering! As I've thought - it is all about communication.

[@gorantovic1473]

Hi Thomas! Thank you for an amazing tutorial. Please could you tell me which control surface you use for writing automation? Thank you very much!

[@ThomasBoykin]

Sure I use a Mackie MCU Pro and a Faderport 16

[@rupchattopadhyay7498]

What kind of gear are you using? Interface/monitoring system etc...I don't know if you already talked about this and sorry if you already did. Also how is your room treated? Would be great to see a video of your setup and room or studio tour lol. Great content btw! Learning loads. Thank you!

[@ThomasBoykin]

I have a MOTU 2408 mk3, JBL active monitors and a small room I have treated with some bass traps in my house. I might be building a separate studio on my property soon or maybe buying a commercial space. Point being that the gear and space is not as important as the skills of the engineer. I’ve done some of my best work in my home studio but I do enjoy working in a dub stage or theater with clients.

[@rupchattopadhyay7498]

@@ThomasBoykin 100% agreed, it's the skill, not the gear. Was curious to know about yours though, thanks for the reply. My audio background is in commercial pop music and voice overs/dubbing but I am currently learning more about surround sound formats. That's how I came across your videos. That being said, if you ever video document your current studio or future home studio/commercial space, I bet a lot of us would love to see it.

[@xiggy2414]

omg these tutorials are the best thing on KZbin right now! Wish I had found these sooner, but better late than never haha. But what plugin is that you're using for panning the audio?? Is that something I can only access through protools? If so any alternatives I could get instead?

[@ThomasBoykin]

I use the panner in Pro Tools. You can also look up Spanner by cargo cult

[@nicolousrevonyirenda]

Hi Tom, Hope you're well. Would you do an entire mix (stereo) on Studio Headphones provided that's the only piece of monitoring available...?

[@ThomasBoykin]

Nope

[@ЗахарЩербатых]

Thank you for the tutorial. Did you use compressor on dialogue track? In first part you used compressor, but in this video you didn't show anything. I like use ride levels instead of compressor, is it a popular practice in full-length films? Is the movie mixed twice for cinemas and blueray, etc.?

[@ili6065]

that`s fantastic explanation!!!

[@israelpromise9446]

Thank you fr this tutorial,i learnt a lot

[@campers6701]

Can anyone help me with understanding track Input and Outputs shown in this video plz....

[@jimcabtv]

Would you have edited and cleaned up all the regions/fades at the very start before mixing?

[@ThomasBoykin]

Yes that is a part of the editing process, not mixing

[@paulkovrizhnykh1370]

Thank you very much for sharing this!Brilliant!

[@pavlegajic1404]

You have reverb on NX turned on. Great series though

[@Matchat11]

Hello I wonder if avid changed the shortcut to write the automation on the selection but i've desperatly tried command+option +? and that doesn't work. did i miss something here?

[@ThomasBoykin]

Mac or PC?

[@Matchat11]

@@ThomasBoykinMac

[@moana-gamba]

Hi, i do with Option+Command+Forward-Slash on Mac. You have to be careful with the parameters in your Automation module. So for the plugin EQ check that Plugin is highlighted, and of course in your plugin window you first need to add the parameters for automation (just above the solo safe button). Don’t Forget to work with the Preview because mistakes happens ! As advice in this great video !

[@dspiraluk]

I dont get it (im probably stupid) Dont you get a base mix with faders before riding them? What if a DX track isnt as loud as it needs to be in comparison to the others? And what if your mix works well together but you havent got the loudness to the correct LUFs? Do you have to bring all the faders up on ever track or can you just increase the output of the master limiter?

[@ThomasBoykin]

Clip gain first, then mix with faders

[@Sosha666]

Is there a way to scale faders or hold a key for finer controls with a control surface in protools?

[@ThomasBoykin]

Probably but I am too stupid to need more than 0.1dB of resolution.

[@sushant2095]

You're a mixing maestro!

[@angelogarcia1980]

Thank you for this,

[@alfredehab6727]

Can i know what is the name of the plugin you use to place and pan audio effects?

[@ThomasBoykin]

It’s not a plug-in, it’s the stock panner in Pro Tools.

[@alfredehab6727]

@@ThomasBoykin thank you❤

[@brainwasher3742]

Amazing

[@Ganesh-op6wc]

how can I get the stems?

[@ThomasBoykin]

The music stems come from the composer

[@Ganesh-op6wc]

@@ThomasBoykin what about DX, SFX & BGM?

[@ThomasBoykin]

You would get those from the sound editors, or if you are editing, the AAf and a sound library

[@danielteomusic5851]

Thanks man!!

[@CED3]

You're awesome!

[@PufftasticJames4]

Uh oh. You got a spam comment. Also, I would only do 5.1 for professional stuff like TV and Cinema. For webshows and indie shorts, I would suggest doing so in stereo.

[@ThomasBoykin]

Thanks for the headsup on the scammerspammer. I do a 5.1 mix if the project will end up streaming on Amazon, Netflix, or iTunes, or if the spec sheet calls for it. It's easier to do it all at once versus go back a year later.

[@PufftasticJames4]

@@ThomasBoykin Good point.

[@Elidrissi-Driss7857]

✔🎵❤❤✔❤❤

[@jamesCamali]

Olivia. Package.

[@DavidKfilmmaker]

Is that home alone? Dad

[@ThomasBoykin]

Yep

[@arturovd6644]

hello thomas! first of all your videos have taught me so so much, your workflow is incredible, i was wondering what are the levels (lufs integ. true peak) that you would normally look for for each group? (ex. backgrounds, dialogue, etc) i mix mostly stereo for small student projects, im still working on everything to get better but sometimes my mix tends to bee maybe too loud or too low?? hope to hear from you!

[@ThomasBoykin]

Hey Arturo. Don’t sweat the levels too much. For student projects I would try to make them meet the standard -24 LUFS spec if possible

[@arturovd6644]

sure will, thank you so much🙌 Any tips for loudness while using headphones? I cant seem to find good tips on how loud should I calibrate them, because of my lack of a studio, I use an interface for better sound quality