Finally using DP6 for something..... dubbing

[Tripi]

So... i'm a film composer first, but I often find myself wearing different shoes during post production. I've been diving into dubbing my first film this week (which I also composed), and I have a new found respect for the guys (and gals) who do this professionally.

Anyways - I have been using DP5 (even though i own and loathe DP6) for scoring..... but I did drag out DP6 this week to do the dub because of a need to work at 23.98 fps. It's growing on me. Although... I can't seem to find any of my surround plugins. I'm not really sure where they are, so I just bring my surround stems back into DP5.13 to export.

There is a question here: For anyone doing post mixing in DP - which surround panner option do you use for the dialog portion of the production track? Also - do you send any portion of it at all to the LFE channel? This is a documentary, so there is a lot of talking and barely any soundFX.

BTW - I found out an amazing trick to test your surround mixes: Use DVD Studio Pro's A.Pack program to make an AC3 file, and just open it with VLC media player. It will play the AC3, and decode it in real time to a surround receiver. Sure beats making dvd disc images every time you want to test a mix.

- tripi

[Skippybog]

Might get more reads and reliable replies in the Post Production board on this site. Rubba-dub-dub

[Tripi]

That's a good point......... sometimes i forget that there are other forums on this board. Maybe some kind moderator will move it for me.

[rockitcity]

There is a question here: For anyone doing post mixing in DP - which surround panner option do you use for the dialog portion of the production track? Also - do you send any portion of it at all to the LFE channel? This is a documentary, so there is a lot of talking and barely any soundFX.

Not doing post in DP, as I use Pro Tools at work, but I just have to address this...

No dialog in the LFE channel. LFE stands for Low Frequency Effects. It's for explosions and crashes and such. Sometimes you have big music elements there, but that is usually not recommended, as you are presumed to have full range speakers for the 5.0 positions when mixing. In a consumer system, you may have bass information redirected to the subwoofer to make up for the limited frequency response of the rest of the system, but this is bass management, not mixing.

I would not use a surround panner for dialog in a documentary. Dialog would normally be mono, either production or narration. It should be in the Center channel. If you have a scene in which someone walks off camera while talking, you may want to pan with the action, but this should be used very sparingly, as it can become gimicky really quickly. If you have crowd walla, you might want to mix it in the L-R and possibly surrounds if your character is in the center of a huge crowd, but this is usually edited and mixed as an effect.

If you need to fill out your surround mix, use your cut bg's or music reverbs to add some depth. Also, check with your client for any unique delivery requirements. Some broadcasters have very specific requirements for dialog placement, and most have very precise requirements regarding levels.

Don't call attention to your mix with fancy gimmicks. Remember, the sound supports the story, and anything that takes you out of the emotion being portrayed onscreen is wrong.

Hope this helps a little...

Bob

[Tripi]

Thanks Bob - that does help quite a bit. I was working with the assumption that no dialog would be sent to the LFE channel. The main reason for asking, was that I referenced some DVDs and found that there was definitely frequency content from the dialog in my subwoofer. Now, it makes more sense that this was because of bass management in my surround decoder sending extra material from the L-R speakers.

I have been working with my dialog summed to mono in my center speaker, but I also used a duplicate track to play the stereo dialog track to the front L-R speakers. The style of this documentary has everyone sitting center in front of the camera, so, there is no 'motion' in the dialog. Does it seem overkill or damaging to send this audio to all three channels in front?

thanks again for the help

[rockitcity]

I wouldn't add any dialog to the L-R. I makes your dialog seem like it's coming from a wall of sound perspective. If your mix is played on a stereo system, the dialog will now be doubled up in the L-R channels and possible do some phasing. Just keep it down the middle and you should be safe.

Bob

[Tripi]

Thanks Bob - this is a great learning experience for me........... but it's also nice to get some advice from the pros here.

best,
tripi