Re: DP and some sound design questions... Please advice.
Posted: Mon Jul 01, 2013 12:45 pm
I definitely always print music stems with all effects, every dub mixer I worked with expected nothing else. Now, I could see printing a separate reverb stem if you have the extra tracks and the score in question is somehow tricky (i.e. because the music relies heavily on lots of reverb). But so far all stems I've ever delivered have been mixed with all FX married into the stems.
This of course means, yes, you need separate effects for each stem. I find I do fine with one large and one small verb for each stem, and I usually print four stems: Percussions, Instruments (that'd be essentially all pitched "rhythm section" type instruments), Melodies and Layers (that'd be pads and other amorphous stuff. All other effects (delays etc.) I usually run with the instruments and/or subgroups, so they simply get bussed with their respective instruments.
Among these four stems, what usually happens in the dub mix is the perc stem occasionally gets lowered, the layers occasionally get raised, and the instruments and melodies get ridden around. But I always deliver them premixed so they sound exactly as originally intended. (I also always deliver a pre-mixed stereo stem as reference.)
The few times I have delivered full sound design (a couple documentaries and one campaign of national TV ads), I delivered a LOT of stems for the SFX. Where it was extreme, I definitely would deliver the reverb printed separately, but like with everything else at the proper premixed level (so if you open up everything at unity, you got the full mix as I had it.) If the verb was just a simple natural ambience I'd print it married to the sound.
For ads and TV you also want to deliver a LOT of stems for the music - time is of the essence, tracks are never a problem, and a lot of decision makers will hear the stuff for the first time on the dub stage, so you need full flexibility. So for those I essentially deliver the music one stem per instrument/element, but each fully premixed and printed with all effects.
This of course means, yes, you need separate effects for each stem. I find I do fine with one large and one small verb for each stem, and I usually print four stems: Percussions, Instruments (that'd be essentially all pitched "rhythm section" type instruments), Melodies and Layers (that'd be pads and other amorphous stuff. All other effects (delays etc.) I usually run with the instruments and/or subgroups, so they simply get bussed with their respective instruments.
Among these four stems, what usually happens in the dub mix is the perc stem occasionally gets lowered, the layers occasionally get raised, and the instruments and melodies get ridden around. But I always deliver them premixed so they sound exactly as originally intended. (I also always deliver a pre-mixed stereo stem as reference.)
The few times I have delivered full sound design (a couple documentaries and one campaign of national TV ads), I delivered a LOT of stems for the SFX. Where it was extreme, I definitely would deliver the reverb printed separately, but like with everything else at the proper premixed level (so if you open up everything at unity, you got the full mix as I had it.) If the verb was just a simple natural ambience I'd print it married to the sound.
For ads and TV you also want to deliver a LOT of stems for the music - time is of the essence, tracks are never a problem, and a lot of decision makers will hear the stuff for the first time on the dub stage, so you need full flexibility. So for those I essentially deliver the music one stem per instrument/element, but each fully premixed and printed with all effects.
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