In the cozy world of Hollywood entertainment, a lot of things are “on the house.” But increasingly, some of the audio post-production is moving into the house. Specifically, some of Hollywood’s top post houses are creating high-tech Mini-Mes, allowing directors to work on a film’s sound at their own offices while supplying gear and technical talent tailored to each project.
Top image: A CSS Studios mini-studio with Digidesign Control 24 mixer
Nip/Tuck
Technicolor Sound Services (TSS) was on the trend very early, setting up an on-site mixing studio for producer/writer Mike Robbins for the first season of Nip/Tuck six years ago. From that experience, the studio developed the notion of on-site mixing into a package called DMR – digital mobile re-recording. There are currently four customized DMRs in the field, where a typical gear complement might include a Digidesign Pro Tools HD system, an Apple Mac Pro with four hard drives, a 5.1 monitoring system, JBL LSR 4328P monitors and HD video playback.
The biggest issue is the monitoring environment. “We try very hard, but these are not ideal mixing environments,” acknowledges Stacey Dodds, the TSS engineer who supervises the DMR program. In fact, he says, acoustics are the main focus of set-up strategy for the on-site mix room. At the production facility, Dodds will do an on-site analysis of the available offices, picking one or two for the mixing suite. Any noisy equipment, such as fans, will be moved into another room with wire runs sent between the two spaces. “The gear is already in an iso rack, but this adds an extra layer of [sound] isolation,” he explains. To run the wiring, “we try to snake it through ceiling panels, but we’ve had to punch a hole in a wall once,” he says. The mix room walls get an application of acoustical treatments and, using proprietary equipment, the speaker system is tuned.
A typical DMR set-up
“We usually have three days to set it all up, do the acoustical treatments, and shoot the room,” Dodds says. “Then the mixer does a test mix and, if we need to, we tweak the room tuning. Then they’re ready to go.”
Raw sound elements are delivered to the site on hard drives. FTP or high-speed connections let the DMR connect to TSS, but Dodds says most of what the mixer on site needs is already prepared at the main editorial department.
Television Is Different ...
The idea of mixing under these circumstances might raise eyebrows among some Hollywood mixers, and Dodds agrees he’d never mix film sound this way. But television audio is different. “Less bandwidth, less overall volume – television sound tends to translate pretty well in this kind of environment,” he says. All the audio is checked at TSS one final time before air during layback.
Matt Gillis
Matt Gillis mixes both Nip/Tuck and Glee in two separate TSS DMRs on the Paramount lot. He doesn’t miss the big stage. “The speakers aren’t as big, but as far as everything else goes, everything that you can do on a big stage I can do on the lot,” he says. “I’m mixing two big shows that way.”
Mark Kaplan, TSS’s vice president of sales, agrees that this kind of mixing should be limited to television — and even then it’s not for high-impact audio on shows like True Blood, which TSS also does sound for. But, he adds, the on-site studio concept has gotten significant traction in Hollywood in the last couple of years. TSS has put their DMRs with directors like Michael Bay and Glee creator/producer Ryan Murphy’s production company.
Glee
“The soundstage experience will always be there, but some clients really like working like this because it’s more productive and enhances creativity,” says Kaplan. “Instead of coming into a stage for two days with two mixers, the mixer is there on site for four days, becoming familiar with the show, the sound, the people and the pace of the show. You’re embedded in their world.” And in a time of budget cuts, it’s also one more useful sticky between client and studio in the business relationship.
... But It Can Work For Film, Too
Bill Johnston, chief engineer at CSS Studios (the former Ascent Media), which encompasses studios including Todd-AO, Sound One, Soundelux, POP Sound, Modern Music, Soundelux Design Music Group and The Hollywood Edge, says his group has set up on-site sound editorial systems for FX and sound design for directors including Oliver Stone and Michael Mann. Recent projects for which they’ve gone on location, so to speak, include Wanted, The Mummy 3 and Star Trek.
Star Trek
The systems sent to the directors’ offices generally consist of a Digidesign Pro Tools HD|3 system with JBL LSR 4328 speakers and an LSR4312SP subwoofer for a 5.1 array, topped off with a 50-inch plasma display. Johnston says this is the most “theatrical-sounding” monitoring set up he’s found. Acoustics almost always leave something to be desired and, if needed, CSS will bring some home-built acoustical panels from one of the studios. The space – usually a 12-foot-by-14-foot spare office that Johnston says isn’t that unlike the dimensions of editorial rooms at the studios – is acoustically calibrated using a Radio Shack level meter, with EQ adjustments made using the speakers’ own processing. “All of the processing, for the speakers and for the audio, is done in the box, which is what makes it possible to put a really powerful system on site,” Johnston says.
A reliable high-speed connection allows the remote sound editor to access the CSS’s Soundelux FX library, and since it’s generally a one-way download even most DSL lines are workable. If the connection is less than ideal they will set up servers on site to store files or use the DigiDelivery file exchange system. “Really what this is all about is creating a transition between the work they’re doing in offices or on the lot and when they come to the cutting room for the first time,” says Johnston.
Actually, there are numerous reasons that directors would want to give up an office and turn it into a sound design studio, not least of which these days is content security. The notorious leak of X-Men Origins: Wolverine earlier this year put an enhanced emphasis on that, and it was the reason Star Trek’s production team decided to start SFX development in their own offices.
L.A.’s equally notorious traffic offers another compelling reason for the studio to come to the director. “If they’re on the west side of town, they don’t want to have to drive in every day,” he says. “Sometimes that’s the most important reason of all.”
Comments (10)
1.
In other news....
Five star restaurants are now picking up on the practices of their distant brethren in the fast food world. An industry heavyweight says:
"Yes, we're moving to formica topped tables, styrofoam plates and plasticware, but they're easier to clean up and the impact on taste is minimal. In the area of taste, we've found that cheaper fryers and simple griddles make for less cleaning than dozens of individual pots and pans from the sous chef and others on the line. If you're steak au poivre tastes a little like your table mate's seared scallops --well... we consider that a bonus. It's not a shortcut; it's added value."
Posted by Gordon Comstock on Thursday, May 28, 2009 @ 02:52 PM
2.
One problem with these mini-mixing rooms is "the speakers aren't as large."
In short, does this mean we can look forward to TV shows and movies mixed as rock singles used to be - "for listeners with AM radios" - rather than for high end home sound systems or those in theatres?
It's a big "duh" to bring sound mixing in-house, but the JBL LSR 4328 isn't exactly on par with the speakers found on real sound mixing stages.
For example, the referenced JBL subwoofer only goes down to 27 Hz; perhaps fine for TV but a shame for theatrical presentations where THX-certified theatres can go down further (as of course is the case with many of the better home theatre systems these days.)
Posted by Bill on Sunday, May 31, 2009 @ 07:26 AM
3.
Yes I must admit, acoustically most of the "set-ups" look scary
And what of 5.1 mixing?!
Posted by Robert Matichak on Sunday, May 31, 2009 @ 09:35 AM
4.
These film sound suites are not meant to execute final film sound mix. In my experience they are used to present sound ideas, treatments, rough mix-downs, etc. in a multichannel/multispeaker surround format that helps in solidifying spacial and creative choices prior to the final mix on a proper dubb stage.
Posted by Alan Rankin on Monday, June 1, 2009 @ 04:17 PM
5.
I do this everyday. It totally works! I just mixed a feature on Stage 2 at TODD Burbank and the predubs from my smaller room to the larger translated nicely - I've tuned my room as well. Sure, there were mix adjustments for the larger room... but that's what your ears are for! This method allows for more time on the Mix Stage to explore creative possibilities with music instead of just wrangling 150 tracks of effects into a playable state while the clock is ticking.
Posted by Lisle Engle on Wednesday, June 3, 2009 @ 04:03 AM
6.
<
Right' that's what most of their applications are. And you really also have to read the economic and marketing subtext in the story: it's about boosting cost-effectiveness for the client and keeping the client/post house relationship close.
Posted by Dan Daley on Monday, June 8, 2009 @ 11:28 AM
7.
It's nothing new. On the East coast, post shops have been setting up portable audio in ad agencies for a long time. Heck... 20 years ago, the online video post house I was working for built an offline suite in one of the client offices.
Yes, that's TV. But as pointed out, a lot of dub stage mixing these days -is- for TV. (Complainers about quality can line up on the left, right behind the bean counters and suits. At least it's got post, and not mixed live to tape.)
And yes, acoustics can be questionable... and will never be as good as a fullsize stage with theater monitors. But think of it as a 'sound design' pass, between dialog edit and premix.
Just... don't be too sure about locking in the business relationship. That post house I worked for in the 80s? They discovered the agency was also using the offline room for demos and projects they'd post elsewhere.... and charging _their_ clients for the room.
Posted by Jay Rose on Monday, June 8, 2009 @ 01:49 PM
8.
I'll put forth again a remark a cohort said: "Hollywood will trip over a fifty-dollar bill to save a nickel…"
Tis fine and dandy to design and audition in a smaller project room -- as I've often done -- but the camaraderie of working with a professional re-recording mixer on a "true" dubbing stage must be regarded.
Many of these "mini-studios" sound like crap.
In fact, most of the work I've done lately is "fixit" work as the producers were seduced by this "project room" phenomena.
I always enjoy inheriting the job done by some nitwit who has a ProTools in their living room, calls themselves a "sound designer," then completely BOTCHES the job.
Posted by Paul P. Soucek on Monday, June 8, 2009 @ 05:16 PM
9.
We specialize in preparing theatrical films for DVD/BD. We offer all formats including 5.1/ & 7.1. Yes we are in the Home Theater environment which is different that the theatrical environment. 7.1 is not an option for for theatrical. It will be important for 3D on BD which will be here soon. Our work speaks for it self. www.micasamm.com
Posted by Robert Margouleff on Thursday, June 11, 2009 @ 05:53 PM
10.
Look on the bright side: with their iPods blasting away their hearing, kids today won't know the difference in quality audio a few years from now!
Posted by Eric F. Scholl on Thursday, July 16, 2009 @ 10:32 AM
Post your comments below
