Audio Stem Question

Olaf99

Olaf99

Active member
I'm more of a director/cinematographer than an audio person so, please go easy on me here! I've submitted a scene I wrote, directed, and edited to a contest and now they've asked me to, "provide us with the stems associated with the separate audio tracks in your scene. We’ll need it in order to incorporate properly into the movie."

This is great news because it looks like my scene won but, not being an audio person, I'm not sure how to deliver what they want. I used Final Cut Pro 7 to mix directly within the timeline. Should I export each stereo-pair track and send them in separately. Or do you think they just want the voices of the actors, the sound effects, and the music pulled out and submitted separately? Should I export as mp3 or aiff's?

Unfortunately I don't have much time so any help would be MUCH appreciated.
 
Stems are different from OMFs, which contain the individual audio regions ("clips"). Usually, they're exports of each track or subgroup after mixing and sweetening. Stems can be grouped differently depending on the agency asking for them. Many cable networks require stems that include VO, dialog, nats, stereo effects, and stereo music. Basic stems for network masters include more simple splits of dialog, and M&E (music and effects).

Sounds like these folks want some pretty comprehensive stems, though. You might want to contact them and ask exactly what they want, because it can differ from place to place. Either they want something like I mentioned above for cable networks, or they want each individual audio track in your FCP project exported as its own AIFF (stereo music and effects tracks may be able to be sent as stereo AIFFs).

And whatever you do, do not send them MP3. They're going to be mixing this into a larger project, so you need to preserve the integrity of your sound. Give them AIFFs and 16-bit/48kHz.
 
Yep sounds like they want all the separate tracks you used in the scene. Why? because it also sounds like they're going to remix your soundtrack.

Why? well if you used any copyright music, they might be going to delete it and replace it with their selection.

If this is correct and if you want to proceed further you have to let them do it .. and hope they don't change your scene for the worse. I don't think I'd even ask them why, they might get antsy .. just hope for the best. MP3 is not good enough quality, just ask them what they want. Send WAV files if you can. Good luck with it.

Cheers.
 
I'm definitely not asking why they want them just how I should deliver. Sounds like aiff is the way to go and I'll send music, effects, and voices separate. I created the music in Soundtrack Pro and I've been told it sounds professional. (Easy to do when you're using their loops and instruments!) Thanks a TON you guys!!!
 
Olaf99 said:
I'm definitely not asking why they want them just how I should deliver.
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Why wouldn't you ask them why? It makes this entire guessing game moot and can help you give them what they want.
I don't understand why a simple question or 2 would make someone antsy.

Personally I would want everything crystal clear so I know exactly what to deliver and the only way it can be crystal clear is asking questions.
 
When I've delivered and received stems, I usually would get/give a stereo SFX stem, a stereo BG's stem, a mono dialogue stem, a stereo foley stem, and a stereo music stem. Each one of those has been pre-dubbed, and then had a final mix done. They should not be re-mixing anything.
 
What I meant earlier is that I'm not asking anyone on dvxuser to explain why they want stems. It seems reasonable to ask the contest organizers why they'd want them but, in reality I would want things as davefisk has outlined if I were in their shoes. All the components he wrote about are already on separate tracks so I'll export them separately and ask them if what I sent was adequate. I'm sure I'll get more detail if what I sent was not what they wanted.
 
Olaf99 said:
I'm sure I'll get more detail if what I sent was not what they wanted.
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I'd inquire before sending, and make sure you're getting them what they want the first time. Guessing what they want under the assumption that they'll call if you guess wrong, can make a pretty poor impression on them. That they asked you to "provide us with the stems associated with the separate audio tracks in your scene" sounds more like they want something much more broken down that what either I or Dave outlined.

As for the why, I think they've given that away. You said this was just one scene, yes? It's going to be put together with other scenes into a single motion picture, then. "We’ll need it in order to incorporate properly into the movie." That makes sense. If it's one scene in a film, and each of the other scenes is shot/directed/edited by a different person or team, then they'll want stems from everything in order to make sure the audio mix is as consistent as possible from start to finish. I'd just bounce every mono audio track in your timeline as a separate, mono AIFF or WAV. Then bounce each stereo pair of tracks that you have as stereo AIFF/WAV files. But again, it's better to ask first and get it right the first time.
 
Alex H. said:
I'd inquire before sending, and make sure you're getting them what they want the first time.
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I actually just did that. I doubt they'll read their emails before Monday though. Hopefully I'll know exactly what they want before Tuesday cause I'm heading back on the road for the rest of the week.
 
I never twigged it was a 'scene' to be included in a movie, as you were Olaf99. Bit of 'tomayto - tomarto there. :happy:

Cheers.
 
Olaf99 said:
I actually just did that. I doubt they'll read their emails before Monday though. Hopefully I'll know exactly what they want before Tuesday cause I'm heading back on the road for the rest of the week.
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My take on their request is that whoever wrote it is a bit vague on the terms. The idea of stems is essentially pre mixes that if played back together recreate the final mix. The reference to "separate audio tracks" implies something else.

So as you have done I would be asking exactly what they need. An OMF may actually be better for them but until you hear back?
 
Noiz2 said:
My take on their request is that whoever wrote it is a bit vague on the terms. The idea of stems is essentially pre mixes that if played back together recreate the final mix. The reference to "separate audio tracks" implies something else.

So as you have done I would be asking exactly what they need. An OMF may actually be better for them but until you hear back?
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Yep, I wasn't going to mention it but since you brought it up, the emails are from an account exec in NYC and the people actually editing the film are in LA. If it were me doing the editing I'd have asked for OMFs.
 
Guys, thanks for all your help. It turned out they wanted AIFF and not OMF's. And... I actually won the contest! My 5 minute short was cut down to around 2-3 minutes and incorporated into "Butterfinger the 13th", a short horror film directed by Rob Lowe. My work made the BIG SCREEN!!! It shows again at select theaters on October 27th at 7:30 local time.

This is such a trip to see my stuff at a theater. The screenshot is small but that's my name (Jim Nelson) down at the bottom on the opening credits. photo.jpg
 
Very cool. It is an amazing moment when you first see/ hear your work on a big screen with a bunch of people who paid to be there.
 
Noiz2 said:
Very cool. It is an amazing moment when you first see/ hear your work on a big screen with a bunch of people who paid to be there.
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This is so true. I remember the first time I was in a real theater for the first big budget thing I had worked on being shown and hearing my work. Unfortunately, I was just an unpaid intern at the time, so no credit in the film, but still, it was cool. What's even cooler is the first time your work goes to DVD or video game release, and your work and name are in millions of homes.
 
Yeah, see that'd be really cool. Although I was watching it in the theatre, I was literally the only person there. I was staying overnight in that town for work so my wife wasn't even there with me. Ha! Oh well, it was a great feeling getting so many positive responses on FB and from people in my little town. I wrote a press release for our small newspaper and will be sending it in if nobody else writes anything up.
 
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