Sound Question!

[Steve McClean]

Does anyone on here know what the standard level for sound should be when putting the finishing touches on my film. What should I mix all of my audio tracks to? What is a comfortable level?

I pretty new to sound but this could really help!


thanks a lot



steve

 

[Tim Joy]

It depends a little bit what type of movie it is, but if your peaks get to -1 to -2 you should be in the ballpark. It's best not to be pegging 0db (or worse- Over) because some cheaper systems might distort at those levels. Keep the average range above -10
You can burn a copy, play it at a comfortable level, then stick in a commercial dvd without changing the volume to see how well they match up. You will probably find that a good multiband compressor or mastering limiter is needed to make it all sparkle and not be too dynamic. This, and good mixing, will keep quiet parts audible and keep the loud parts from blasting. It also helps to listen to it on different speakers, especially cheezy tv-type speakers, that way, you can average your mix to sound good on everything. Too much info? good luck-

 

[John Froton]

I try to keep dialog dancing between -12db and -6db when recording and try to balance everything around -6db in post