Mix Analysis 13 Man on Wire

Man on Wire

year: 2008

Sound Editor: Claire Ellis

also worked on: For No Good Reason, The War You Don’t See

Sound Re-recording engineer: George Foulgham

Also worked on: Project Nim, The King’s Speech: Revealed

Scene 1

Philippe Petit begins by talking about the set up for the tightrope walk across the World Trade Center, it’s very ominous and foreboding

0:51-1:51

Time          SFX 1           SFX 2                  Music                  Ambiance             Dialogue

0:51                                                                                     Rain falling              Philippe

0:53                                          Serious music begins

1:04      Hammer hitting nail (low)

1:26       Radio broadcast in the background                   Rain sound lower

1:37                                                                                                         Speaking (in French)

1:40   Television broadcast

Scene 2 The group is talking about Philippe’s preparation and the time winding down on when they want to go onto the World Trade Center

50:50-51:50

Time             SFX 1               SFX 2                       Music                  Ambiance                    Dialogue

50:50                                                                                            Traffic sounds    Jean-Louis Speaking

51:00                                                                                                                           Philippe speaking

51:09                                                 Another, older video, is show in the background of the group

51:28                                                                                   Muffled dialogue from old video

51:50                                                                                                                         Dialogue still going

I picked Man on Wire to look at since it is a documentary and it’s a very interesting one at that. It follows the story of a French tightrope walker and acrobat Philippe Petit as he plans to set up a wire and walk across the World Trade Center in 1974. As a documentary, the audio is dialogue-heavy, with some occasional footage or music and ambiance to reflect what’s being shown and the tone of what’s going on. It’s simply mixed, the dialogue sounds like it’s coming from a room, and the music, ambiance, and sound effects are all behind the focal point: the story being told.

Mix Analysis 7

Rock The Boat - Aaliyah

Produced/Mixed by Eric Seats  & Rapture Stewart, a production duo known as Key Beats. They have worked with Pati Labelle and Montel Jordan.

Recorded at Manhattan Center Studio.

0:00-0:40 - ambient ocean waves fade in. no panning.

:40 - About 10 degrees left a spacey synth is heard. At the same spot, right, a mimicking higher pitched synth is heard. A reverberated snap hits center.

:50 - an electric guitar stab hits center, low in volume

:51 bass comes in, bright and punchy. centered.

1:01  - Vocals come in. They are set low in the mix compared to everything else.

As the verse goes on, the panning begins to change for some instruments. The snap stays left but definitely sounds like it goes further away then comes back closer from time to time.

1:25 - the synths keep us hypnotized. The electric guitar occasionally throws stabs in that are centered and slightly offset right. The placement of where they are set in the mix does not collide with anything, it literally grabs your ears overtime and then is gone as soon as you want more.

1:30 - vocals have a whisper tone to them, they are very soft and have a light echo on them.

1:42 - Chorus. synths come up a bit in volume. Bass and claps come down. In terms of panning, everything is same.

1:52 - synth is lower now. bass in control of instruments.

2:02 - clap leading the way for the beat. bass is wing man. Panning consistent.

2:15 - nice echo on voice to fill time. echo was panned far left but actual vocals are centered. Whisper sort of echo trails off into the left ear. This used a lot on this verse

2:44 - Chorus. Synth comes back in to lead. Bass is lowered, clap not as reverberated. Vocals still centered.

3:05 - Bass leads verse again. Claps gain reverb

3:20 - Nice layering of main vocals and background/harmonizing vocals.

3:42 - Song begins to fade out

Very hypnotic mix. Favorite element of this song is definitely the electric guitar stabs. Their placement in the mix really grabs your attention when the come in They come in center but never still they spotlight, instead offer the perfect compliment to lead synth. Bass is also very nice on this song, nice full sound. The reverb on the clap is a nice touch. The vocals are set low, purposely letting the beat take you away as the lyrics deliver their spell. Mix is not very wide but contains a lot of movement.

Mix Analysis 6

Thrift Shop - Macklemore

Produced & Mixed by Ryan Lewis

00:00 - song starts off with vocal, snare and hi hat

Hi hats are panned to the left about 15

What Vocals are in the left about 30

snare is right about 10

00:10 - second harmony vocal comes in "da, da da"

  is panned center/right and has a lo fi sound to it.

00:20 - Bass, saxophone, clap and snap comes in.

Bass is centered, saxophone is slightly left. snap is far left, maybe 70

  Clap is heard at about 30 right.

Bass is loudest in the mix right now

00:030 - vocals come in. They are bassey vocals, slightly offset to the right but they have a reverberation on them that is heard in the far left ear.

00:40 - verse starts, rap vocals. only bass, clap and saxophone are playing. bass is lowered, saxophone is in charge right now. clap sounds more centered than before

00:48-00:49 - all instruments silenced for quick vocal iso drop

00:50 - percussion pics up, claps are panned 10 left now. they have a echo on them that has them bouncing left to right.

01:00 - all instruments silenced again for quick vocal iso drop

01:02 - clap brings beat back in

01:05 - bass returns, back in charge of mix in center of mix. saxophone still playing same spot left, claps are echoing left to right now.

01:15 - claps stop echoing

01:20 - snap enters the mix, panned far left about 80

01:35 - bass drops out. only saxophone, snare, and clap

01:39-0:140 - instruments silenced for another quick vocal iso drop

clap leads way back in

01:50 - bass hits.

02:00 - turntable is heard fading in crescendo in center of mix, low in volume but noticeable.

02:02 - clap and kick only in beat. slaps are about 25 in both left and right ear. kick is centered. vocals are centered

2:08-2:10 - instruments silenced for quick vocal drop

2:11 - bass returns, saxophone returns, claps are echoing

2:20 - bass and claps only

2:29 - toms or bongos come in from the left

2:35 - vocal drop

2:36 - snap, saxophone, and clap

2:42 - full beat returns

2:55 vocal drop

2:57 - new synth bass lead enters. it is pulsating and sounds centered right but about 40 left. it is also pulsing.

3:17 - synth break down. male singer with low pitched voice, vocals are in charge of mix. vocals are centered in right ear, but left ear panned to about 50

3:37 - chorus. full instrumentation until fade out.

The mixing of this song is centered around the arrangement of the beat. The beat changes in some way every four bars to keep the song fresh. There are a lot of breakdowns where each instrument gets a turn to rock and then it builds back up in to the full beat. Vocal drops are quite frequent, where all we hear is vocals for a second or 2 then instruments drop back in. The instrumentation panning in this mix seemed to place most things either far left and slightly or centered right with the vocals being slightly off centered left. The arrangement of the mix creates a constant excitement that makes you keep wanting to listen.

Mix Analysis 5

We are Young - FUN ft Janelle Monae

Produced and mixed by Jeff Bhasker

Recorded at Jungle Studios, NYC and Village Recorder in LA

00:01 - Starts off with pounding kick drums centered

00:07 - Slight breath (inhale) is heard

00:08 - Piano and vocals enter. piano sounds panned at about 1 o clock right and 11pm left. Vocal has noticeable reverbish sheen. Piano is in charge of mix right now (loudest in volume).

00:24 - Drums change up. They are on a steady rise in volume as piano is coming down.

00:41 - Drums leave, piano and vocals only. Piano sounds like its at about 1o clock right, but maybe 8:30pm left.

00:50 - Chorus. Bass enters track sitting at about 11:33pm, followed by the vocals belting at the center of the mix. No piano

00:052 - piano comes in on a crescendo 

Bass leads the mix in volume, piano is now going up and down in the mix, i can imagine the piano volume's automation looking like ocean waves.

01:25 - vocals increase in ovum as bass drops out.

01:28 - instruments drop out except electric guitar's resonance.

01:30 - Vocals isolated as verse starts.

01:31 grungy sounding guitar comes in from left. rest of instruments follow suite, falling in to their respective places.

01:51 - chorus. do not change up's to the chorus.

02:30 - all instruments drop out for a brief moment of near silence, filled by the guitars resonance

02:32 - vocals come back in, this time a harmony of voices. A female lead centered, with back up vocals going "na na" panned mostly left, but faintly right, just enough to give this thing a barbershop group feel. During this point, only the drums and bass are playing. The vocals are over powering of both.

03:04 - some sort of shaker is introduced very low in the mix, sitting at about 9pm in the left. This sound carries it to the chorus.

03:15 - All instruments return for choirs. This chorus, the piano is replaced or an ambient synth for the first half.

03:37 - Piano returns bouncing left, guitar is in right ear. Drums and bass still driving

03:55 - again all instruments drop briefly, a 2 second vocal solo leads us in to the verse

03:57 - Piano is the only instrument heard. Vocals are leading in center.

04:04 - last word  "tonight" and last piano key played both resonate and fade out

Overall the song is a pretty boring, standard mix. I guess if your going to produce a mainstream pop hit then that is what you want but I don't know, it's a little too standard for my liking. The only change ups consist of switching between the piano, guitar, and synth having the lead on certain parts. I like how the bass is mixed on this track. It has an omnipresent feel to it and is powerful presence, yet not over powering or too loud.

Mix analysis 4

" ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ is a worldwide hit that breaks every rule in the book. Artist Gotye and mix engineer François Tétaz reveal how they made it."

-Paul Tingen for Sound on Sound

Gotye - Somebody that i Used to Know

Mixed/Mastered by Francois Tetaz at Moose Mastering studio "In the box"

Francois Tetaz has also worked with Snog & Bernie Blackman…

00:00:00- Mix starts off with acoustic guitar, can hear the fret, panned to right about       1 o clock

00:00:04 - Drum and bass come in. There is a very low sounding tom in the low left. Not much body to it. The bass is smooth rather than punchy and rides the guitar melody

00:00:19 - Drum, vocals, bass, and bells or xylophones. Drums are low, vocals most present. The drums have a rumble sort of sound to them, as if i am hearing a marching band. The drums also are mixed wide. Guitar is creeping up in the background

00:00:59 - guitar returns and keyboard enters. Guitar sits left about 10 o' clock while the keyboard is hard right. 

00:01:02 - Vocals re-enter in center of mix. New guitar riffs are stabbing the left ear with a grunge to them.

Between these parts i don't know what it is but the dramatic tension rising…intense!

00:1:29 - Acoustic guitar solo before chorus

00:01:33 - Keyboard hits hard left to bring chorus in, then goes back to rightful place in the right as other instruments re enter there respective places. I notice the low tom that was once a rumble in the lower left ear has a lot more sound and brightness to it during the chorus.

00:02:17 - instrument solo/ break down before verse.

00:2:30 - a synthesized clavichord sound instrument sound bringing a new voice, a female singer with a very powerful voice. Her voice is taking over the right side but seems to reverberate to the left. 

00:02:36 - sweeping melody comes in from the left in between her words, and then 

00:02:47 - a rock guitar comes in right

00:03:00 - brief silence as the singers voice rises

00:03:02 - Chorus drops. There is a collective of all instruments used during track bombarding this choirs. Shakers in the left claps in the right. Dynamically this chorus sounds more powerful than the previous. This track has an underlying dramatic tension that builds throughout.

00:04:00 - The song fades off, abruptly ending

This is a very powerful mix.  Francois Tetaz had a vision that dynamics would shape this song, which he talks a lot about how he achieves these dynamics in his recording space called "the box" in a sound on sound article. He certainly accomplished this vision, the tension on this thing becomes so tight that you can cut it with a knife if you slice at the right moment. The kick is very lo-fi, which both the atist and mixer felt was a certain defiance of mainstream pop music. All instrumentation heard on this record is a sample collage arranged in Ableton Live and Pro-tools. The instruments sound impressively real for having been software created. What i liked most about this track was the panning in the mix. The mix was wide with certain instruments being heard far right and others far left, with the vocals being centered.

Mix Analysis 3

Bad - Wale ft. Tiara Thomas

Producer/Mixing Engineer: Jacob Dutton "Jake One" has worked with Drake & Kendrick lamar

00:00:00 - Song starts off with a very very soft bed of acoustic guitar strings being gently touched with artist speaking. Voice has heavy echo/reverb on it

00:00:17 - acoustic guitar comes up but stays low in the mix as kick drums come in booming. A "smack" or clave block hit is part of the drum track. it is a crisp, resonating hit. The smack is panned right

00:00:25 - Singer comes in, voice is centered and loudest in mix. Has an echo on it, Wale's ad-libs can be heard very faint in the background, right ear. Bass also comes in here, panned to the right. The bass hits when the kicks do, but do not over power the kick. Hi-Hats and shaker are panned far left. In the right ear, very faintly, the sound that mimics bed springs is heard as part of the drum beat.

00:30 - piano keys come in soft from the left, the pan right to left at about 50

00:01:00 - Singer sings while instruments drop out, only the acoustic guitar and the bed springs can be heard

00:01:10 - Wale on verse 1, bass hits to bring in verse and rest of instruments. The hi hats are not present at first, the bed springs and kick become main component of drum beat. The singer's harmonizing vocals are heard very faint in the back of the left ear. Wale's voice has a faint echo on it

00:02:00 - Chorus comes in, clave returns and bed springs are returned to back of mix, piano and bass take over for the instrumentation. Singers voice re-takes center of track. Wale's ad-libs are heard panned left in background.

00:02:32 - same format, instruments drop out except for acoustic guitar and bed springs as Wale begins to rap. Vocals centered

00:2:40 - bass hits and clave returns. bass is leaning left but somewhat centered, clave is still heavy right. Bed springs are in the right ear at about 25. keys are soft and sit low left.

00:03:15 - bed springs begin to increase in volume, anticipating chrous coming back

00:03:23 - Singer comes back in for chorus, bass hits and melodic keys are panned to bounce left and right.

00:03:56 - instrumentation drops out once again and only acoustic guitar and bed springs are heard. The song begins to break down and fade out.

Over all the mix is very clean. Not much flare or razzle dazzle on this mix, just crisp clean instruments and hypnotizing melodic vocals. Sight panning here and there but nothing outrageous, no instruments jumping between ears. My favorite aspect of this mix would definitely have to be the smack or clave hit, or whatever that is that sound lake hitting two wooden blocks together, sounded really good with the reverb on it. The vocals here seem to be main component of the mix. A distinct echo was used on both vocalists that very faintly has there words repeat (every word) in the background, however you only hear it when the instruments aren't busy. It sort of fills the time and carries us through when the instrumentation is more subtle.

Mix analysis 2

Amber by 311

Producer: 311 / Ron Saint Germain

Mixing Engineer: Ron Saint Germain has worked with Jimi Hendrix, Creed, Tool…has worked on 12 grammy winning projects.

Recording Studio: The Hive in North Hollywood

Was unable to find where it was mastered, several sources credit  Ron Saint Germain for the mixing of the entire 311 album From Chaos so i'm wondering if he was the mastering engineer as well...

00:00:00 - Starts of with guitar. There is a bit of hum or maybe that is the string vibrations I am hearing. It sounds very warm. The instrument is centered

00:00:12 - a quick guitar strum is heard then pans wide right and left with an ambient tail that slowly but surely resonates and trails back center as the bass is coming in. 

Bass is panned more to the right

00:00:23 - Drums come in. Kick sounds centered Snare sounds slightly panned left,  hi-hats are mostly left. Drums sound steely

00:00:30 - Vocals take over center of track, guitar is now sitting far left.

00:00:46 - a crash hits in the middle then dissipates left in right with a sizzle.

                   The song livens up here and a reggae-bounce guitar is heard now heard in my left ear, that occasionally is heard jumping to the right.

00:01:09 - Chrous comes in. Insturmentation is turned up a bit but does not drowned out vocals.

00:01:2 - a real triply, phased out sounding guitar hit strums in your right ear, it pans left and has a resonance to it

00:01:33 - new guitar riff comes in, panned left about 30

00:01:50 - the original guitar rift is bouncing left to right

00:02:00 - chorus comes back in

00:02:10 - guitar chords bright and centered

00:02:20 - guitars are layered and sound as if automation was used on the pans to make them jump left to right. real triply spacey mix.

00:03:00 - echo's on vocals used to start to bring song to end

00:03:10 - spacey sound hits right and travels left. song ends with dying echo of sound.

This song has a real dynamic mix that is all over the place. I really enjoyed the ear trip provided by the automated panning, it is a wonderful journey for the ears. The guitars are layered in a way that they are not at all competing with each other, yet complimenting each other very well in terms of tones, spacing, and volume. The drums have a real steel, pop to them that sounds reggae authentic.

Major Project Proposal

              For my major project I am going to be editing a film called “Perception” made partly by Jamie Ellingsworth for one of her film classes. From what I’ve been told the audio is out of sync and not very good, so I will be working to fix up the problems and make the audio sound great. The story of the movie is strange and it is meant to be a little confusing, so aside from making the audio in sync and sensible, I can also attempt to add some mystery and intrigue through audio. I can utilize surround sound to make these effects even more spacious and interesting. I have never worked on video that already had recorded audio, to which I re-sync and work with, but I am also getting the script to the film so I can follow that and make sense of it. The files are in wav and there is a quicktime video file I will bring into pro tools. This will be a challenge but I’ll see what I can do to make this film sound amazing.

Major Project Proposal

    Once again noting that the focus of this project is the Mix, I am overly excited to use the API gear and therefore can not resist the opportunity to record using it so I am going to patch bay it up in order to lay down some rap vocals over another instrumental made in pro-tools. I also want to patch bay in to the yamaha effects thing (not sure of proper name) and try out some different effects for my background vocals. Recording time will be very minimal...

    The track I am going to make is one I recently wrote and like a lot. My goal is to make this my most professional sounding work to date, I want the quality to match the mainstream industry sound and be flawless.

The inspiration for this Mix is drawn from Bun B's album "II TRILL" which was engineered by Cory Mo. It is one of my favorite albums to ride in the car to and the song I am creating is definetly a trunk banger.

My reference track is "2 Trill (chopped & screwed)" by Bun B. I want to create similar flanger effects on my background vocals and similar lowered pitch vocal chops.

The only hurdle i foresee is patch bay issues, but that is one challenge i'm looking forward to.

Minor Write Up

For my minor project I wanted to work on a song that is going to be on my EP, releasing on itunes in April. The song is called "J Ride." The instrumentation is all virtual instruments recorded in pro-tools. The vocals were recorded in 006 with an AKG C414 microphone. Having perfected my recording craft, I spent only about on hour of actual recording time, noting that the main focus of this project was the mixing. After recording I went to work on my vocals. I had all my vocals going to a sub mix channel on which i applied a compressor and EQ for all the vocal tracks. Once I had them sounding pretty clean, i applied some effects to my layered vocals. I normally leave my first layer on the dry side. On my vocal dubs, or highlights, I like to use some light reverb. On my ad-libs some form of echo is always needed, however, each word is edited on case by case basis and sometimes might apply certain effects only to certain words. For the chorus vocals I had 4 tracks. I put reverb on two of them and a flanger on one. Looking back on the work flow, I would definitely have added another submix for the chorus vocals, just to have had more control. After the vocals were to my liking, I played with all the faders until my time in 006 was up, and by that time my ruff mix was sounding decent....

As always, after recording something, I spend the next few days listening to it very frequently and constantly assessing what I can do to make it better. For this particular song I wanted to mix the beat in an extremely trippy and spacey kind of way, I want it to make the listeners feel like they are floating.
When I returned to work on my mix, I muted all vocal tracks to focus just on the beat mixing. I started off by panning everything to my liking, attempting to put all the instruments in a unique spot and create a very wide dynamic mix. I them began to EQ each instrument. Since they are all software instruments I wanted to use EQing to bring them to life and make them sound more realistic, for some I think I accomplished this well, for others I'd like to hear how I can make them better. I really want to go back and work on this mix some more, and probably will in the near future when I get a chance, because I want the kick to be better.

Over all what I learned from this project was the importance and significance of the EQ and how drastically i can alter the sound of an instrument. I have recorded many songs, but this is my first time having to edit the instrumentation that i rap over and my firs time trying to make all instruments fit properly together in the frequency spectrum. I really like having the control of how the instrumentation is mixed. I have been listening to my bounce for some time now, and while I am pretty satisfied with the overall clarity of the song and panning of the mix, this song definetly needs to have more of the floating spacey feel that my heart desires.

Major Project Proposal

For my major project I plan on continuing my work on a song called Afraid and Alone by Kevin Reeves off of the Cambridge site. The session contains 25 tracks, and incorporates some instruments, such as the wurlitzer organ, which I have not worked with at this point, which is why I chose it. I started this mix about 2 semesters ago, however I started from scratch over spring break. As of yet I do not have a reference track but I am thinking about using Maroon 5 perhaps.

I think the most challenging aspect will be blend. There is a lot going on in this song and it will be hard to make it all fit in a stereo image. With that being said, this also makes, in my mind at least, for a good candidate for a surround mix since I have more space to play with.

There doesn't seem to be any apparent "problems" with the recording. Really it just seems that some things need to be "beefed" up and their overall characteristics brought forward to shine.

Mix Analysis 12 - American History X

American History X

Year: 1998

Scene 1: Derek learns that there is a black person breaking into his car outside, he takes his gun and investigates.

4:13-5:13

Time SFX 1 SFX 2 Music Ambiance Dialogue

4:13 Tense orchestral music Derek and Danny

4:14 Foley of getting out of bed and getting dressed

4:27 Doorknob flicks, foley of boots ing put on and hitting wood floor

4:28 Drawer opens, Derek grabs a gun

4:29 Checks to see if gun is loaded

4:31 cocks gun

4:36 footstep foley

4:38 two people descending stairs

4:40                                                                                                                               Derek shushes Danny, whispers

4:46 soft footsteps

4:51 softly unlocks door

4:56 Outdoor ambiance

5:04 Door is kicked open Music Crescendos

5:06 Gushots, man grunts Music stops

5:12 Gunshot sound rings out, slower

Scene 2: Danny comes back from school to see Derek on the first day he is out of jail.

23:00-24:00

Time SFX 1 SFX 2 Music Ambiance Dialogue

23:00 Door unlocking Soft, orchestral

23:01 Small quick cry

23:05 Door closes                                                                                                                               Danny talks

23:06 Backpack put on ground, chain rattles

23:07                                                                                                                                                          Derek responds

23:10 Slapping back during hug                                                                                    Danny and Derek talk

23:15 Hand on shoulder

23:21 Hand touches (bald) head

23:37 Hand grabs (bald) arm

23:53 Phone rings

24:00              Hand on neck                                                                                                                              Mom talks

Supervising Sound Editor: Frederick Howard

Also worked on: Austin Powers, Arrested Development

Sound rerecording engineer: Joe Barnett

Also worked on: The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Austin Powers

I picked this because Frederick Howard was the supervising sound editor for this, Arrested Development, and Austin powers. This is a drama, compared to the other two which are comedies, so how it is made to sound is different. That being said, there are some striking similarities to these three things. They all feature little ambiance, and leave plenty of empty space for dialogue and sound effects. Which makes sense, the script, the sound effects, and the score set the mood. In comedies everything is lighter and witty, in dramas things are tense; but they both utilize the negative space between words for emphasis, and time for body language and acting to have its place. That might also be part of Howard’s style, a very precise overall sound, with layering being kept for crucial and important moments. On the topic of the mix itself, everything sounds right, the scenes inside and outside have the right amount of reverb and levels are all clean, even, and make sense. While I can’t say I like what they’re saying, the actors portray their characters well, and the sound keeps everything realistic.

Mix Analysis 11 - Austin Powers

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

Year: 1999

Scene 1, Austin is in a hotel room with his wife Vanessa, who turns out to be a robot.

2:20-3:20

Time SFX 1 SFX 2 Music Ambiance Dialogue

2:20 Austin and Vanessa

2:21 Reversed voice, like a tape rewinding

2:22 Vanessa repeats herself

2:26 Foley of getting out of bed (Vanessa)

2:31 Pouring champagne (quiet) Austin and Vanessa

2:34 Glass bottle breaking

2:36 Austin

2:41 Foley of getting out of bed (Austin)

2:43 Tv turns on music from movie begins

2:44 Austin

2:49 Click for remote

2:50 Television rewinding

2:52 Robotic movement (faint, whir sound)

2:56 Rewinding continues, Robotic movement sound again

2:57                                                                                                                               Austin

3:00 Click of remote

3:01                                                                                                                                                          Vanessa

3:04 Click on remote, robotic whirl

3:07 Click, robotic whirl                                                         Vanessa

3:08                                                                                                                                             Vanessa in spanish

3:11 Soft click                                                                                                                              Austin yells

3:13               Smack of grabbing neck               Low string intro                                            Austin chokes

3:16 Robotic machinery whirls quickly String crescendo

3:17 Electronic sounds continue                                                                                    Austin talks (while choked)

Scene 2

Basil brings Austin to their headquarters to show him the time machine they have built.

23:48-24:48

Time SFX 1 SFX 2 Music Ambiance Dialogue

23:48 Typewriter typing letters tense string music speaker announcements Basil speaks

24:03 Some lab equipment is added, beeps

24:09 Vent release String crescendo

24:11 Beeps on keypad Music stops Basil and Austin

24:45 Music begins again Austin yells

Supervising Sound Editor: Frederick Howard

Also worked on: Arrested Development, American History X

Sound Re-recording Engineer: Joe Barnett

Also worked on: American History X, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

I picked this movie since Frederick Howard worked on it and he also worked on Arrested Development. I wanted to compare his style between movies and television. This is also a comedy, like Arrested Development and I can see the similarities between the two, audio wise. For example sound is very minimal, unless the scene takes place in a lab, or a busy street, attention to ambiance is somewhat left behind. This allows the sound effects and dialogue to stand out. Both of those are exaggerated, which is how Frederick Howard makes his comedies. The music is there to add some tension and fill in the gaps, and the score tips its hat to James Bond and old spy movies, but the focal point of the sound design is allowing the dialogue and sound effects to compliment the action and be funny on their own.

Mix Analysis 10 - Psychonauts

Psychonauts gameplay

Made by Double Fine Studios

Video used:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axw8rTXoKUo

Scene 1- Razputin (aka Raz; the main character) enters Sasha Nein’s (the instructor) lab

0:00-1:00

Time SFX 1 SFX 2 Music Ambiance Dialogue

0:00 Button insertion Whirls Light, bouncy Forest

0:03 Mechanical clicks door unlocked

0:05 small rotor to open hatch

0:07 Raz laughs

0:09 foley for footsteps

0:14 no music. Computers/lab equipment/inside Raz

0:17 Ambiance gets louder

0:19 Foley of foot on metal

0:21 Bounce sound for double jump

0:22 Grabbing ledge, shufflig on ledge

0:25 Landing on metal, getting card sparkle

0:26 Raz grunts while jumping, another jump bounce sfx

0:29 more foley on metal and bounces

0:33 bloop of text announcement Raz talking

0:35 another bloop, more foley of footsteps on metal

0:41 Scene with Raz and Sasha

0:54 machine lowering, whirring of gears and machinery

1:00 Light music kicks in Raz

Scene 2, Razputin enters his own brain in the brain tumbler experiment

2:17-3:13

Time SFX 1 SFX 2 Music Ambiance Dialogue

2:17 Ominous, mysterious

2:19 Raz and Sasha

2:45 blowing of bubbles, safe prancing around Low, atmospheric

2:48 Mysterious music resumes

2:50 quick chimes of grabbing collectible TV static, radio disruption

2:58 Raz and Sasha

3:04 Creature still sings Static stops

3:08 Foley of foot on soft ground

3:10 Small Raz and Sasha snippet

3:23 music gets louder when Raz breaks free

Supervising Sound Editor and sound rerecording engineer: Bay Area Sound

Also worked on: The Secret of Monkey Island, eSurance commercials

Psychonauts is an adventure game that came out in 2005 and follows the story of a young man who runs away from home to join a summer camp that trains young psychics to handle their powers and learn to become psychonauts, crime stopping psychic super heroes. It’s a very unique and interesting game where all of the levels are you entering the different minds of other characters and helping them solve their problems from within. In my Guild Wars 2 post and presentation, I touched on the challenges and freedoms that come with working in a fictional setting that incorporated fantasy, in that there are some things that demand realism, such as foley, voices, and ambiance; but there is room for unique and completley made up sounds to have their place, especially when working in the depths of a human brain. The sounds need to sound fictional, since one of the collectibles is a figment of imagination, and what that sounds like to grab is anyone’s guess. Level wise, everything the main character does, from running to talking to hitting and jumping takes the forefront of the audio, everything else around him fades with space. The level for ambiance stays the same for areas you go to. This is also an adventure game, and for the most part isn’t too hectic, so the music is pretty light and atmospheric. When you’re outside in the camp it’s gentle and relaxing, but when you go into a brain it becomes more ominous depending on what’s happening. There are some noticeable level changes which can be distracting from a purist perspective; but overall I think the sound conveys both the mystery of entering a human’s psyche and the saturday morning cartoon quirkiness of the game very well.

Mix Analysis 9 - Lost Kitten

Band: Metric

Song: Lost Kitten

Album: Synthetica

Year: 2012

0:00 Drums and bass intro

0:02 Drums, Bass, Vocals

0:45 Drums, Bass, vocals, guitar, glockenspiel

1:00 Drums, Bass, guitar, vocals, glockenspiel, backup vocals, drum machine, claps

1:14 Drums, Bass, vocals, synth

1:27 Drums, Bass, vocals, synth, drum machine

1:29 Drums, Bass, vocals, guitar, glockenspiel

1:42 Drums, Bass, guitar, vocals, glockenspiel, backup vocals, drum machine, claps

2:12 Acoustic guitar, synth

2:20 Acoustic guitar, synth, electric guitar, glockenspiel

2:27 Acoustic guitar, synth, electric guitar, glockenspiel, drums

2:34 Drums, Bass, guitar, vocals, glockenspiel, drum machine, claps

2:47 Drums, Bass, guitar, vocals, glockenspiel, backup vocals, drum machine, claps

3:03 Bass, Vocals, synth, glockenspiel, electric guitar

Instument Level Pan

Vocals 8 0

Vocal reverb in the verse 5 -6, 6

Bass 8 0

Drums 8 0

Glockenspiel 7 -7, 7

Backup vocals 6 0

Electric Guitar 6 0

Drum Machine 7 0

Claps 6 0

Acoustic guitar 7 -4, 4

Synth 6 -6, 6

This is a very interesting tune rom Metric, throwing in some interesting vocal effects, some great backing vocals, interplay between a synth and a glockenspiel, and a trade between acoustic guitar ad electric guitar. The vocals are interesting to me, since there’s this very spacious and distant reverb that seems less like it’s connected to the main vocals, and more like another singer taking up more space on the sides. There’s also varying degrees of distortion added to the vocals, but it all seems light and doesn’t fully change how the vocals sound. The glockenspiel works to make this song spookier, and with its panning it makes the whole effect much more interesting, especially on headphones, since the sound seems to just bounce from left to right. The acoustic guitar also swerves left and right during its part. The bass is solid and provides a good center to allow the other parts to be erratic and spacious. There’s also some synth in the background of most of this, adding some atmosphere but not being too loud. During the chorus there is a drum machine making a constant clicking sound, and some claps. Those claps might have come from the drum machine, and the drum kit might have too, I don’t know. I also used a lot of ideas, like distant panning reverb tracks and distorted vocals for my minor project, the Creepoid song.

Mix Analysis 8 - Man in the Moon

Artist: Jukebox the Ghost

Song: Man in the Moon

Album: Safe Travels

Year: 2012

Couldn’t find recorded or mastered locations

0:00 Acoustic guitar, Vocals

0:23 Acoustic guitar, vocals, synth

0:41 Acoustic Guitar, synth, bass, percussion

0:51 Acoustic Guitar, synth, bass, percussion, vocals

1:32 Acoustic Guitar, synth, bass, percussion

1:42 Acoustic Guitar, vocals (outro)

Instrument Level Pan

Acoustic Guitar 8 -4, 4

Vocals 8 0

Synth 7 0

Percussion 5 -2, 2

Bass 6 0

This is a pretty simple song from Jukebox the Ghost, who is normally known to have a louder and bigger pop sound while this is more singer/songwriter. It starts with a very close and present vocal track, and an acoustic guitar that sounds like it has been panned out and has some space. These two elements are the driving force and stay the same way the whole track. A bit into the song the synth comes in, which is just playing sustained notes that are a little wavy but serve as only a backing part. The bass and percussion, which seems to consist of a shaker and a quiet drum, come in later, to add some consistent rhythm, but are very quiet and are just there to be in the background. This is a good example of knowing what instrument is the focal point of the song, which is one of the ways we’ve talked about starting a mix.

Mix Analysis 7 - Come on Baby, Let's Do the Cringe

Artist: Chewing on Tinfoil

Song: “Come on Baby Let’s Do the Cringe”

Album: Ska is Dead Series 2

Year: 2012

Recorded at Badlands Studios, Harolds Cross, Dublin

Mastered by Underground Communique & Abestos Records

Also worked with: Bomb the Music Industry!, Suburban Legends

Link:

chewingontinfoil.bandcamp.com/album/ska-is-dead-series-2

0:00-0:02 Tom roll intro

0:02-0:13 Drums, Lead Guitar, Bass, Keys

0:14-0:39 Vocals, Drums, Lead Guitar, Bass, Keys

0:40-0:41 Vocals

0:41-0:51 Drums, Vocals, lead guitar, bass, keys

0:52-0:53 Vocals

0:54-1:04 drums, lead guitar, bass, keys

1:05-1:19 vocals, drums, lead guitar, bass, keys

1:20-1:22 vocals

1:23-1:32 drums, lead guitar, bass, keys

1:33-1:34 vocals

1:34-1:44 vocals drums, lead guitar, bass, keys

1:45-1:46 vocals

1:46-1:56 vocals, lead guitar, drums, bass

1:57-2:07 vocals, lead guitar, drums, bass, grand piano

2:08-2:09 vocals

2:09-2:15 vocals, lead guitar, drums, bass, keys

2:16-2:31 vocals, background vocals, lead guitar, drums, bass, keys

2:32-2:41 lead guitar, drums, bass, keys (outro)

Instrument Level Pan

Snare 6 0

Kick 6 0

Hi-hat 6 0

Toms 6 -10, 10

Cymbals 6 -6, 6

Vocals 8 0

Background vocals 6 0

Rhythm Guitar 8 0

Guitar(lead parts) 8 0

Guitar (rhythm) 7 0

Keys 7 0

              Chewing on Tinfoil is an ska band from Dublin, Ireland, they were asked to write a single to be put on the Ska is Dead Series 2 compilation album. This song, “Come on Baby, Let’s Do the Cringe.” is an unusual example of third wave punk ska, since you can hear their songs and think they are ska from the upstrumming rhythm, use of a keyboard, walking basslines, and punk but cleaner drum sounds, but they don’t have a horn section. Whatever genre you want to call it, this is a very clean and nice recording. I own their first album, and in it there were many artifacts like coughs and people talking; those were probably left in, and it has the charm of a dirty basement recording, although looking back it also sounds like one too. This song, and their most current album, have a much cleaner and professional studio sound to them. The song follows a lot of the standard in third wave punk-ska. The keys, bass, and drums keep the rhythm, with the guitar jumps in and out of rhythm and melody. The vocals are matched with the guitar in terms of level. There are a number of parts where the instruments all stop, and the vocals are the only thing there, which not only adds some punctuation to the song, it also lets the vocals be the only thing you can hear. There’s some background vocals too that for the most part serve to mostly accent the main vocals, until the end when there are two different parts going on at once. They keyboard mostly sounds like an organ, since that’s a fallback in ska, but what sounds like a grand piano comes in later near the end for effect.

Minor Project Write Up

My most obvious issue with this project is my lack of experience with protools. I have been using Live 8 since it's came out and am very comfortable with it so adjusting to the different DAW was a little time consuming at first.

 I first grouped multiple elements into one track so it would be simpler to export. Tracks such as "Piano" have about 5 different piano tracks. Instead of putting all of the midi notes into one big piano roll, I splint the tracks up in order of frequency so I could easy EQ, change release settings form the piano sampler and and reverb more precisely. I did the same with the "Orchestra" section which contains 7 different strings and some horns. In  order to keep my return effects from Live I rerouted them into a blank track and recorded the audio signal of the effects. I then had 2 different reverb tracks and a delay track which I imported into protools.

Since I composed the track with Live, I already panned and EQ'd as I went and was fairly happy with the levels. So once I exported everything from Ableton Live in about 14 condensed tracks I imported them into protools. From there I just reorganized everything and made some minor adjustments in levels as well as added some of protools effects. I plan on composing my next project solely through protools and I am very excited to produce something  in surround sound.

My mixing influences for this track are mostly electronic producers. Netsky is one of my favorite musicians, he is a Belgian drum and bass producer/DJ and is one of the highest regarded producers in the field. He also has a "Live" show now featuring a full electronic drum kick with his samples, and multiple keyboardist/guitarist playing everything live. His productions show dominance in the obvious drum and bass levels, but also stresses more ambient melodies, rhythmic elements and spacey/ambient feel. He also incorporates many organic elements and often has guest violinist, cellist and vocalist. I wanted to keep a real clear low end and stress the space and the stereo width in the high end of the track to achieve this field.

After listening to my first mix and receiving the many valuable tips from my classmates (thanks) in class I got some re-enforcement on what I knew needed some work. I recently bought (yes actually bought) the Mini V by Arturia which is a miniMoog soft synth emulator.  I re did the bass line using the Mini V and the result was a much clearer rounded  bass. I also messed around with its arpeggiator setting on the Mini V and came up with a some cool riffs using the original chords. I wanted to use that instead of the guitar for now, as I am still saving up for some guitar modeling software and was unhappy with the tone I was getting.

I then wanted to change the verse after the first chorus up a little bit so I replaced the normal acoustic kick with an 808 kick and made a couple riffs with the Mini V arp. I kept some of the ambient elements in the background and I thought it was a pretty cool sound. I hope soon add lyrics and a better suited guitar playing the arps riffs.

It was great to be able to use the EMF's facilities as it was my first opportunity. I can't wait to get started on the new project. The plug-ins I used in live were:
Native Instruments Massive, Lennar Digitals Sylenth1, Cytomic's Glue compressor, Izotope Ozone 5, TAL-Reverb 2, 3, SausageFatterner by Dada Life (yes, lol) and Arturia's Mini V. Just got a new computer so I am looking to expand my plug-ins would appreciate feedback on any favorite freeware or purchase-able plug-ins.

CS