A re-recording sound mixer’s main responsibility is to complete a polished-sounding final soundtrack for a film or television show. Re-recording mixers are post-production audio engineers that combine all of a film’s sound elements (usually edited by various sound editors) into a cohesive-sounding final product that is heard by audiences. They balance the volume levels of the film’s dialogue, sound effects, background sounds, and music, as well as clean up any imperfections and add processing effects (such as reverb and equalization) to sounds where needed. They also “pan” certain sound elements, meaning they control which speaker(s) certain sounds will come from. They typically create a surround sound mix for theaters; usually, this is a “5.1” or “7.1” mix, which have six and eight speakers/channels, respectively. They will also prepare a “stereo downmix” of the final mix, which is a two-channel mix (left speaker and right speaker only) for other playback devices like home televisions, computer/laptop speakers, and mobile devices.
Re-recording mixers, also known as “dubbing mixers”, are usually employed at the start of the post-production process under the supervision of the supervising sound editor. They typically collaborate with the other post-production sound crew members, the director, and the producers to get the soundtrack sounding its best and in a way that suits the director’s vision and taste. Though the re-recording mixer’s job is very technical, their most important job is to make sure that the soundtrack supports the story.
On large productions, there are usually many different sound editors that handle the editing of different sound elements. These different elements typically include dialogue, automated dialogue replacement (ADR), sound effects, backgrounds, foley, and music. Once the sound editors complete their work, all of their tracks from their individual sessions will be combined into one session for the re-recording mixer to work on. Volume leveling between the different elements throughout the film and doing additional cleaning-up of the tracks (e.g. adding crossfades to “smoothen out” the sound between different audio clips, adding equalization to dialogue to make it sound more natural, cutting out unwanted or unnecessary sounds, etc.) are some of the main tasks of re-recording mixers. During the mix session, sound mixers often work with the director and other sound designers, making creative decisions together. The film is typically watched through in many passes, with the director and the other team members giving feedback and their opinions for the mixer to make changes with each pass.
Many professional sound studios can be hired for both re-recording mixing and sound editing in Los Angeles for any film project. Studios can also be rented out. Renting a studio for Re Recording Mixing in Los Angeles can be fairly high. If the project has a very limited budget, the re-recording mixer might complete a “pre-mix” at home prior to coming to the studio.The mix session(s) is pretty much the final step of the post-production process. By the start of the mix session, the re-recording mixer should have the final locked-picture, meaning the video portion of the film is the final version, and the shots will not change. The final music score will be delivered to the mixer to add to his/her session from someone in the music team or the music editor. Additionally, sound editors will make sure all of their elements have been delivered. Sometimes, however, new sound effects or other elements are added last minute. This could happen if, for example, the final picture-locked cut has new visual effects shots that have been added late, and therefore, the sound editors did not have them while working on their edit.
The re-recording mixer will pan elements to various speakers; the number of speakers is dependent on the type of format the mix will be screened to audiences in. For example, a “5.1 mix” is a common surround-sound speaker layout in which there are six speakers; left, center, right, left surround, right surround, and a subwoofer. Usually, multiple mixes are created for playback in different speaker set-ups (for example, a stereo mix for screening on televisions, laptops, and phones, as mentioned earlier). The duration of a mix session will vary depending on the length and kind of project. It is wise to hire a reputable re-recording mixing studio in Los Angeles to mix your project’s sound, as they will have the expertise needed to elevate your film’s soundtrack to the next level.