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Re: 5.1 Sound levels

Subject: Re: 5.1 Sound levels
From: "rterry_uk" rterry_uk
Date: Sat Nov 19, 2011 11:15 am ((PST))
Thanks again Steve.

Never opened a track from a major motion picture but thinking about it most of 
the sound is at center from watching a few movies at home. Of course you have 
now got me sitting paying more attention to the sound next time I watch a movie 
instead of just taking it 'as is'. ;)

Most of what I'll do will be outdoor wildlife and the surround Ls & Rs will 
come into their own I'm sure. I put a quick (60 second) test together yesterday 
just to play with settings in the software. I was pleased with the result so my 
next move is to focus something at center and play again.

Again, thanks for your advice and the Diegetic link.

Ron


--- In  Steve Sergeant <> wrote:
>
> Ron:
> 
> If you open a ProTools or Final Cut/Soundtrack Pro mix of a major motion 
> picture, you'll find that by far the majority of the mix goes to the 
> Center channel. Occasionally, foreground information is panned to L or 
> R, especially if you have a two-shot of obviously left and right 
> positioned talent.
> 
> Except for a stand-out special effect, the surround Ls & Rs only carry 
> location ambiance (or diagetic sound [ 
> http://filmsound.org/terminology/diegetic.htm ]).
> 
> Typically music is mixed to the L and R channels, and sometimes reverb 
> from the music is added to Ls and Rs. One trick that's often done, if 
> you only have a stereo ambiance track (such as street noise or room 
> tone), is to add it delayed by 1/2 to 3 frames to the Ls and Rs with 
> some reverb mixed in.
> 
> 
> On 11/17/2011 02:06 PM, rterry_uk wrote:
> > Hi and thanks for the replies.
> >
> > I'm using Sony Vegas Pro 10 with DVD Architect (about to upgrade to SV Pro 
> > 11) and a quick look at both indicates that DVDA supports Dialnorm. I've 
> > done a very quick look into Dialnorm and settings in DVDA and the wikipedia 
> > link you posted Steve. A little experimentation should yield some, 
> > hopefully, positive results.
> >
> > Until my move to Vegas all recordings were stereo (DD) and narration or/and 
> > focus on a particular sound was just a case of what sounded right as long 
> > as there was no clipping and the narration or focus subject was clear but 
> > not overpowering ... if you understand, just a nice well balanced 
> > production. With 2 rear channels added to the equation, the concentration 
> > of narration/focal in centre front and, if the situation requires it, the 
> > LFE to mix in as well I guessed there must be a proven/best practice 
> > balancing act to perform, hence my question.
> >
> > Thanks again
> >
> > Ron
> >
> >
> > --- In  Steve Sergeant<SteveSgt@>  wrote:
> >>
> >> Does your software allow you to set Dialnorm [
> >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialnorm ]?
> >>
> >> At the risk of overstating the obvious, It's best not to attempt mixing
> >> a surround sound production without a surround sound monitoring 
> >> environment.
> >>
> >> If you're creating a 5.1 mix, then your narration would typically only
> >> appear in the Center channel. Unless you're trying to achieve the
> >> unnatural effect of the narrator being beside or behind the viewer.
> >>
> >> If the listener has a different speaker arrangement than 5.1, the
> >> decoder in the playback system should downmix that center channel to the
> >> appropriate available speakers. (Such as for 2-channel playback.)
> >>
> >> If you have 4-channel or 5.1 channel location ambiance, then that should
> >> be assigned to L, R, Ls,&  Rs at matching gains. The ".1" channel is
> >> called LFE (Low Frequency Effects), which describes well it's intended
> >> use. Some home theater systems with small speakers channel all low
> >> frequencies through the LFE channel as a cost-saving measure, but that's
> >> not the original intent.
> >>
> >> Is your narration always going to be the loudest thing in the program,
> >> or are there ambient, sound effects, or music tracks that get louder at
> >> times? If there are, then you want to set the Dialnorm level for the DD
> >> encoder appropriately to indicate the average RMS level of your
> >> narration and any other dialog. One of the proposed standards for
> >> broadcast television would set Dialnorm, and thus the average level of
> >> narration and dialog, at -24_dB-fs.
> >>
> >> I know I've seen books on good surround sound mixing techniques, but I
> >> don't nave the references with me at the moment.
> >>
> >>
> >> On 11/16/2011 05:44 AM, rterry_uk wrote:
> >>> Hello to all
> >>>
> >>> My new video editing software is able to record in 5.1 sound format
> >>> (DD) and I was wondering if there is any 'best guide' as to sound levels
> >>> for the finished production.
> >>>
> >>> As an example, if I record say the narration track at about 0dB (5
> >>> PPM) should the front L&R be the same or lower say -4dB (4 PPM) and what
> >>> of the surround levels -4dB (4 PPM) again? (all in UK scale)
> >>>
> >>> Thanks in advance
> >>>
> >>> Ron
>











"While a picture is worth a thousand words, a 
sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie Krause.



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