Nuendo (sound for picture): How do you receive audio?

aaf but it’s been hit and miss and a lot of time lost sending files back and forth if something isnt translating correctly.

Define film soundtrack?
For a film mix we don’t use tempo changes so it’s a non-issue.
When doing sound design that might use tempo changes I generally handle that in additional projects separate from the main one.

Define film soundtrack?
For a film mix we don’t use tempo changes so it’s a non-issue.
When doing sound design that might use tempo changes I generally handle that in additional projects separate from the main one.

so you do music in a separate sequence then mix it and insert it in the main seq for the entire mix…thats what i do, i offset the project time code to match the other seq and insert the mix at the timecode position so it is accurate to the main seq …and if i need to change the song mix ,i just pop it back in same spot

Actually, just extending the scope of this thread a little; can I ask what mechanism are people using to send and receive projects and assets from clients and co-workers. FTP, Drop Box, disks via post etc?

Yes and no. As a professional I do not “do music”.
I edit and mix sound for film and TV. So in my day to day work I don’t do music.
In sound design it is often beneficial to to deal with design elements and tempo to be able to control tempo/speed changes of certain sounds and also to be able to manipulate time based effects using the sync to tempo functions. And in those cases I create specific projects to deal with certain scenes.

When I mix film score, I work with one project for each cue.

and the do you send as a whole or as separate scenes ?

Send? What to where?
Your question doesn’t make sense to me unfortunately.

I think he means when working on a movie, do you deliver mixes by scene, or one whole mix.

For me, it varies from project to project, but mostly one big mix. Some films are sent to me by scene, so that’s how I deliver them back. The editor then assembles all the scenes with mixes and then gives back to me. I have the entire film on a timeline with my individual mixes. I have usually created stem mixes of each scene, so this is where I go and line these up with the scene mixes the editor has given me. This is the mastering stage for me where I balance out all the stem mixes and make sure levels are in spec. I can also go back in to a scene and make adjustments if necessary and re-export.

I don’t particularly like working scene by scene because of the potential for EQ variances, etc. But it allows you to focus and not worry about processor overload.

It depends on the project. But very rarely do I just work on a scene. Either I work on everything. Or all the dialog, or all the hard fx or all the sound design. Or I may get asked to work on a very specific type of sounds only.
But I almost never work on a single scene. It just doesn’t make sense as a film or TV episode/show is (should be) a cohesive thing.

Yes. And also many scenes overlap each other in audio. How to deal with it if working scene by scene.
I work with whole mix or stem by stem but never just separeted scenes.

Bye / Tumppi

I am a professional composer for TV.

Different dubbing engineers will insist (or be relaxed about) specific delivery formats.

But the basics are:

1 number and name your cues consistently.

2 export separate files for each cue. I often provide stemmed mixes which are equivalent to a single file if all tracks are at unity gain. These stems are meticulously named. (Think about a naming scheme whereby if all your cues were in a folder alphabetically sorted, they would list in running order. EG 1M02 Capture.WAV then 1M03 Arrest.WAV etc etc. If you must later insert a new cue, do NOT re-number all subsequent cues. Name the new cue 1Mxxa (xx being the number of the cue preceding the inserted cue) and work through the alphabet if you must insert ANOTHER new cue (1Mxxb etc etc.) Avoid characters that are illegal on FTP such as “/” and " ’ " etc. a “-” is ok.

3 ALWAYS use the BWAV format at 48khz and 24bit unless asked for something else

4 place all your master wav files in a folder

5 deliver the folder via FTP and send a hard copy too. (As a courtesy, try to deliver to the dubbing engineers in house FTP. That way YOU wait on upload, THEY smile at download).

6 depending on the dubbing engineer you may be asked for a PT project containing your cues, or even Nuendo track archives (I have had this one, yes)
7 avoid sending files in a container such as OMF or AAF. You sadly cannot predict the result. And you won’t be there to oversee it necessarily.
8 Create a master project with no tempo changes into which you can drop (and test) your masters TO PICTURE. I run this master project on a separate machine all day running another Nuendo. You don’t need to do it that way - you can swap in and out on one machine. (This should have been step 1 really, sorry!)
9 consider carefully the start time of that master project in case you are sent AAF files from the dub (many engineers routinely run from 00.00.00.00).
10 backup.
11 backup.
12 er, backup.

Note:

Overlapping cues become the responsibility of the engineer. It’s his/her project - let him/her arrange it as they want. Unless asked otherwise. You could include a coded indication in the filename for cues that overlap (eg 1M09 lap Fight)

About stemming - discuss this with the engineer before deliver. A brief simple discussion. Show respect for their wishes. Your music will be louder if they think you’re a nice guy :wink:. Don’t provide a full mix alongside your stems. The engineer is used to stems and knows that all tracks at unity is the same as a full mix. Providing a full mix adds hassle to the situation.

Finally make sure you are definitely on the same cut (edit) as the dubbing engineer. I have found often that, as the dub gets delivered its material later than the composer, the cut, although locked, could have acquired ad break blanks according to network specs. Or even other changes that can still, amazingly, at times happen. Check this out. If your cut is old, demand an update from your producers immediately and check everything all over again.


Good luck!

That’s what I do…deliver stems.when I do music I use seperate seqs for timing and if they overlap I can roll the video and dialog track past the in and out points…and if I mix the the film or video.I just import my sub seqs …and use the time code in the file to line up…what’s nice about that is I need to remix a song I can re insert in …then I master the mix as a whole…but if anyone works in 5.1 how would you go about mastering that…? As one file ? Because if you do sack channel the balances would be off.correct?

Que?

I’m not quite sure what part of that should be considered question…
But you do not master in the traditional sense when sending score to a dubstage.

I mix the entire project and master it then send it to the writers for rendering encoding and duplication…but first I master the stereo mix in wave lab.and I have been playing with mastering the 5.1 track in nuendo as one single track. Just so the relative balances between center an lfe channels stay right.does anyone else do this?. Also I keep the RMS around -15 dbs .but it could be hotter and still have dynamics…also I have noticed most films are very dynamic sometimes around -20 dbs.is there a reason for this? Sometimes dialog is lost when listening at a normal level…is there a standard for RMS loudness in film?

Yes, there most definitely is!
Of course, some films have to low dialogue, and some to loud. But the listening level is very important.

In a cinema theater the standard is 85 dBC. This is calibrated at the Dolby Volume level 7, or for other manufacturer (Like Yamaha or QSC) the ref is 0. At these to two levels a cinema should always sound the same. (Of course in theory).

TV films and TV drama for a long time had now real standards. It was PPM 9 (EBU Nordic etc.) etc.
But not it is a standard both for most EU and US. It is the R128 for EU and A85 for US.
These originally were two standards. But they’ve been refined the last three years, so in practice they are the same. They are also covered in the same standards texts these days.

In Nuendo 6 and 6.5 you have the loudness meter to help you with reaching the set standards for R128 and A85 (and many, many others)
But you still have to listen at a correct level.

There is way to much information regarding this subject. But start out here:

Pål

I am in the process of putting a mixing suite in a actual theater and I am going to install a 5.1 sound system from a theater and mix in there I Nelieve that’s what thx is. …correct me if I’m wrong… IBam goingnto use madi from the cr to feed outs And ext effects. AMD use a nuage system in the sweet spot…I will post pics during the construction

THX is all about specs.
Your room and equipment need to be within THX specs.
Then they come measure, maybe tweak (if you pay extra), and if all is fine, you can “brand” your studio THX approved.
That alone will cost you a truckload of money.

Fredo

Well its already a movie theater. …not sure about the sound system yet

Listen to Fredo on this one. Be very careful with how you market your facility. If you intend on using the “THX” logo and term anywhere make sure you get everything set up according to spec AND approved by the appropriate ‘authority’.