The Sound of Success: How Proper Mixing Can Enhance Your Visual Projects

We offer a range of audio post-production services at Full English including recording, sound design and mixing. This article is going to focus on the final mix, after the sound design, music and dialogue cleanup, the secret sauce that brings all the audio elements together, and it can either make or break your project. We'll delve into the importance of mixing and how it can take your audio to the next level, elevating your visual project.

Mixing helps you avoid an audio hot mess. 

Proper mixing is essential for balancing the audio levels of different tracks in your project. If you have multiple layers of ambience, foley, production sound plus music, they can add up pretty quickly to create a hot mess of audio. Everything should have its place, its own hierarchy in the mix. This is achieved by adjusting the volume, adding effects, and finely tuning frequencies of each sonic layer so that it can be heard clearly and distinctly without overpowering or conflicting with other elements. For example, dialogue almost always tells the story. Whether it’s a commercial or a feature-length movie, the dialogue needs to be audible and intelligible. By delicately adjusting the balance of each element in your content, you can create a cohesive and harmonious mix that allows each layer of sound to have its own space in the mix.And this doesn’t just mean volume either. By balancing frequency spectrums for various elements in the content, you can carve a path for certain sounds to pop or be buried in the mix. Ask yourself when mixing, “what would this scene sound like in real life” as well as, “how can I still tell the story without distracting from the visual truth”. 

For example, a scene in a city park with two people talking would, in reality, be pretty loud. Birds, cars, city sounds, bicycles etc. If we are seeing our characters on a wide shot from a distance, the sonic truth from the POV of the viewer would be that we hear mostly park sounds and not intelligible or audible dialogue. Now, perhaps creatively that’s what you’d want (depending on the content), a distant conversation that is from the POV of the wide shot. However, in most cases, the audience is likely needing to hear that conversation. So, the hierarchy of sound changes from what the visuals are telling us, in order to tell the story. Next time you see a film where people are talking from a distance, notice that their voices are probably unrealistically loud compared to what the POV of the viewer might actually be hearing in real life. Creating a balance and prioritizing storytelling over the ‘visual truth’ can enhance the emotional impact of your project and create a more immersive and engaging viewing experience.

Create space for each sound.

In addition to balancing the levels of different tracks, it's also important to pay attention to the details of each space in the content. This includes adding effects such as reverb to create a sense of space and depth, as well as using EQ to shape the tonal characteristics of different sounds. If the characters are in a cathedral, and there’s been foley footsteps added that have been recorded in a dry studio environment, they will sound out of place. The volume may be correct, but they will need to have cathedral reverb added to them in order to place the sound effect in the space. Otherwise, our audience will be taken out of the story immediately and the overall emotional impact will have been affected.By carefully crafting the space of each element in the mix, you can create a professional-sounding final product that engages and impresses your viewers.

Mixing saves you time and money. 

Mixing may seem like an extra step in the audio process, but it can actually save you time and money in the long run. If you don't take the time to properly mix your audio, you may end up with a final product that requires extensive revisions or rework. This can be costly and time-consuming, and it may even require you to go back and re-record certain elements. Proper mixing can help ensure that your audio is top-notch from the get-go, reducing the need for costly revisions down the line.

Creating a polished and professional final product.

Proper mixing is a highly skilled and technical process that requires a trained ear and a good understanding of audio theory. At our audio post-production company, we have a team of experienced audio engineers who have mastered the art of mixing. Whether you're working on a film, or podcast, we have the skills and expertise to help you create a polished and professional final product. If you're ready to take your audio to the next level, give our team of mixing masters a shout.