Setting up the project in your DAW, understanding busses, effects and plugins

Mixing Process Overview

So let's actually, let's move on now to the actual mix process, the nuts and bolts of our mixing.

Importance of a Good Template

First things first, someone like me, I mix a lot of films and film scores. I usually have a template ready to load the material into because it takes quite a lot of time to prepare a film mixing session in Pro Tools, and I don't really want to do it every time before I start a mix.

My Template

• I've made myself a nice template, and it's working pretty well for me.
• Having a good template saves you lots of time, allowing you to mix more quickly and efficiently.

Template Breakdown in Pro Tools

In Pro Tools, at the top, I have a master fader that controls my volume, which sends to the 5.1 speakers.

• Master Fader: General volume knob.
• Fold Down: Controls the stereo mix.

The Concept of Stems

Now, as I've explained, film mixing must be made in groups or stems. In my template, I have different buses for every stem.

• Current Session Stems:
  • Strings
  • Percussion
  • Music
  • Effects
  • Drones
  • Solos

Each stem group is summed to my print tracks down here. Each group is bussed to a track in Pro Tools.

How to Create a Bus

To explain how my string bus works, I'll show you how to create a bus quickly:

1. Select New Track by hitting Apple Shift N.
2. Select 5.1 and Aux Input then hit Create.

I have my buses nicely labeled in the IO page I've created for the film template. Each stem bus has an input and an output.

• Input: Strings Direct
• Output: Strings Bus

This setup allows me to send all the orchestra tracks to the bus by selecting their output to be Strings Direct.

Bus Functionality

• The bus collects all the signals sent to it, allowing for processing before sending to my track for recording.
• When mixing my strings, I want to add reverb, delays, and other effects. I have previously created:
  • 1 Reverb
  • 2 Delay Channels
    • 1 for front speakers and 1 for back speakers.

These effect channels need their own designated input, like Strings Front Delay and Strings Surround Delay.

Additional Stem Processing

• For percussion, I have a short reverb and a long reverb, as percussive sounds often need short reverbs.
• Percussion dbx: This serves as a low-frequency generator, which we mentioned earlier, great for adding low-end frequencies to the score.

Record Tracks Setup

Now, let's look at my record tracks.

• Each audio track has its own input.
  • Example:
    • String Stem → Strings Bus
    • Perc Stem → Perk Bus

In order to record simultaneously, I create an audio track for each stem. This includes:

• A full mix track
• A fold down mix track

Summing Signals

To sum our signals into the full mix channel, I create another bus called Mix Bus In, where all five stem tracks can send their signals. This allows:

• The full mix channel to capture the sum of the five stems.
• Recording them all at the same time.

Creating a Stereo Mix

Since we're working in 5.1, we need to generate a stereo mix from the 5.1 signal.

Setting Up a Fold Down Bus

• I've made another bus that sums 5.1 channels back into stereo, known as the Fold Down. This is done using a plugin called Down Mixer within Pro Tools.

Steps to Create Fold Down Bus

1. Hit Apple Shift N to make a new track.
2. Select Aux Input 5.1 and create.

I send my 5.1 signal to the fold down bus via a send on the full mix channel.

Configuring the Down Mixer Plugin

When opening the plugin, the configuration sends everything to the fold down bus at 0dB.

• Standard adjustments:
  • Drop the center channel by 3dB
  • Drop the surround channels by 6dB
  • Mute the LFE channel

This configuration ensures a balanced stereo mix.

Final Steps

Finally, the fold down bus needs to be sent to a channel for recording.

Now, every time I finish mixing a cue, I hit record once, and it's going to record all tracks simultaneously, very efficient!

Conclusion

I know this seems complicated, but downloading the template and experimenting with it will help you understand its logical structure. You can use that template, make it your own, and start mixing.

That's the end of part one. We're going to move on now to our next chapter, which will be about surround sound and panning.