Dynamics & rides
Lesson time: (3min 8sec)
Goetz Botzenhardt shapes the dynamics of a film cue with fader rides, building the contrast between quiet moments and big orchestral swells.
Course preview
This lesson is part of the course Mixing for Film & TV score
Watch a preview of the full course below.
Lesson transcript:
Understanding Dynamics in Film Music
Okay, so our next chapter, or the next thing I want to look at, is the dynamics of each piece. Because in film, dynamics are massively important.
The Importance of Dynamics
There are two primary reasons for this:
- Contrast in Sound: In film music, you can have something that's really quiet, like just one violin, and then all of a sudden, the whole orchestra comes crashing in, or there's a big bang.
- Emotional Impact: You really need a lot of light and shade in your mixes. Unlike mixing a pop record, which is basically all at the same level and always playing pretty much as loud as possible, film music requires dynamics.
The music plays a crucial role for the director to:
- Shake things up
- Stir certain emotions
- Take you on the roller coaster ride that is watching a film
You can do a lot of riding and really work the dynamics to shape them till they rise. While the players will do them to an extent, there's only so much they can do.
Tips for Mixing Dynamics
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Spend Time on Dynamics: It's essential to spend time getting the dynamics right and riding the faders. You have to listen to what goes on and adjust accordingly.
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Play the Cue While Mixing: When it comes to dynamics, always play the cue while you mix it. Not all the time, of course; get it sounding good, but also make sure to play it with the sync.
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Avoid Conflicts: Ensure that when somebody's speaking or when there's something happening on the soundtrack, the music doesn't clash with it.
Incorporate Music Thoughtfully
- Bring in elements of music when there's space for them.
- When there's no space, just fade them back, shaping it around the sync track, dialogue, and sound effects.
This is quite important because otherwise, they're just going to turn everything down in the dub. They will likely reduce the music volume if it doesn't fit around the other elements.
Final Note
From our perspective, we always want the music to be as loud as possible in the film. So, we need to help the dubbing engineer by shaping our mix around everything else that goes on.
Very, very important, this is a key aspect of mixing for film, so get your head around it!
About the instructor
In the early nineties, Goetz Botzenhardt trained at Swanyard Recording Studios, assisting top producers like Flood, Alan Moulder and Tom Lord-Alge, and cut his teeth recording and mixing the dance and Acid Jazz bands of the 90s - Incognito, Galliano, Soul II Soul and many others.At Swanyard he met Rollo Armstrong and the two quickly formed a creative partnership, leading to many big dance records and remixes and, soon after, to recording and mixing the first two acclaimed Faithless albums and Dido's multi-platinum 'No Angel'.Ranging across genres, he recorded and mixed the Sugababes' debut album 'One Touch', including their first hit 'Overload', and has mixed for The Cardigans, Bjork, The Cinematic Orchestra, Craig David, the Pet Shop Boys and Hikaru Utada, one of Japan's most successful artists.More recently he expanded into film and TV, working extensively with composers Christian Henson, Martin Phipps and Anne Nikitin, and mixing Daniel Pemberton's Golden Globe-nominated score for 'Steve Jobs', directed by Danny Boyle. Away from film he produced Tanita Tikaram's 'Closer to the People', mixed tracks for Sigala, Ella Eyre, Breton, Planet Funk and Tito Jackson, and in 2016 mixed Peabo Bryson's album with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. A full list of his work is on his discography and filmography pages at goetz-botzenhardt.com.Goetz works from his own studio and mix room, built around an SSL E4044 console, Adam 5.1 surround monitoring, a 48-channel Pro Tools HDX system and choice outboard gear. In his courses he takes you inside that room to show how he mixes across two very different worlds: in Mixing for Film & TV Score, how he balances and shapes orchestral and hybrid scores to serve the picture; and in Mixing Commercial Pop Music, how he builds punchy, radio-ready pop mixes from the multitrack up. read more