A look behind the scenes of the sound design for The Current.
Read MoreDestination Unknown
Not that you could tell by the frequency of my blog posts, but a lot has been going on. For one, I've moved out of my house so I can sell it. That means no mix theater, no home studio, no reference audio system for a while. I miss it.
I hope to be back up and running in a new house within a few weeks. I don't know yet where I'll be buying because I don't know yet how much money I'll have. Fun times.
But I do have my basic audio editing system up and running here at Temporary HQ in Oakland, and have been involved in a couple of very interesting sound design projects. Unfortunately they're both secret, so I can't tell you about them — yet.
But I can tell you about a fun project I just (finally) finished, namely the edit and mix of the latest Earbud Theater episode, On The Line from Writer/Director/Actor Jared Rivet:
Something has gone rotten with Dawn and Rachel’s friendship. Sure people change and everyone has secrets – but this time it’s different. On this particular night Dawn seeks Rachel’s company to finally have it out when a seemingly innocent mistake hurtles the two down a highway of terror. From the demented mind of Jared Rivet, On The Line is a tale that is at once insidious and a high-octane thrill ride.
Turn down the lights, crank up the volume, and enjoy.
In the Mix
Today I finished the project of making my facility reconfigurable from recording/editing to mixing/mastering. This is sort of the Millenium Falcon of mix studios: It may not look like much, but it's got it where it counts.
When it's time to get serious about the sound, hand it over to the Sashas.
My studio monitors and headphones are adequate for many tasks, even finishing up an audiobook. But when mixing and mastering music, movie soundtracks, or a radio drama it helps to have the right speakers. The Wilson Audio Sashas (mine are Series 1 – you can read about the new Series 2 here) are musical, revealing, and analytical. While they're good for just kicking back and listening (or rocking a movie) critical listening is what they were designed for.
Granted, it doesn't look remotely like Skywalker Sound. But with my "MacGyver" setup I can reconfigure from production to mixing in about 20 minutes, and it was way cheaper than getting a second Mac Pro. Fortunately the Mac Pro is quiet enough to be right in the room, so I didn't have to get fancy with the cabling.
Now I don't have to jog down the hall to listen to the mix and take notes. Creative decisions on level, placement, EQ, reverb – everything – can be made right here.