Music and Audio Mixing
Music
We have a number of music libraries we use for our videos. These tracks have all the necessary rights clearances for online and social media usage and come at no additional cost to you.
In the event your video will be presented on a broadcast platform or will be sold commercially, then additional rights clearances and costs may be involved. That is something we would advise you on during the planning stages of your project.
Normally our editors will choose a music track for your video. Let us know if there’s a specific genre or type of track you’d like for us to use, or not use, during the planning phase and our editor will keep that in mind during their search. Some clients prefer to have a listen through our catalogue and choose songs. While others supply us with tracks they’ve purchased through other vendors. We’re amenable to either of these options. Share with us your preference and we’ll make it happen.
Audio Mixing
The audio mix is probably one of the most important ingredients to a video outside of the actual editing. A great audio mix takes all of the audible elements (voice-over, dialogue, sound effects, music) and blends them together in a way that they complement each other. So that no one element overpowers or distracts from another. Offering the viewer an enjoyable soundscape.
With dialogue and voiceover, our editor may apply compression or EQ to enhance voices and give them a richer and clearer tone. Effects can be added to manipulate and customise the audio. For example, adding reverb to create a bit of an echo or adding a filter to make someone sound like a computer voice. There are many fun and creative tools at our disposal to stylise a video’s soundtrack.
The next stage of the mixing process is adjusting the volume levels for all of these elements. When played in unison they need to work in harmony with each other. For example, the volume of the music may need to dip down when someone is speaking so that the two elements are not fighting against each other. Or if it’s a sports-themed video and someone makes a great play. Having the roar of crowd noise rise up and above everything else at just the right time to capture the feel of that moment.
A proper audio mix also establishes a set peak volume for the video. This peak is determined by the final destination of the video. Video for the internet can be mixed at a much louder peak volume than video for broadcast television. Our editors ensure the peak is set correctly for each deliverable. This ensures that your viewers are not finding themselves having to turn up their speakers or headphones more than usual because the mix is too low. Or even worse, having their speakers or ears blown out because the mix is way louder than it should be.
