20
Feb
Yes, we should EQ on set
by Glen Trew
/ 22 Comments
All good points Glen, except for this: those EQ decisions are not yours or ours alone to make. I understand the impulse to want to optimise sound as much as possible on location, but there is a danger of possibility turning into license, and the frequent lack of communication between post and production sound DOES cut two ways. Yes many times location EQ was used and no one noticed. But no news coming back to you in the field does not mean that post did not have to do fixes--we generally do not "drop a dime" on the location mixer about things we have to fix in post, we just do the best we can and move on--no time for recriminations usually. And, sorry, I think you are wrong about the headphone monitoring vs judgement thing--it DOES make a difference what you listen on, no matter what experience level you are at. So twist those knobs, my friends, but remember that unless you are mixing live TV someone else will be having to fit all the pieces of the puzzle you made together later on, and think for the team.
Glen,
Great piece, I concur with your take 100%. I would also add one thing: Check with your re-recording mixers and dialogue editor, and if everything below 100Hz in the final mix is going to be used exclusively for M&E, use your high pass filters in production, and you'll have a few more dB of dynamic range for voice.
Another reason to try to make the tracks as good as possible including using EQ is that for the last 10 to 15 years a lot of sound is edited by video editors, not sound editors. They don't have a clue as to what is bad, good or best. Only "can I hear and understand what they are saying". Despite the editor's ability to rewind and try it again, they don't, making it even more important we get it right in the field as it may not be heard let alone fixed in post.
Glen,
Your thoughts on EQ are, in my opinion, spot on.
I have always employed all the EQ at my disposal to make the actor's voice sound "natural". Sometimes it's a little, sometimes a lot--to the point that sometimes I wish I had even more. I have never been criticized for delivering over-EQ'd tracks....if only they knew what we add or subtract in order to make it "flat". Thank you for sharing your insightful perspective.
Geoffrey Patterson
Thanks to all for their input thus far. This topic will likely take some discussion.
Phil, the production sound mixer is the only one who can make judgments during the production because they are the only one there. I'm trying to image calling someone involved with postproduction sound at 2am during a night-for-night diner scene when I've determined that a plant mic needs to be placed on a table to pick up a line. The conversation would go something like this:
"Hello?' (groggily)."Hi, I'm the production mixer. There's this one line that we can't get with the boom because of a shadow in the wide camera, so I've decided that the best option is to plant a Sanken COS-11 on the table in front of the actor, PZM style, but it gives the voice a brittle quality compared to the other actors we can boom in the same scene, and it affects the ambience in the same way when I bring it up. Rolling off the upper-mids helps it blend in with the boom pretty well, but I wanted to run it by you for final approval. Or, I could brighten the boom mic to help it match the plant mic. What do you think?"Still groggily: "'Are you x%@# kidding me?"
Clearly, such decisions - to EQ or not, where, how much, and how little - is the production mixer's responsibility, and theirs alone, based on a number of considerations that begin with what we hear in our headphones.
Glen Trew
Hi Glen , First of all congratulations in being brave enough to tackle such subject matter ! Secondo , I agree agree agree.To simply summarize , the ART of sound recording is what all this is also about,I'm not just a technician .My ears are on the set with the headphones on and I'm hired and I guess trusted to make the right decisions for all including the post people team .I'm careful and NEVER over eq because ''the buttons are there ''...and sometimes I never do (so many factors invloved about when and if I do ).I remember one day I had two male actors with deep rich voices overpowering an actress that had important lines to deliver....but she had this thin soft spoken voice....I had to do something to fix this in the mix track because the scene was meant to be played out with overlaps in the dialogue .The final result was great..some subtle and transparent eq'ing did the right thing .Good piece ,strong arguements and reflects todays realities .Bravo encore.Joe
Glen is great. Glen is good. Let us thank him for our production sound gear and advices. However, I'll put on my audio post hat (and my kevlar vest) and join in on this one. I would agree with this article for projects where there is no audio post except what the video editor can accomplish. Otherwise, I think the article should be tempered with other considerations.
If your mic'ing doesn't sound right first try different placement(s) and then if necessary try a different mic. If drastic EQ is necessary, that is a signal something is not mic'ed right and not necessarily neon over the parametrics.
The truth of the matter is that the EQ's utilized in audio post ARE far better than those available on set (sorry but it is true). They can be much more precise for filtering and 'enhancing' the sound of dialog. They can also be automated with very quick and precise controls. I can highpass something for a small portion of a second to fix something whereas if it is applied in the field that person's warmth is killed from the word go (or 'action' if you prefer). Same is true for Dynamics.
I don't care how long you've been using your favorite pair of headphones. You shouldn't use them to try and make precise judgements of what is happening across an EQ spectrum, especially the low end. To say otherwise ignores the purpose of tuned and calibrated room, quality monitors, detailed dynamics, and more.
I try not to say always 'don't' or always 'do' Logical judgement will suit best. Whatever location gives me is right. I have worked sound on set and I do know how things go. I believe I am always being given the best sound someone could manage to capture given circumstances.
and no don't call me in the AM to ask which mic should be used!!
Hi Todd,
Thanks very much for joining in.
As the original article suggests in the first paragraph ("...if a microphone sounds drastically unnatural, then the first actions should include checking the mic placement or checking for equipment failure..."), I think everyone is in agreement with your statement: "If your mic’ing doesn’t sound right first try different placement(s) and then if necessary try a different mic..."
But it's interesting that your statement suggests that production mixers can make subtle quality decisions involving mic placement based on what they hear in their headphones, but cannot trust their headphones when making decisions involving the EQ knobs. However, failed microphone aside, what is much more likely to occur is that the microphone and placement are already optimized for the given situation (wardrobe, set, shadows, framing, etc.), but still needs to be EQ'd to blend in the mono mix.
I think it is universally accepted that post production has the most capable tools (EQ, etc) and endless second chances for shaping the sounds recorded by production mixers. So keep in mind that the primary reason for this discussion is because of the mono production mix, and the assumption (please correct me if I'm wrong here) that post production usually prefers to use the mono mix when they can. Since an actor's voice cannot be singularly adjusted by post production without also adjusting other overlapping elements (ambience and other actors), the EQ should be applied on the set when the production mixer makes that determination.
Glen Trew
Thanks for having me. I believe that the more I learn about production sound the better my resultant post work will be.
I have no problem making the statements that; Your headphones on set are the only reference you've got so you should use them as best you can to determine how the mic's are capturing the sound you want. AND That doesn't make them the ideal environment for mixing/EQ'ing. Both are true.
The mono mix IS what gets used for many of the TV shows my circle of sound nerds works on. Your assumption that Post prefers it is interesting. Honestly, if budget and time allowed, I would prefer to use the ISO tracks but hey, people call me weird and I'm okay with that.
You can call me anytime, Glen! And I'll tell you that you gotta do what you gotta do! But your example isn't what I'm talking about of course. As I mentioned in our other discussion, I am not against tweak EQs and compression in the field, but I think that production mixers should be careful of getting outside of the range of a few db, particularly of mid and upper range boost. Again--the production mixer doesn't have a clear idea of what will cut to what and you can actually make matching problems worse with field EQ. And your headphones are not a calibrated mix room! The production mixer does have the most flexibility in getting a sound, but only if they have time and opportunity. Most of the jobs I work on now do NOT allow for many takes to get things right w/ mic EQ or position--I seem to be in the world of "shoot the rehearsal and move on" so I generally have only one or two shots at scenes (and in the verite-style shoots so popular today, one and only one shot) so I've decided that being conservative
about my settings is best for everybody. Re: isos: I think the more you want to EQ etc your mix, the more you should consider leaving the isos flat.
I understand the comment about video editors mixing, and many ENG/corpo etc jobs do not have audio post per se. If you know that is true for a given job then do whatever you can to make it all work, of course.
Philip Perkins (CAS)
Philip Perkins wrote: "...but I think that production mixers should be careful of getting outside of the range of a few db..."
It is a given that production mixers should be careful, just like everyone else involved in the production. But if it is fair to caution production mixers about over-EQing, then they should also be cautioned against under-EQing.
After proper consideration given to all of the points in the posts above (which, with experience, takes about 25-microseconds), if it is apparent to the production sound mixer in their headphones (presumably the same professional monitors the sound mixer has been living in for years) that an input requires +/-6dB of EQ, then +/-3dB of EQ is 3dB to little, which is no better or worse than +/-3dB too much. We should strive to apply the right amount in the right places in the right way.
It is not about granting license; production mixers already have the license to mix, the moment they are hired. Production mixers should attempt to get the best mix they can, which includes applying EQ to best advantage; no more, no less.
Glen Trew
I'm not sure how I see that too little EQ is as much of a problem as too much. Often, I find, a lot of EQ means you have the wrong mic in the wrong place--the mixer should fix the problem they hear another way, if they can. I generally think that if one is in doubt, then don't--EQ, marry, take that job etc.. It is easier to work and blend audio that has been less messed with in post, I have found. How about this--those of you who feel compelled, licensed, permissed or whatever to EQ as much as you want--take some of your work home and listen to it on your favorite speaker system. If you still like what you did in that heavily EQed scene, then I (post) probably will too. But do take the opportunity to listen to your work a bit the way we hear it.
Thanks for bringing this topic again Glen.
Philip Perkins CAS
I would have to disagree with Glenn here. I have had the pleasure of mixing on set, and I also have the pleasure of mixing dialogue every day in post. Nothing kills us faster than trying to match two thinks that a production mixer could never imagine being cut together and thus EQ'd differently. On set you cannot A-B Scene 1 take 5's boom mic, to Scene 1a take 6's body mic... You might think you are getting them close but when you hear them cut together you realize what a mess has been made... Add another 10 or 15 shots in there and now I have to earn my living. I have not ever (with the exception of TV... and even then sparingly) used the Mono picture editors track. And other than mixing out shortsighted EQ decisions only late and bad fader moves are as hard to fix. From post, please, 24/48, minimize everything below 80 or 100, and use EQ only if you have to (and then as little as possible)...
Coll Anderson
Wow, I stumbled onto this topic by accident and I'm pretty surprised by it. I've stated elsewhere that over use of eq in the field is a mistake for the novice and the veteran mixer. Headphones are not a good gauge to judge how your final sound is going to be heard. I'm confident in the eqing that I do because I've been wearing the same headset for over thirty years, I recently purchased a "high end" headset from Trew Audio and was so shocked by the difference in sonic quality that I put them back in the box and have never used them. I wouldn't be comfortable trying to eq a mic while learning to train my ear to a new sounding headset.
This is why I profess that the most important thing for the novice and begining soundie, is to listen to their sound on speakers, preferably on a system they are familiar with.
Over use of eq while listening to headphones is why the post mixers have to manipulate your sound later. If you over eq something and then the only option you've given them is a post fader and eq'ed iso track, you've screwed them and yourself by not giving them the chance to manipulate the track.
Interesting choice of topic for your own website, where Glen is good.
Richard Van Dyke
There´s one thing the author didn´t mention or didn´t consider:
There´s no way for a production sound mixer sitting on set to predict how the scene or in fact the whole film is going to end up after being edited.
So with that in mind "continuity" is a relative matter.
Propper EQing can only be done in the context of the film with everything else playing in context as well. There´s no way this can be predicted on set.
This has nothing to do with the prod. mixer´s incapability to EQ it´s just that there´s no way for him on set to listen in a context of a film that hasn´t even been edited yet.
What you call "over" and "under-EQing" can only be heard in context of the edited scene, wich you can´t on set.
Also there´s no way you can make a Sanken COS11 sound like a boom with a Schoeps using an EQ anyway. You might only have 1 or 2 chances to get it right. In post you just rewind and give it another try.
I understand the desire of a prod. mixer to get the mix-track as good as possible since everyone is listening to that when they watch the dailies during the shoot and it´s a hire-and-fire-situation.
But I can only recommend: Please at least do not EQ the split-tracks! If the mix is great and your EQ worked, great! But if not, give post a chance to change things that didn´t work out that well.
Thanks,
Frank.
Thanks again to everyone joining the discussion.
I'll re-state that the subject of EQ in this thread is primarily in consideration of the mono mix, and what seems to be the desire to use through the entire process whenever possible. I think it is universally accepted that esthetic use of EQ (bobbing and weaving in and around music, sound effects, etc) is only for the final mix. But blending lav microphones that are always different due to a number of factors on the set, with each other and with microphones that are more likely a known constant (boom microphones, typically) in the mono mix must be the job of the production sound mixer, whether it involves the use of the faders or the use of the EQ controls.
Since it seems that post mixers are the most likely to be concerned about EQ use on the set, here are some questions for the post mixers:
1) In post, when you have to EQ two scenes differently so that they cut together smoothly (such as Scene 1 take 5’s boom mic, to Scene 1a take 6’s body mic, as in Coll Anderson's example), how do you know that it's because of over EQing by the production mixer instead of under-EQing or lack of EQing?
2) In the case of a mono mix with two, three, four (seven, maybe?) overlapping actors using hidden lav mics (a daily occurrence for many of us if not most of us), how can post mixers EQ one voice without also EQing the other voices?
Thanks for you participation.
Glen Trew
re: 1: We don't know. But poorly done field EQ would definitely make things harder. (And well done field EQ could make things easier. The problem is the risk of blowing it w/EQ and not getting another take as well as the consistency issue.)
re: 2: We can spot EQ, a word at a time if need be. For me, the problems aren't really so much in the big overlaps (where so much is going on that the EQ would have to be really extreme to be audible as such) as in the words/sentences where the a speaker is in the clear.
But we do spot EQ all over the place, as part of the mix automation.
Philip Perkins
Pre-Dubbing dialogue on a feature at the moment. Very complex show with rapid-fire dialogue, the mono mix of the show has been used in one instance (for 1 line of dialogue). The rest has been replaced from iso tracks. Don't EQ apart from (some) low cut filtering. Even that is often overdone and it seems as a reaction to monitoring many open mics at once and an over-reaction to the amount of bass end that builds up from this.
These are not an indictment on the skills of producing a great mono mix, it's the reality of not being able to predict how the show will be cut and how your changes that you put onto the production audio via EQ'ing will affect Post later.
If we are ADR'ing a character we'll always try and find what mics the mixer was using so we can record ADR using those mics. It's essential for us to be able to get as close to the (flat) sound of the actual mics as possible.
Ray Beentjes
New Zealand
-
Hello Ray. Good to hear from you. I'm especially pleased to know that the use of ISO tracks is evidently increasing.
Regarding on-set EQ as it relates to ADR, keep in mind that my recommendations of on-set EQ are primarily not for boom mics (which would rarely need EQing, and only then when buried in heavy wind protection), but for hidden lav mics that are altered by so many unavoidable factors such as placement and wardrobe.
In the case of using the original microphone models for replacing/matching original dialog tracks, I assume you are talking about boom mics, which, of course, is a worthwhile effort. But when replacing/matching dialog recorded with hidden lavs, I'd be surprised if an ADR mixer would go to the trouble to use the original lav mic models with the original transmitter model with the original input settings with the original wardrobe and attempt to use the original mic placement techniques; yet these are the primary factors that change the sound of lav mics and the primary reason that on-set EQ is called for. If these efforts are, indeed, made during ADR sessions, then I will be very impressed.
On a bit of a side-bar: Since wireless boom is so often used now, I'm wondering, when replacing/matching dialog recorded with wireless boom, if wireless boom is also used to record the replacement dialog, and if the same model of wireless transmitter and receiver are used with the same transmitter input level (affecting limiter action) selected. In the case of wireless boom, all of these factors will have a much greater impact on matching replacement dialog than the model of boom microphone used.
It truly would be interesting to know if wireless booms are used in such a way during ADR in an effort to match the production tracks.
Glen Trew
Hey Glen
Sometimes we do use actual radio mics for ADR but predominantly we are using cabled versions of the lavaliers in question... ie: cos-11 etc. We record ADR with Boom and lav always these days which helps us get a basic match to what was shot (providing we roughly know what the mixer had in their kit.
The use of radio boom can be a minefield for us. Sure it's great if you are using a great digital radio mic with no bass cut and huge dynamic range before limiting .... but many folks are using analogue radio mics with the transmitters set to roll off substantial amounts of bass as per use with lavaliers. I love cable though I'm a realist and I know that it's not always feasible to do this. But cable is the safest and means that the preamps of your expensive mixer are actually being used rather than something a lot cheaper sounding. Not intended as a flame war here but that's my opinion.
Ray
-
Thanks again, Ray.
I agree with you entirely about wired boom vs. wireless boom, and I'm glad you brought up the issue of bass roll-off on the transmitters.
Some transmitters come from the factory with the bass roll of in the mid position, and most people who use them never think to change this setting. I set all of my analog transmitters (including the hybrid type) to minimum roll-off until I feel some roll-off is needed, which is almost never. (Yet another EQ decision based on what I hear in my headphones!)
Like you, Ray, my preference is for a wired boom. But when the decision must be made to use a wireless boom, I encourage mixers not only to reduce the roll-off, but also consider the limiter action of the transmitter, being to be careful not to use it more than it is helpful. I've found that this usually means setting the transmitter input level of analog wireless systems a little lower than the factory recommends.
Glen Trew
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