1. Lock the picture. Don't edit the video once you have started mixing the audio.
2. Levels are additive
so the more sounds you put in the timeline the higher your levels will be. Keep levels consistent. This should be roughly around -12dB, but some parts may be slightly quieter.
3. Sync sound
Keep all of your devices synchronized with your DSLR. With DSLRs more and more people are recording sound separately to the video. You can sync either manually by using a clapper board or using a piece of software such as Plural Eyes or Woo Wave which do it automatically.
4. Scene by scene.
Work on one scene at a time, and work through each element separately.
5. Atmosphere.
Start by laying atmosphere tracks down; these should be continuous throughout.
6. Prioritize.
For each scene work out whether dialogue, special effects or music or sound fx is most important and mix this level first.
7. Spotting.
Go through the scene writing down what other sounds you need to find in a library or record.
8. Play around. When you have mixed it so it is all at a constant level and feels continuous, you should think of the tonal quality of the sound.. For example the music and dialogue may be a similar pitch so they are clashing.
9. Keep it simple.
Don't attempt extreme stereo effects or surround sound unless you are an experienced sound mixer with expensive equipment. It's best to stick with stereo or mono. When mixing keep your music as stereo and atmosphere as stereo but pan the rest so that they are central. If you have two characters talking to each other you could pan one to one side and the other to the other side, but don't go further than 50%.
2. Levels are additive
so the more sounds you put in the timeline the higher your levels will be. Keep levels consistent. This should be roughly around -12dB, but some parts may be slightly quieter.
3. Sync sound
Keep all of your devices synchronized with your DSLR. With DSLRs more and more people are recording sound separately to the video. You can sync either manually by using a clapper board or using a piece of software such as Plural Eyes or Woo Wave which do it automatically.
4. Scene by scene.
Work on one scene at a time, and work through each element separately.
5. Atmosphere.
Start by laying atmosphere tracks down; these should be continuous throughout.
6. Prioritize.
For each scene work out whether dialogue, special effects or music or sound fx is most important and mix this level first.
7. Spotting.
Go through the scene writing down what other sounds you need to find in a library or record.
8. Play around. When you have mixed it so it is all at a constant level and feels continuous, you should think of the tonal quality of the sound.. For example the music and dialogue may be a similar pitch so they are clashing.
9. Keep it simple.
Don't attempt extreme stereo effects or surround sound unless you are an experienced sound mixer with expensive equipment. It's best to stick with stereo or mono. When mixing keep your music as stereo and atmosphere as stereo but pan the rest so that they are central. If you have two characters talking to each other you could pan one to one side and the other to the other side, but don't go further than 50%.