Let us watch you mix!

[BeniRose]

Hey guys! I'm about to start a new mix on an old project and had a great idea as I was thinking about it. I don't know about you, but I personally learn best by watching people do what they do and trying to emulate/recreate what they have done. I know this isn't the ideal way to mix, since we should be recreating with our ears and not our eyes, but I think it would be a cool way to share our mixing tips with each other, and maybe be a jumping off point for those who are starting.

So how about a Flickr pool or something of videos of our mixes. I know mixing is a long process and can sometimes be a few hours at a time, but I could host longer videos if needed (since bandwidth clearly won't be extravagant since it's just shared among us). For anyone running snow leopard, this is as easy as starting up Quicktime and hitting record. What do you guys think, would you be interested in watching other people's screens while they mix?

UPDATE: I just realized Flickr videos are limited to 90 seconds, so we could start a Youtube stream or something, not sure how that works. Again, if videos are getting super long, I can host them.

 

[RAMI]

I need someone to hold the camera.

Anyone????

 

[miroslav]

I don't want to burst your bubble....
...but the only thing a video would be really good for is if you were using EXACTLY the same equipment as the people watching.
Otherwise, what's the point of seeing how you adjust your faders/FX/Processing in Sonar if someone else is using Logic... never mind if it's someone like me who mixes OTB and is using a real console and outboard gear.

General techniques can all be discussed sans video...easy enough.

And you are right it can be a long process....even longer than a few hours, depending on the music. Would anyone really want to watch someone rewind a song 85 times to run through the mix?
Not to mention...without HEARING the audio exactly as the person doing the mix...well, is it going to be of any value?

If you had an actual "How To" video...where things are explained and techniques are clearly demonstrated...etc...that might be good...but just watching someone mix can actually be pretty boring after awhile if you don't know what that person is thinking and why their doing what they are doing every step of the way.

 

[miroslav]

I need someone to hold the camera.

Anyone????

You mean you don't have a tripod?

I'll only consider watching someone mix or master for free...otherwise, I'm not interested.

 

[ez_willis]

I don't want to burst your bubble....
...but the only thing a video would be really good for is if you were using EXACTLY the same equipment as the people watching.

i disagree. i would be interested in seeing what processes people go through to get their mix finished. like, what instruments they begin with, and if they start with eq or effects, then where they go from there, etc. you wouldn't need to emulate anyone to learn from their technique.

go for it.

 

[BeniRose]

i disagree. i would be interested in seeing what processes people go through to get their mix finished. like, what instruments they begin with, and if they start with eq or effects, then where they go from there, etc. you wouldn't need to emulate anyone to learn from their technique.

go for it.

Exactly EZ, you got my point to the T. How-tos are great, and I've learned a lot from them, but to see someone open an EQ and play me the difference between it in bypass and when it's on is a totally different learning experience than to see someone solo a kick, open an EQ, and tweek around with different frequencies, Qs, and gains, while hearing how it's effecting the sound and what they settled on. And then to see them move on to the snare and see how it's working with the kick and everything else. Then seeing how they bus their effects (or if they run inserts) and how that might effect the sound too. Seeing things in application is always different than taking them out of context, and personally, I learn much better that way. Think of it as learning by interning at a studio and watching mixes vs taking classes.

Miroslav was right though, this would make most sense for in the box mixing, in which case, you don't need a camera! And I didn't mean it as a business, I wasn't trying to pitch a site idea to you, I really just want to learn from other people's experiences mixing and thought maybe other people would like to get in on that too!

 

[miroslav]

i disagree. i would be interested in seeing what processes people go through to get their mix finished. like, what instruments they begin with, and if they start with eq or effects, then where they go from there, etc.

So then I guess you would expect them to tell you what they are doing for every step of the process....and/or to have them zoom in on every knob turn...right?
That's a lot of extra work for the guy doing the mixing if you can get him to do that...but just sticking a camera over someone's shoulder is not going to get you a whole lot of real info...and you would have to sit there and watch them mix for a few hours or more until it's done....unless the video was edited down to just the key moves.
Not to mention, you would want to hear that mix on a decent playback system to fully appreciate their mixing process.

But you know what...I don't want to dissuade anyone from doing it... I'm just saying I don't see how a static video shot over someone’s shoulder is going to be interesting to watch for 4-5----8 hours or be of real value...without any detailed commentary and ability to hear the mix decently.

 

[BeniRose]

So then I guess you would expect them to tell you what they are doing for every step of the process....and/or to have them zoom in on every knob turn...right?
That's a lot of extra work for the guy doing the mixing if you can get him to do that...but just sticking a camera over someone's shoulder is not going to get you a whole lot of real info...and you would have to sit there and watch them mix for a few hours or more until it's done....unless the video was edited down to just the key moves.
Not to mention, you would want to hear that mix on a decent playback system to fully appreciate their mixing process.

But you know what...I don't want to dissuade anyone from doing it... I'm just saying I don't see how a static video shot over someone’s shoulder is going to be interesting to watch for 4-5----8 hours or be of real value...without any detailed commentary and ability to hear the mix decently.

That's cool dude, we're not making you do it or watch it And like I said, it'd mostly be for in the box mixing using screen capture, not a video camera, so you'd hear it as they're hearing it (or rather it would depend on your own playback system). And it doesn't have to be fine detail...if I can't read every label, that's ok. If they decide to narrate what they're doing, that's good, but if not, I know enough to follow along most of the time.

 

[miroslav]

Here's something to get you started:

http://www.ehow.com/videos-on_10365_audio-recording-techniques.html

 

[RAMI]

You mean you don't have a tripod?

Tripod? That used to be my nickname when I was a stripper.

 

[ez_willis]

So then I guess you would expect them to tell you what they are doing for every step of the process....and/or to have them zoom in on every knob turn...right?.

if they won't just come over and show me on my setup, yeah. and i will accept nothing less.

 

[grimtraveller]

Tripod? That used to be my nickname when I was a stripper.

And all this time, I thought they were saying "Firepod" !

 

[miroslav]

if they won't just come over and show me on my setup, yeah. and i will accept nothing less.

Right...and I agree, if they just sit there going about their business mixing...you really won't be able to pick on the subtleties of what they are doing if they are not explaining it all verbally as they mix...
...and who would want to do that for 4 hours while trying to focus on their mix?

The video idea might cool if people wanted to "deconstruct" a mix they already did and then discuss what they did in a more fast paced manner...that way you can go through the whole mix for a song in a shorter time frame..maybe only a 30 minute video...?

 

[ez_willis]

wait, did the OP offer to do this or not? if he did, i'll watch it.

 

[RAMI]

...maybe only a 30 minute video...?

Hehe...I can't even get myself to read posts that are more than 2 paragraphs long. I can't see ANYONE wanting to watch more than 2 minutes of someone mixing their song...But that might just be me.

 

[XLR]

Anybody remember the Bruce Miller audio classes that were being set up a couple years ago over at... crap, can't remember... the Studio-something or other site.

It was really good but I lost touch. You were in that too Rami, weren't you?

He did some vids - some are here.You gotta kind of poke around on the page to find the links.

 

[miroslav]

wait, did the OP offer to do this or not? if he did, i'll watch it.

Actually...I think he wants to watch a video of you doing a mix Obi Wan....

Hehe...I can't even get myself to read posts that are more than 2 paragraphs long. I can't see ANYONE wanting to watch more than 2 minutes of someone mixing their song...But that might just be me.

2 minutes....?
I wouldn’t have guessed you were that patient.
I know I’m not!

That was really my point earlier. It's not a bad idea in theory, but unless you have some real smokin' engineer/producer willing to share his mixing moves in detail and/or to deconstruct a mix of some hot song he mixed that most people already know...yeah, it WOULD be rather dull watching most of the guys on HR doing their mixing, and I'll put myself at the TOP of that list...'cuz I move real slow when I'm mixing.
It could take me half the day just to set up my mix on the console and all my outboard gear. Then I'll come back to it the next day and actually mix...and then I'll come back to it the third day and listen to what I did and decide if I like it or if I need to tweak it.
I don't really need to move fast, as I'm not on the clock...it's my studio and my time.

Anyone wanna watch a video of me doing that for 2-3 days?

Maybe some of the folks who were tossing up mixes in like 20 minutes of that guy’s song the other day…maybe they would be good for making videos of their techniques.

 

[M1Fanatic]

That would be like watching paint dry unless it was a very detailed video. I don't see how the engineer could concentrate on the mix though while doing this.

 

[ocnor]

I'm just saying I don't see how a static video shot over someone’s shoulder is going to be interesting to watch for 4-5----8 hours or be of real value.

 

[RawDepth]

I wonder if you guys are over complicating this a bit.

Many of the members here have never been told how/where to begin or how to better approach some things in mixing. In that case, a very basic video of some general methods would indeed be helpful to them. Of course every mix is different, but there are still some things that we do the same way almost every time. Beginners could benefit from observing our routine.

If you have been mixing for years then yes, it would be boring to watch. But if you have no clue on where to begin then it may seem like the most exciting and helpful thing you've ever seen in your life. Hell, I would have watched it when I was a rookie. (Ok, still a rookie, but you get my point.)

I agree though, for time's sake, it would need to be edited to only include the important things.