Loudness Toolkit Plug-Ins Significantly Improve
Workflow for Veteran Re-Recording Mixer
HOLLYWOOD – Re-recording mixer Tom Marks, CAS, is passionate about his craft and the storytelling aspect of his job. He was recently tasked with mixing comedian Kevin Hart’s Netflix stand up special in Dolby Atmos®. He turned to NUGEN Audio’s Loudness Toolkit for the project in order to keep the varying levels of the hilarious dialogue consistent.
For Marks, one of the biggest challenges in mixing is time. “Regardless of what type of content you mix, shows have gotten more complex, there are more visual effects and the production values are higher – so the sound has to match or exceed that,” he says.
“Fast decision making, a good template with plug-ins you prefer, and a console/control surface laid out well, all help with the efficiency you need to create great content in today’s world.”
Marks has come to rely on a selection of NUGEN Audio plug-ins for his projects, including VisLM, Halo Upmix, ISL, MasterCheck and Visualizer. Marks credits the numerous features of his NUGEN Audio plug-ins for his improved workflow. Among his most-used features are the True Peak metering; Netflix, TASA and R128 compatibility; stereo, 5.1, 7.1 and 7.1.2 channel formats; and loudness history, which saves VisLM’s measurements with the session.
“For a show on Netflix, there are two loudness numbers that are important to hit,” adds Marks. “The first is True Peak. You need to limit your mix with a True Peak limiter, and this is where NUGEN’s ISL is required. The second is your LKFS number. This Netflix spec helps to maintain dialogue levels across a wide range of content. With NUGEN’s VisLM, you can load in the Netflix preset and start mixing.”
For the Kevin Hart special in Dolby Atmos, Marks almost entirely mixed dialogue. VisLM and its Netflix preset made hitting the required spec numbers really easy. This allowed him to spend more time on the creative process.
“NUGEN Audio is a good company with a solid reputation of making tools that help us do our jobs,” adds Marks. “NUGEN keeps coming out with plug-ins that once incorporated into your workflow, you can’t mix without them. Thanks to NUGEN Audio, the Kevin Hart special came out great.”