I want to start using Nuendo for sound for picture.
How are professional Nuendo users receiving audio from the range of editing applications, for example Final Cut Pro X, Premier Pro, Avid etc?
What methods are being used (AAF, OMF etc) and which seem to be the most reliable?
Thanks.
AAF from Avids work better than OMFs (when they work, see below). Final Cut Pro X can’'t export OMFs (or AAFs). They have to use a 3rd party plugin. FCP6 and 7 use OMF and work well. Premiere Pro uses OMF’s and seems to work very well also.
The most trouble I have is from Avids. So many users are using so many different versions that Nuendo can’t seem to translate all of them correctly. It’s a crap shoot for me. One bug in Avid exports is if any audio is from a Canon 5D, then it either doesn’t come over in the AAF, or everything is mis-aligned and becomes basically useless. I can’t predict when this will happen. Very frustrating.
Thanks Neil
It seems like a minefield. I came across a reference to a Windows base application AAtranslator that looks interesting and can apparently run in emulation mode on a Mac. Have you heard of this or know anyone using it?
Never heard of it. It hasn’t been as bad as I make it sound. If it’s a new editor I’m working with, I usually have them also output each track as a mixdown just in case.
I sent you a PM
Thanks Lydiot, I’ll check that out.
It seems like project transfers are such an important part of efficient professional workflow that there should be a “connect-a-thon” where NLE and DAW developers have to get together in a room, to prove satisfactory compliance/implementation with the standards and to prove that their import/export functions actually work (or work with declared limited functionality).
well for me sometimes they just send me stems ,like music .dialog, efx, room tone, foley…but i have a question…
Do people usually mix the film soundtrack as a whole project or in sections or scenes? cause if i am doing music i find it useful to do it scene by scene so i can adapt the tempo to match the scene…i know you can do tempo mapsbut then u end up with an enormous project…anyone.thanks
aaf but it’s been hit and miss and a lot of time lost sending files back and forth if something isnt translating correctly.
Define film soundtrack?
For a film mix we don’t use tempo changes so it’s a non-issue.
When doing sound design that might use tempo changes I generally handle that in additional projects separate from the main one.
Define film soundtrack?
For a film mix we don’t use tempo changes so it’s a non-issue.
When doing sound design that might use tempo changes I generally handle that in additional projects separate from the main one.
so you do music in a separate sequence then mix it and insert it in the main seq for the entire mix…thats what i do, i offset the project time code to match the other seq and insert the mix at the timecode position so it is accurate to the main seq …and if i need to change the song mix ,i just pop it back in same spot
Actually, just extending the scope of this thread a little; can I ask what mechanism are people using to send and receive projects and assets from clients and co-workers. FTP, Drop Box, disks via post etc?
Yes and no. As a professional I do not “do music”.
I edit and mix sound for film and TV. So in my day to day work I don’t do music.
In sound design it is often beneficial to to deal with design elements and tempo to be able to control tempo/speed changes of certain sounds and also to be able to manipulate time based effects using the sync to tempo functions. And in those cases I create specific projects to deal with certain scenes.
When I mix film score, I work with one project for each cue.
and the do you send as a whole or as separate scenes ?
Send? What to where?
Your question doesn’t make sense to me unfortunately.
I think he means when working on a movie, do you deliver mixes by scene, or one whole mix.
For me, it varies from project to project, but mostly one big mix. Some films are sent to me by scene, so that’s how I deliver them back. The editor then assembles all the scenes with mixes and then gives back to me. I have the entire film on a timeline with my individual mixes. I have usually created stem mixes of each scene, so this is where I go and line these up with the scene mixes the editor has given me. This is the mastering stage for me where I balance out all the stem mixes and make sure levels are in spec. I can also go back in to a scene and make adjustments if necessary and re-export.
I don’t particularly like working scene by scene because of the potential for EQ variances, etc. But it allows you to focus and not worry about processor overload.
It depends on the project. But very rarely do I just work on a scene. Either I work on everything. Or all the dialog, or all the hard fx or all the sound design. Or I may get asked to work on a very specific type of sounds only.
But I almost never work on a single scene. It just doesn’t make sense as a film or TV episode/show is (should be) a cohesive thing.
Yes. And also many scenes overlap each other in audio. How to deal with it if working scene by scene.
I work with whole mix or stem by stem but never just separeted scenes.
Bye / Tumppi
I am a professional composer for TV.
Different dubbing engineers will insist (or be relaxed about) specific delivery formats.
But the basics are:
1 number and name your cues consistently.
2 export separate files for each cue. I often provide stemmed mixes which are equivalent to a single file if all tracks are at unity gain. These stems are meticulously named. (Think about a naming scheme whereby if all your cues were in a folder alphabetically sorted, they would list in running order. EG 1M02 Capture.WAV then 1M03 Arrest.WAV etc etc. If you must later insert a new cue, do NOT re-number all subsequent cues. Name the new cue 1Mxxa (xx being the number of the cue preceding the inserted cue) and work through the alphabet if you must insert ANOTHER new cue (1Mxxb etc etc.) Avoid characters that are illegal on FTP such as “/” and " ’ " etc. a “-” is ok.
3 ALWAYS use the BWAV format at 48khz and 24bit unless asked for something else
4 place all your master wav files in a folder
5 deliver the folder via FTP and send a hard copy too. (As a courtesy, try to deliver to the dubbing engineers in house FTP. That way YOU wait on upload, THEY smile at download).
6 depending on the dubbing engineer you may be asked for a PT project containing your cues, or even Nuendo track archives (I have had this one, yes)
7 avoid sending files in a container such as OMF or AAF. You sadly cannot predict the result. And you won’t be there to oversee it necessarily.
8 Create a master project with no tempo changes into which you can drop (and test) your masters TO PICTURE. I run this master project on a separate machine all day running another Nuendo. You don’t need to do it that way - you can swap in and out on one machine. (This should have been step 1 really, sorry!)
9 consider carefully the start time of that master project in case you are sent AAF files from the dub (many engineers routinely run from 00.00.00.00).
10 backup.
11 backup.
12 er, backup.
Note:
Overlapping cues become the responsibility of the engineer. It’s his/her project - let him/her arrange it as they want. Unless asked otherwise. You could include a coded indication in the filename for cues that overlap (eg 1M09 lap Fight)
About stemming - discuss this with the engineer before deliver. A brief simple discussion. Show respect for their wishes. Your music will be louder if they think you’re a nice guy 
. Don’t provide a full mix alongside your stems. The engineer is used to stems and knows that all tracks at unity is the same as a full mix. Providing a full mix adds hassle to the situation.
Finally make sure you are definitely on the same cut (edit) as the dubbing engineer. I have found often that, as the dub gets delivered its material later than the composer, the cut, although locked, could have acquired ad break blanks according to network specs. Or even other changes that can still, amazingly, at times happen. Check this out. If your cut is old, demand an update from your producers immediately and check everything all over again.
Good luck!
That’s what I do…deliver stems.when I do music I use seperate seqs for timing and if they overlap I can roll the video and dialog track past the in and out points…and if I mix the the film or video.I just import my sub seqs …and use the time code in the file to line up…what’s nice about that is I need to remix a song I can re insert in …then I master the mix as a whole…but if anyone works in 5.1 how would you go about mastering that…? As one file ? Because if you do sack channel the balances would be off.correct?
Que?