“Anybody wanting to be a mixer should definitely learn Pro Tools. It's such a great tool for what we do, not only for mixing, but for editing. It's so fun. It is vital that you use this software.”

Taking a Risk on the Edge of Sound and Story

 

It was the opening. Matt Remick (Seth Rogen), the studio president, is walking the red carpet, saying hello to random people, and we have loop group going in and out, and I was like, ‘I'm going to do panning with my dialogue. I don't care what people say.’

 

So, he comes in, then the young TikTok star comes in, then he sees Zoe Kravitz. You peek in on their interview with Access Hollywood, then Catherine O'Hara walks in. You have all these photographers and influencers on the red carpet, and it was a lot to balance. There was cleanup to be done. It's hectic, crazy and tough because you've got to get every word through. That was my introduction into the show, and I'm like, ‘Oh, God, here we go.’

 

You have your host or guest speaker on stage and cameras panning around the room. It’s important what they're saying up there. But we could also get these other things that are happening with the audience and what our main characters are doing. I'm going to pan it. But you also put it in the space where you are with the camera. You add more reverb, less dry sound or vice versa when the camera pans back to the speaker. I was like, ‘This is a little weird, but I think it works. Oh, man, they're going to hate this maybe.’

 

 

Balancing Chaos, Dialogue and Atmosphere

 

So many actors are coming in and out, and everybody is lav’d up. I had our dialogue editor, Borja Sau, put each character on their own track, because that would be easiest for me to navigate if I needed to copy something earlier in the scene.

 

I didn't start with anything like panning around the room. But then I was like, ‘We could go for this. And hopefully it still makes sense.’ The story is still being told because the camera's focus is going from this person to that person.

 

With other episodes, we realized it was too much, and taking away from the story. That's why I like “The Golden Globes” episode, because it's an outlier with the series, that mixing technique. It works because there's so much going on.

Lindsey’s Pro Tools session from The Studio: “The Golden Globes” episode

I work with each food group. I start with production dialogue and make sure you can hear and understand. While I'm working on that, the effects mixer, Fred Howard, is getting his backgrounds and levels set.

 

You'll have these dropouts because there's ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement) coming in that needs to be filled up to give you an intro into somebody coming into the frame. Then they trail off. Our ADR mixer, Brian Magrum, gave us three mics, a lav, a boom and a plant mic on the stand. I was able to mix with those and work that into the production dialogue.

 

Then you get your group loop in and you're like, ‘This is good. Let's put in the music.’ It's the Benny Goodman track, which is so fun and iconic. You don't want to miss it. It's finding the balance between this line and letting a bit of the music peek through. That was challenging because the trumpet in that song is in the range of people speaking. When he plays, it's like, ‘Whoa.’ Let's try and EQ it or with EQ and compression, you can tuck it, blow the voices.’

 

I like my production dialogue in one. I like secondary production dialogue to be in another food group so that if you have conflicting conversations happening, you have more control. The way I have my console set up, you have your ADR loop group source music score. If you're working with Dolby Atmos, then I have separate object tracks that I like to drag. I used a lot with this episode because the camera is spinning around, and you can use a lot of loop group.

 

Pro Tools helps me all the time when I'm mixing. It is the industry standard. You can take a mix and listen like we were on one stage, but you can go to another stage and listen. It's the same mix because we are working within Pro Tools. We are working on Avid S6 consoles. It makes it easy to move the mix around. Pro Tools is like an extension of me now because I know how to get the things that I want to sound the way they do so easily.

 

Pro Tools tools that are essential for me as a mixer, that I can't get by without are EQ and compression. They make a great suite of plugins I love like FabFilter. Other plugins made by Avid that I like are Pro Compressor and Pro Limiter because they're on the dialogue chain. Pro Limiter is on all of my main outputs, like my dialogue group and music. It makes sure you're within spec. That is big because you need to mix for TV so that the audience doesn't have to turn the remote up or down. You keep it level. I'm constantly looking over at my Pro Limiter and seeing where am I? I check myself with that plugin to make sure I'm in the range and not going overboard.

 

When you have music and effects rising to the same level as dialogue, you push and move it in an emotion where it's all working. That's hard to do like when Zoe confronts Matt backstage and the drums are going boom, boom. They start speeding up and she's doing her monologue to him. It's like, ‘Are we pushing it too much?’ We're right on the edge, but it's working.  

Lindsey’s Pro Tools session from The Studio: “The Golden Globes” episode

Validation of Bold Mixing Choices

 

An Emmy nomination is an honor. I'm just happy they like the show and thankfully the sound mix of the show, because that's always the worry. You're like, ‘Are people going to understand everything we're trying to put on the screen and that you're listening to,’ because I was teetering on the edge with the music and dialogue. You are always grateful when your peers nominate you. It's such a good category with other great shows.  

 

 

From Video Store to Star Wars

 

I had a love of movies growing up. My dad worked at a video store. After school, me and my sisters, we'd be in the back and then, like, ‘OK, let's watch a movie.’ We all had a love of film. My dad loves the classics. My mom played piano. That inspired me.

 

I went to a performing arts high school in Houston, played the clarinet, realized I did not want to be a performance major or keep playing my clarinet because the hours of practice weren't for me. They were having a college fair. University of Miami had a booth, they were telling us about music engineering, and a semester in post production. It was such a great program overall.

 

I started in commercials, then worked my way into TV and film. It was amazing to watch the greats work. I got to be in one of the final playbacks for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  I'm in the front row and I look down the console at who else is there: Andy Nelson, John Williams, Chris Scarabosio, Matt Wood, David Acord. I was like, ‘How did I get right here?’

 

I'm a sound nerd. This is one of the best jobs. You are watching movies or TV shows and enhancing the storytelling with sound, being a helper with your showrunner or director. It's like a party. We get in the room, sit down, watch. We're like, ‘Do we like this? No. OK, let's change that.’ The collaboration with everyone is so fun. I can't believe I get to do this for a living.

 

 

Sound Advice for Aspiring Mixers

 

Do not be afraid of reaching out to people. I'll get emails from students or young sound editors, sound mixers, and they want to meet for coffee, pick my brain. I'm like, ‘Oh my God, yes. That's a good idea.’ I should have done that. Go to social gatherings. I'm part of Cinema Audio Society. They host events and mixers.

 

Anybody wanting to be a mixer should definitely learn Pro Tools. There are free versions of it available, student versions that are at a discounted price, which is amazing. It's such a great tool for what we do, not only for mixing, but for editing. It's so fun. It is vital that you use this software. 

 

About the Mixer 

 

Lindsey Alvarez, CAS, is a re-recording mixer with 10+ years of experience in film and TV.  Specializing in dialogue and music, Lindsey applies her background as a concert musician to bring a nuanced approach to storytelling through sound.  Her work has won her four Emmy nominations, including wins for Only Murders in the Building and Daisy Jones and the Six.  Credits include The Studio;  Predator: Killer of Killers; The Pope’s Exorcist; and a forthcoming Netflix drama series titled, Death by Lightning, which focuses on the life and assassination of President James Garfield.  When she’s not behind the console, Lindsey is traveling with her husband to add more stamps to her passport.