audio post production workflow

I'm trying to upgrade some of my workflows, and especially the audio editing part.

right now im still editing ''serious'' stuff in premiere, mostly because its still part of some bigger projects.

in premiere there is the audio track mixer and the clip mixer. i have never really used the clip mixer so far, i mostly adjust (by clicking) every clip in the timeline, sometimes with some shortcuts.

but after browsing the internet, seeing some mixers, first thing i thought of was, a (motorized) mixer with something like 8/10 faders, which will adjust to every single clip, would come in very handy.

i feel like this could be the part where i can still gain alot of speed.

the fairlight professional console is way too big, yet. can someone recommend me such a mixer/device which will work with resolve? How do other people without a dedicated audio department do this?

it's mostly about balancing audio, ajusting volumes.

guess im looking for some suggestions here.

I should ask it simpler.

can anyone recommend me a specific audio mixer which will work nicely with resolve, in the edit page, while editing?

Ditto - I'm in the exact boat, I have an old Mackie Onyx Firewire mixer I'm upgrading to be a new mixer for audio but also want it to be able to double as a control surface for the Fairlight module in Resolve.

I've been advised that Presonus Studio Live has a desk that can be used as both audio I/O and control surface for several DAWs but unsure about using it in Resolve. Interested to see an answer about this!

just got this idea;

imagine you have a small hardware panel with something like 8 gain knobs, each one represents an audio track. there are 2 buttons to change the tracks range back and forth from 1-8 to 8-16, 16-24, and so on, so you have infinite range. or maybe as a modular design so you can expand it.

there are 2 functions, individual clip gain and overall track level.

there is a switch to turn ''linked clips'' on and off.

you can press the knobs down, this will set a keyframe. when you already have a bunch of keyframes in your clip, you can switch from ''overall gain adjustment'' to ''only between keyframes adjustments'' if needed. there is also a transport wheel on it which you can also use to select and move keyframes.

this can be strengthened in the UI by highlighting the corresponding clips/tracks. maybe even touch-sensitive, so when you touch the knobs, the clips get immediately highlighted.

this could be small, simple and very effective. BM could promote it as the revolutionary new portable audio workflow booster for professionals making money in hotel rooms cutting news items and sell it for 500 bucks and i will buy it. or, as an expansion on the new editing keyboard.

good idea?

Blackmagic has Fairlight consoles for that use.That is the most compatible controller you'll get. Other than that, I would go with a Mackie mcu pro. Both , Fairlight and Mackie, as well as other daw controllers have the ability to write or read automation.If you get more familiar with audio workflow you'll see that a simple gain knob isn't enough. Sometimes you have peaks reaching 0dbs and sometimes -30-40-60 etc. Audio (especially dialogue) isn't flat. In order to fix that you can use fairlight's audio tools to do either a simple or more advanced audio treatment. But a daw controller is a great addition to begin with.

Blackmagic has Fairlight consoles for that use.That is the most compatible controller you'll get. Other than that, I would go with a Mackie mcu pro. Both , Fairlight and Mackie, as well as other daw controllers have the ability to write or read automation.If you get more familiar with audio workflow you'll see that a simple gain knob isn't enough. Sometimes you have peaks reaching 0dbs and sometimes -30-40-60 etc. Audio (especially dialogue) isn't flat. In order to fix that you can use fairlight's audio tools to do either a simple or more advanced audio treatment. But a daw controller is a great addition to begin with.

I just dont see how the faders/gain knobs will help my workflow while balancing if its only on track level, instead of clip-level. i spend most of my audio-time on balancing, since the loudness differences mostly on each clip.

if you use automation for the whole audio track, you have to react to every ''mistake'' in loudness, which is already too late.

That is what for compressors are.They sort of fix that problem for you (although this is not how they actually work)

i dont think so. i would never use a compressor to compensate 2 or more clips on the same track with a 10+ db difference. that is just bad advice IMO.

but i googled for a clip mixer function in resolve, turns out it was there in v12, but it's gone now (?)

in premiere there is the audio track mixer and the clip mixer. i have never really used the clip mixer so far, i mostly adjust (by clicking) every clip in the timeline, sometimes with some shortcuts.

Unless you are using the 'clip gain' shortcut (G in PP) you're using the clip mixer there, just not directly. i.e. the 'volume up/down' shortcuts and the 'clip volume keyframe' shortcuts on the clips affect the clip mixer.

but after browsing the internet, seeing some mixers, first thing i thought of was, a (motorized) mixer with something like 8/10 faders, which will adjust to every single clip, would come in very handy.

i feel like this could be the part where i can still gain alot of speed.

the fairlight professional console is way too big, yet. can someone recommend me such a mixer/device which will work with resolve?

I don't know about working with Resolve, but the Avid (formerly Euphonix) Artist Mix is the best of the bunch that I've seen. Sadly not enough folks invest in hardware for video post so there's not a lot of interest in the manufacturers developing for this market share.

Glenn Venghaus does interesting things with controllers. Worth a look - plus probably cheaper on 2nd hand market.

How do other people without a dedicated audio department do this?

it's mostly about balancing audio, ajusting volumes.

The way you are doing it, mostly. Either adjusting clip gain within the timeline (combination of clip mixer or clip gain) or on the clip mixer itself. Sometimes 'riding' the faders by enabling automation recording. Not using track based adjustments unless the edit is completely locked as they do not move with edits.

Track based compression/eq is handy - especially if you are disciplined in track layout.

The one event I do get to use the Avid artist mix is a turnaround sports event. I do a 'fader automation' mix pass as I play back (from Media Composer) down the line to the broadcast centre before it airs. Gives me the opportunity to push the effects against the voice more than I'd be able to with regular mixing (as there isn't time to do a mix pass before air - without the hardware the effects would have to sit safely below everything). Usually there is just about time to re-feed if there is a mistake. If the error wasn't in my mix then I just let the fader automation play itself back.

Even with the hardware available I don't much use it for the main edit (partly because of limited functionality with Media Composer in anything other than fader automation mode - similar to the Artist Color panel, Avid has the worst interaction with its own hardware).

i dont think so. i would never use a compressor to compensate 2 or more clips on the same track with a 10+ db difference. that is just bad advice IMO.

but i googled for a clip mixer function in resolve, turns out it was there in v12, but it's gone now (?)

If you really need good audio , you'll have to deal with faders , gain riding and a lot of automation.If you don't have time to deal with it and just need a tool to roughly "fix" levels for you, then you'll just drop a compressor.That's why I mentioned it.
Yes I agree it's not a good advice.That is why in my previous post I mentioned the fairlight tools and automation with a daw controller. But in the end , it's always up to you, on how much time you'll invest on dealing with audio. If you just need an overall rough fix , there are a few plugins that work as auto gain riders.