Dialog is key

In any good radio or TV soundtrack, the key to a great mix is getting the dialog recorded well. Having dialog with great "presence" allows the other elements (music and effects) to be mixed louder.

Presence makes a recording sound professional, and generally, dialog recorded in a studio will have great presence. However, dialog recorded in the field may have issues that can make the presence less than ideal.

Short of ADR, the simplest thing that will improve dialog presence is to add high-end EQ. Much like adding the "Sharpen Filer" in Photoshop, adding high-end EQ increases the dialog clarity and makes it sound more like the mic had been in the correct spot.

Another helpful step would be to mute all the dialog tracks, except for the one where the actor is speaking (assuming that each actor had been recorded to a separate track). This will eliminate any bleed.

Although doing these things won't fix a bad recording, they will usually improve it. Once the dialog presence is increased, the music and effects can be mixed louder, and the overall track will sound significantly better.

What’s missing?

In the late 1980s, Karlheinz Brandenburg and the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) invented the mp3 format. Dr. Brandenburg estimated that eventually one million users would listen to an mp3. Since then, from iPod users to broadcast radio, orders of magnitude more people now use the format than he had predicted.

Most people, including me, have no problem with mp3 files. They sound good, take very little file space, and are playable on almost every computer and audio device. However, be aware that there can be issues with mp3s.

Try this test if you have the time and available audio software. Listen to a stereo mp3 in mono with the phase of one channel inverted. You’ll hear the strange-sounding “audio pixilation” caused by the mp3 data compression.

Fortunately, people don’t listen to mp3s that way. However, it does make you wonder, “What else am I not hearing when listening to an mp3?”

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Since digital recording gear has become more affordable, many people now have rigs at home and are making recordings that used to only be possibly in professional studios. However, one major difference between home and studio recordings can be found in the microphones used for both. Home studios generally will use less expensive mics compared to professional studios, where a typical mic can cost over $3000!

Think of the microphone like the lens of a camera. No matter how many megapixels your camera has, if the lens system isn’t good, the picture is not going to be professional quality.