Mixdown Audio has been established by former London Weekend Television Sound
Engineers; Kevin Duff, Cliff Hughes and Producer, Iain Russell. The credits
of this bunch make impressive reading, and for those of us in UK, their clients
are household names. In this interview we caught up with Kevin Duff who gave
us some insightful info on how it really is to work with audio for TV.
AC: Kevin can you run over how you got into the industry? I'm sure it's an
interesting story.
Kevin Duff: Having always wanted to mix sound I was involved in number of local
theatres and clubs mainly doing sound for shows in my spare time. It was at
one of these theatres that I met a then Gram-op (tv speak for
tape- op/asst engineer) who worked at LWT studios in London.
It was this guy who got me access to LWT and I did many days for free just getting
my face known. A few months down the line a job came up and after a very fraught
time following me failing the hearing test!! (I could hear the people chatting
in the next room and the boats on the river but not the 16k tone J)….I
was re-tested in a proper medical test and all was well and I got a job as a
trainee floor sound person.
The training involved proving yourself on the studio floor as boom operator
(also miking bands ,ob`s, radio mics etc etc). Once you had passed the 9 month
training you joined a crew where you stayed unless you wanted to move to the
control room. I got a job as a gram-op and worked on a wide cross section of
shows (including many music sessions as we used to go to places like CTS and
Angel in those days to record the theme music for shows). I was lucky to work
a good deal with the two best Sound Mixers at LWT and gain invaluable experience
from them.
Having left LWT to go freelance I was offered a job at Fountain Studios in
Wembley where I became Head of Sound. The lure of working for myself was however
too strong which is why after a couple of years I went Freelance again in order
to run the companies I am now involved with
AC: Would you say your job is high pressured?
Kevin Duff: Yes it is a pressured environment. In tv you have to accept that
sound are at the bottom of the pile behind cameras and lights…it is still
viewed by many as a picture medium and a some production people will only notice
the sound when it goes wrong. They will expect me to have an orchestra or band
up in 15 minutes and sounding like the record!! Its good in some ways as it
does make you very quick but its also frustrating at times. Budgets are tight
nowadays….it would be so nice to have someone say `why don’t you
multi-track this and then have a day to remix it`….but the reality is
normally that jobs are straight to stereo with a multi running just incase of
disasters.
Some shows wouldn`t have the time for remix anyway…a good example would
be the Royal Variety Show. The last 2 years I have mixed the
Orchestra Truck with another mixer taking my stereo feed of music and adding
the rest of the show. I was up to about 100 inputs in my truck across a 3 hour
show recorded as live. The stereo mix we produced goes to Vt and that’s
basically it. We finished the show in Edinburgh on the Monday night, flew to
London Tuesday morning straight to the dub. We then had the rest of Tuesday
and Wednesday to dub the show as it came out of the edit with TX at 8 pm on
the Weds night. In this situation there is really only time to tidy up the VT
edits where they have cut stuff out, and add laughs and applause. I don’t
think we remixed anything only perhaps had a play with the odd vocal here and
there….it needs to be at least 95% right on the night.
Even on music shows I struggle for sound check time, often I will have to sound
check while they camera rehearse where as in the past I used to get time off
camera just for sound. I often think it’s a shame that Light Entertainment
and music tv doesn`t get more recognition as the pressure of work is high which
people don`t always see.
AC: What are the qualities needed to stay in this line of work?
Kevin Duff: Sense of humour, ability to prioritise quickly in pressure situations
and to be able to get on with all sorts of people without killing them!!
AC: Educationally speaking are you qualified in anything related to your job?
Kevin Duff: Apart from the usual O levels (god I`m old) and several courses
that LWT sent me on then the answer would be no…I learnt my trade on the
job
AC: What are typical working hours for you?
Kevin Duff: Long…….0700-2300 isnt unusual, but if you really want
to succeed in a job then you do have to put the hours in…most people I
get in who are training don`t seem to want to go the extra mile these days.
AC: Can you outline how a "newbie" might break into this kind of
work?
Kevin Duff: Get in with someone at a studio or industry team and just go in
and work for free!! It’s an industry where this is still possible. If
you put your face about enough it will eventually open doors but you have to
be willing to just muck in and start at the bottom. If I get one more person
who says `I`m not really interested in rigging the floor I just want to mix`
I will go mad. Until you have mixed for a couple of years you wont start to
appreciate exactly what your ears learnt from being on the floor and listening!!
AC: What are your thoughts on the monopolisation of ProTools, if in fact there
is one.
Kevin Duff: Pro-tools is a fantastic tool but then so is audio-file, sadie
etc etc…..the big plus points for Tools is that its relatively cheap by
comparison to its competitors and it sounds very transparent. However, with
all aspects of sound both pre and post its about the people working the kit!!
A good mixer will produce quality work on shite kit that’s where you earn
your money and experience pays dividends. Pro-tools is great as there 10 ways
to do everything and because of its avid tie in, it makes file interchange easier
than on some other systems. I think it’s a bit wrong to say it monopolises
the industry but I would certainly say that it is a key player (certainly my
choice but then I`m biased as I run a pro-tools room). However, having said
that there are still things that other systems do better and this always be
the case. The new pro-tools console which has just been released, will I think,
take it into a new level where people who in the past viewed it with some sceptasiscm
or as a low budget alternative will have to take even more notice.
AC: Can you define these jobs for us? Sound Supervisor and Dubbing Mixer
Kevin Duff: In tv terms a Sound Supervisor is the person who is responsible
for the mixing and balancing of the tx sound on a show. He is also ultimately
responsible for the floor crew and PA sound etc (although in many cases we may
have a PA/FB mixer on the floor if the shows budget allows-however it is not
unusual for me to be doing TX, PA and FB mixes all from the TX desk at the same
time).
A Dubbing Mixer is a job on its own in that you can specialize to just work
in post-production sound. However, when I was trained a sound super would follow
his/her shows from the studio into dubbing in order to keep continuity, which
is why I still do both. Film is a bit different, but in tv I think its vital
that dubbing mixers should have experienced the live studio recording element.
There are many dubbing mixers working in tv who have never mixed live and who
tend to want to sanitise live recorded studio shows when they dub them. They
might be fine on a basic show but when there is music and audience you need
an understanding of how the studio colouration effects the way pull laughs in
the dub and how you get between the different dynamic elements of the show and
still maintain a relative balance for the viewer at home. There are obviously
many great tv mixers out there but I have also had many shows ruined by dubbing
mixers with no live experience.
AC: Are there financial benefits with this line of work?
Kevin Duff: Yes but you do have to put the hours in.
AC: Can you indicate some mastering concepts for TV sound, presumably there
are "pescribed" levels?
Kevin Duff: I have to balance so that I have no peaks above PPM6 (+8)…I
have to relatively balance all the sounds from speech to a rock band so that
you don’t sit at home and have to keep turning the volume up and down.
You will hear people (especially some music show balances) say that all tv should
be pumping and compressed in order to make it sound loud on a small speaker
on the tv. This is however a very coarse way of approaching the situation. Heavy
compression is fine (I indeed use it a good deal) but it is applied in selective
groups and not just driven into a finalizer or optimod which leads to that end
stop
Compression that sounds so horrid on some shows. You have to re-create the dynamic
so at least the ear still hears some difference be it artificial. I also hate
music that sounds 'pinned' which it will do if you expect one box stuck on the
end of the chain to sort it out for you.
AC: What's your favourite audio toy?
Kevin Duff: Focusrite comp/lims, Neve comp/lims and my eventide reverb
AC: What people qualities are let's say "standard" with guys who
work with audio at your level?
Kevin Duff: The ability to work long hours with people and not get grumpy.
The ability to perform well under pressure (especially big live broadcast)
AC: Would you say you work within a male dominated industry? If so why?
Kevin Duff: Its getting better but it would be great to see more women mixing….I
use a few floor sound girls and two of the best people in post production at
LWT (one mixer and one gram-op) are both female. It's a historical
thing but as I say its is changing…I think positive training will play
a big part in this.
AC: What do you look for in new employees?
Kevin Duff: People who aren`t scared of hard work and don`t mind learning from
the ground up….you can teach someone anything if they have the right attitude
it doesn't really come down to exams (although good basic knowledge is obviously
a bonus)
AC: What's your view on some of the new services springing up that utilise
the internet for transporting audio, such as mastering services, or internet
radio?
Kevin Duff: Its all very clever as long as you keep an ear on it….a technical
genius will tell you and show you that A going in will be A coming out of a
digital path….in some cases it is and in some it definitely isn`t. Its
developed such a long way and is so much more solid that back at the start but
things do still
get lost on occasions. In terms of digital desks for example…I talk to
engineers with bands on CDUK all the time who have been offered
fab digital boards for FOH work but the keep going back to the analogue cos
the digitals although streets ahead in functionality just don`t sound quite
right….its all down to how anolgue saturates and distorts which the digits
don’t . Its quite ironic that the pure digital signal path is in some
cases exactly what you don’t want!!
About Kevin Duff
Kevin started his sound career at LWT in 1987, where he was trained on the
studio floor in all aspects of sound. He was quickly promoted to Grams operator
and worked on a diverse range of Light Entertainment, sport, drama, current
affairs and outside broadcast productions. Moving on from LWT, he joined Fountain
Television as a Sound Supervisor and became Head of Sound a year later. In 1995
he went freelance and has been in constant demand ever since. Whilst his forte
is light entertainment and music, he is experienced in all areas of television
sound (studio and post) as well as dubbing for film. A director of Mixdown Audio,
Kevin or 'Kato' to his friends, is highly trained in martial arts. Very rarely
has a client questioned his work!
A frustrated carp fisherman, he is very enthusiastic about the programmes
he supervises and prides himself on his professional attitude and attention
to detail. Credits include: Prince's Trust Royal Gala [Carlton Television],
Audience With Ricky Martin [LWT], Audience With Diana Ross [LWT], Brits 2002
[Brits Television], Johnny Vaughn Tonight [Worlds End Television], Royal Variety
[Orchestra Supervisor & Dubbing Mixer], UEFA.com [Input Video Facilities],
BAFTA Television Awards [Talent Television], Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
[Celador], National Lottery Live [Celador], Pride of Britain [LWT], Brian Conley
Show [Talent Television], TFI Friday [Ginger Productions] and Celebrity Ready
Steady Cook [Bazal Productions].
Contact Details:
Email: kev@soundsupervisor.tv
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