When all the hard work of the sound designers, dialog editors, and composers is done, one task remains. This is the moment where everybody involved not only crosses their fingers but also anything else they can possibly cross. It is the moment that can strikes fear into the hearts of all involved, a process that can turn perfectly nice, sane audio professionals into bloodthirsty maniacs. This is 'the mix'. The mix can be the greatest source of satisfaction on a project. In the mix, one can hear, under the best listening circumstances, all the elements - music and sound, foreground and background - combine into a beautiful partner to the picture. The mix can also be a session fraught with frustration, difficulty, and disappointment. Problems can crop up in a mix when there is too much to do within the time allotted, when sound elements are inadequate, and when people disagree about the decisions being made. Nearly all this can be chalked up to miscommunication or lack of preparation. How can one make sure that they have done everything possible to contribute to a smooth mixing process?
Sound designers never know ahead of time exactly how a mix will sound. They rely on experience and guesswork to imagine which elements will be where, and use this information to create the tracks accordingly. It is important to remember that designing sound is only one facet of the whole 'sound' production. It is not just the sound designers, but the dialogue recorders, the film composers and sound engineers too that help to create the subconscious nature of a film score or the sonic ambience we experience in a computer game. Sound designers truly are the sonic sculptors of our day behind all that we experience in the field of modern day visual art.
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