Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve Fairlight

Interviews

This describes the Fairlight tab within Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve. These Informations and Tipps are from Fundamentals of Mixing Sound in Fairlight Course.

Audio Settings

Preferences / Video and Audio I/O

• Speaker Setup
  • Speaker configuration: Use System Setting
• Dolby Atmos: off (unchecked)
• External Monitor Source Setup: Control Room / None

Preferences / Audio Plugins

Check if all paths are specified where your 3rd party plugins are located and maybe disable plugins that are not going to be used.

Project Settings / Fairlight

• Timeline Sample Rate
  • Audio Sampling Rate: 48000
• Audio Metering
  • Target Loudness Level: -16 LUFS (dynamic range / Low: -16 for Web lower quality playback / High: -23 LUFS for Cinema Theater)
  • Loudness Scale: EBU +9 Scale
  • Track Meters: Post Fader
• Immersive Audio: all unchecked

Prepare Tracks

Prepare tracks so one may work with it

• Copy tracks (if you had recorded with two mics and you want to convert them to two mono tracks)
• Label tracks (maybe change the color as well)
• Make sure they are correctly set. Do this for every track and clip:
  • Right click on Track -> 'Change Track Type to': 1.0 = Mono / 2.0 = Stereo / 5.1 / 7.2 / ...)
  • Select clip and right click -> 'Clip Attributes' to adjust the track mapping from the source clip

Quick Mix (Loudness Normalize)

The 'Quick Mix' is a quick and dirty way to get your production as fast as possible 'out of the door' (but doesn't take care of mic bleeding):

• Enable Meters and right click -> 'Loudness Standard': 'BS 1770-4'
• Normalize Tracks. Do this for every clip:
  • Select clip and right click -> 'Normalize Audio Levels' / 'Normalization Mode': 'ITU R BS 1770-4' / 'Target Level': '-1.0 dbTP' (True Peak) / 'Target Loudness': '-26 LKFS' (Loudness K weighted Full Scale) -> Normalize
• Meters / Loudness: 'Reset' -> 'Start' / Play for a while / read the 'Integrated' value
• Enable Mixer
• On mixer click on 'Master Bus' / 'Effects' -> '+' -> 'Channel' -> 'Vocal Channel' on the new panel:
  • Enable 'High Pass': 'Frequency': '50'
  • Enable 'Compressor': 'Threshold': '-18' / 'Ratio': '3' / 'Reaction': '0.4' (combined 'Attack' and 'Release' / this needs to be tweaked a bit later) / 'Gain': <enter value of the Integrated Loudness Meter>
• On mixer click on 'Master Bus' / 'Effects' -> '+' -> 'Dynamics' -> 'Limiter' on the new panel:
  • 'Limit': 'Threshold': '-2.5' / 'Release': '0.40'
• Play for a while
• tweak 'Compressor' / 'Reaction' to sound good
• tweak 'Compressor' / 'Threshold' and 'Gain' so that 'Gain Reduction' meter bounces between '0' and '-5' and make sure that on the 'Limiter' panel the 'Reduction' meter is less active then the 'Compressor' (Compressor should do the heavy work while the Limiter should only take care of the rare peaks)

Refined Mix (Railroading Dialoge)

This method is similar to the 'Quick Mix' but adjusting the Effects on every track (instead of the master bus) and taking care of mic bleeding:

• use 'Blade' tool to get rid of parts where a person isn't talking overlap a bit to have time to fade-in/out between tracks (to create cross fades to remove clicks)
• you may reduce volume on secondary things (like somebody is laughing while the other one is talking)
• apply things like 'Normalize Tracks', 'Compressor', 'Limiter' etc. like above but instead of applying them on 'Master Bus' apply them on each track

Links

• Fundamentals of Mixing Sound in Fairlight Course @ Learn Light & Sound by Curtis Judd and here is Curtis Judd YouTube Channel