Mixing Videos for Live Playback

Sometimes, videos mixed in the post production space sound great but don’t translate well to the PA system.  Many of us have experienced this.  How do we get around it?   There are many reasons why this might happen having to do with the PA system response, venue acoustics, audience response, psychoacoustics, and playback levels. One simple solution is to actually mix the video over the PA system.

 If the end goal is PA playback, who cares how great it sounds on control room monitors?   

Most videos are mixed in DAW-based systems these days. If it’s a laptop, carry it to the venue and patch it in.  Monitor over the PA while mixing.  I’ve done this, and seen it done - it really works. Or, if its not portable but on the same campus, patch it over and get some exercise making frequent listening walks.    Or network it. Figure out a way…

Mix decisions made by ear will naturally adapt to the PA and it’s acoustical environment.   The mix may or may not translate well to another space, but if the point is to sound great played back in that venue, that’s ok.  I know of several organizations that mix multiple versions of each video as part of their standard workflow.  One “clean”, mixed in the production room, and one mixed specifically for the destination PA, or other purposes.     And no matter how well the video is mixed for PA playback, the live mixer will still need to ride it, adjusting levels or processing on the fly as necessary for the moment.