MASTERING - INTRODUCTION- After editing and mixing, mastering is not only the process of “sweetening” the overall sound by enhancing its clarity and improving its impact but is also the process of turning a set of titles into a cohesive sounding product optimised for a particular broadcasting medium (AM radio, compact disc, digital versatile disc, film, FM radio, multimedia, television, theatre, video, web).
- Every sound recording deserves good mastering. Mastered titles work together seamlessly and take on a dimension and life that enhance even the best mixes.
MASTERING - APPROACH- We aim to provide you with maximum control over the mastering of your project by sending you a mastering simulation that you can test in your own time on systems other than the mastering suite’s monitoring equipment.
- Our mastering process ensures that the signal from your mixes is always fed into and retrieved from analogue electronics via high-end converters. Our masters are always cut in real-time and onto stand-alone recorders.
MASTERING - EQUIPMENT- Compressors: Crane Song and Manley
- Converters: Apogee and Prism
- Equalisers: Avalon and Crane Song
- Expanders: Penny & Giles
- Limiters: Crane Song and Sony
- Monitors: Earthworks
- Preamplifiers: Millennia Media
- Recorders: HHB and Sony
- Reverberators: Sony
MASTERING - PROCESS
- WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU
- We ask you to provide us with:
- A clone (backup copy) on CD-ROM (not on DVD please) of the final mixes of your project as is. Please do not convert their resolution or sampling rate.
- The particular broadcasting medium your project is targeting (AM radio, compact disc, digital versatile disc, film, FM radio, multimedia, television, theatre, video, web).
- Advice on the direction you want us to aim at in the process of finalising your original vision and what you want the original master to sound like, including any specific issues you want us to address.
- If available, we also ask you to provide us with:
- The 12-digit UPC (Unique Product Code) bar code assigned to your compact disc commercial release.
- The 12-character ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) assigned to each of the titles of your compact disc commercial release and the exact spelling of the titles’ names. The ISRC must consist of the code of the country of origin (2 letters) followed by the author’s or owner’s code (3 letters) followed by the year of recording or production (2 digits) followed by a serial number (5 digits).
- Whether you want us to copy prohibit the titles of your compact disc commercial release.
- When preparing your final mixes, we ask you to:
- NOT normalise your mixes or use any type of compression, mastering plug-in or finalising software. Compressed final mixes cannot be repaired, let alone enhanced.
- NOT apply fades for each title since this is more efficiently carried out in our mastering suite at the completion of the mastering process.
- WHAT WE DO
- We prepare a mastering simulation in line with the main broadcasting medium your project is targeting. We are normally able to eradicate or substantially minimise most flaws, except distortion and saturation, since these are embedded in the signal.
- We send you the mastering simulation to enable you to:
- audition and scrutinise our mastering simulation in your own time,
- make direct comparisons with your final mixes on your own equipment and
- provide us with some feedback to enable us to refine our work prior to your visit.
- Our mastering simulation will play on all compact disc players and can be duplicated by domestic compact disc recorders. However, it is not up to the Red Book Standard PMCD specifications and therefore is unsuitable for mass duplication (it will be analysed as a defective master containing an excessive number of uncorrectable errors and no subcode information).
YOUR VISIT
- During your visit, you audition the original master in our mastering suite and choose the order of the titles, the fades and the spacing between titles.
- This is also our opportunity to give you our invoice.
PROJECT COMPLETION
- Within the following 24 hours,
- we cut the original master (Red Book Standard PMCD),
- we cut a safety copy (Red Book Standard PMCD) and
- we cut the compact disc proof.
On receipt of your payment, we send you the original master and the compact disc proof.We archive the safety copy for 3 years from the date of the mastering session.The original master is guaranteed and will be replaced at no cost if defective. |
