Loudness for TV Mixes

I was recently undertaking a mix for a TV show and I was asked to “bring this track up as high as you can go without breaking the broadcasting rules”. This was with regards to a music track that the Director really wanted to make loud, and in response to my reasonably conservative first mix. This is a tricky one to some degree, as mixers will know that there is a lot of potential to make moments loud without breaking broadcasting rules, but the concern is both that the loud moments might compromise the overall general program loudness, and also just that the high dynamic range will annoy listeners. In the case of the mix I was working on we found a compromise that worked for both of us, where it was quite loud for a broadcast mix for that section, but not brutally so.

Mike Thornton from Pro Tools Expert has posted up an article today questioning whether TV mixes have become too cinematic in terms of dynamic range (http://www.pro-tools-expert.com/home-page/2016/12/21/are-tv-mixes-becoming-too-cinematic) which made me think of this, along with some other recent experiences. In Thornton’s article he writes:

“Tests undertaken as part of the research that resulted in BS1770 have shown that if the short term loudness stays within the ‘comfort zone” then the consumer doesn’t feel the need to reach for the remote control to adjust the volume. This comfort zone is considered to be +3 to -5LU around the target loudness.”

That ‘comfort zone’ represents a loudness range (LRA) of 8LU, which is fairly well controlled. Sreejesh has also written about loudness on his blog (https://film-mixing.com/2016/05/02/mixing-for-broadcast-loudness/) and has written that:

“The LRA also predicts if a program fits consumer requirements. Theatrical TV: Below 20 LU Casual TV: Below 12 LU Mobile TV: Below 8 LU.”

So theatrical TV mixes shouldn’t generally exceed an LRA of 20, but for most programming a lower dynamic range is suggested. LRA might be in the range 6-10 for documentaries for instance, and a bit higher for dramas. LRA is not part of the R128 specification, but networks can put requirements on LRA.

Just some food for thought and reference points for loudness range when mixing for TV.

 

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