Adding Music to a Bar Scene

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Adding Music to a Bar Scene
by Jared Smith on May 19, 2010 at 3:46:52 am

I am editing a bar scene and have the song in the background that I want playing but it does not sound like it is playing from the speaker system of the bar, it just sounds like background music. So, I am watching an episode of a tv show right now where a guy and girl are talking in a bar. There are no sound effects (no beer bottles hitting, talking, etc- just the song playing in the background of the speaker system or jukebox of the bar). So, what type of effect do I need to put on this sound effect to make it sound like it is in the background and not just a song track in FCP...
Using FCP 6.0 and can use Soundtrack Pro though I am not too good with it yet.
thanks guys
jared

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Re: Adding Music to a Bar Scene
by Richard Crowley on May 19, 2010 at 6:43:33 am

Limit the frequency response so that it won't sound so "on mic". Add a bit of reverb so that it sounds like it is coming from farther away and maybe bounding off a wall or two.

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Re: Adding Music to a Bar Scene
by Peter Groom on May 19, 2010 at 11:10:32 am

Youll find that dubbing mixers are very aware of how different environments sound. They pay attention to the detail of how a juke box sounds, so they can re create it.
obviously different places sound different, but as a starter Id

1) Mono the audio. You dont want a cd style stereo image
2) Whack up the bass (to give it tha big acoustic thumpy thumpy sound
3) decrease the top end. Youd not get much clarity in a bar
4) Add some large hall reverb, with its decay set quite short. Also drop off the HF on the reverb
5 You might need to push up the mids a little to get some edginess back in there
6 Add in BG Bar effects, and add muffle (HF off) and add verb to taste.

That should get you pretty close, and then tinker from there.
Enjoy

Peter

Peter

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Re: Adding Music to a Bar Scene
by Ty Ford on May 19, 2010 at 1:21:50 pm

Hello Jared and welcome to the Cow Audio Forum.

All good ideas above. In addition, if this is a juke joint and the music is supposedly played over speakers and not a live performance, a good way to get that sound is to play the track over a speaker and record it with a mic. Use headphones as you record to get the sound you want.

Regards,

Ty Ford

Want better production audio?: Ty Ford's Audio Bootcamp Field Guide

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Re: Adding Music to a Bar Scene
by Peter Groom on May 19, 2010 at 3:57:23 pm

Hi Ty
I think the biggest downside to your suggestion of playing it over a speaker will be that it is unlikely you can use a room anywhere near big enough to replicate the acoustic of a Bar sized room.
Wotrh a try tho in principle although theres no flexibility in the treatment amounts of the variables like eq and verb.

Peter

Peter

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Re: Adding Music to a Bar Scene
by Ty Ford on May 19, 2010 at 4:37:46 pm

Peter,

The number of ways you can orient a speaker and a microphone allow for a pretty wide spectrum of results.

Try it and see. :)

Regards,

Ty Ford

Want better production audio?: Ty Ford's Audio Bootcamp Field Guide

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Re: Adding Music to a Bar Scene
by Jean-Christophe Boulay on May 19, 2010 at 7:39:21 pm

I'll jump into the debate with three words: Audio Ease Speakerphone.

If, during a mix, you want a sound to come out of any kind of speaker, in any kind of room with any kind of background ambiance, this should be the first stop, IMO. You can construct your own chain in a few minutes and the variations are endless. You can even virtually rotate your mics. And the booth stays clean.

This is probably overkill for the OP (500$), but one of the best investments an audio post mixer can make.

JC Boulay
Technical Director
Audio Z
Montreal, Canada
http://www.audioz.com

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Re: Adding Music to a Bar Scene
by Bob Kessler on May 24, 2010 at 6:02:34 pm

All good suggestions.

A plug-in like SpeakerPhone or Altiverb will definitely do the job. Most probably out of your price range.

"Worldizing" by playing the track through speakers - anything from a boom box to PA speakers - works well even if you "close mic"; you get the tone that you want and add the reverb later. BTW, the reverb doesn't have to be the exact 'verb you see on screen. Filmmaking is all about creating a believable illusion, not recreating reality.

It, of course, depends upon the film and the requirements of the scene, but combining the processed signal with a little bit of the original signal can achieve some interesting results.

Making the signal mono gives it more realism, but I sometimes prefer the stereo spread as it leaves the center more open for the dialog

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