Mixing for TV Broadcast:

Mixing for TV broadcast is an art in and of itself. While there is no perfect “right way” or “wrong way”, there are some general guidelines for creating a good mix. Here are some examples of common musical underscore elements – bass, drums, percussion, and synth – that a music supervisor might need to mix. Check them out separately, and then listen to see how they were mixed for TV.

	Drums:			Bass:
	Percussion:			Synth:

In general, TV Stations will broadcast their audio mixes, music and voiceovers at –10db or –20db.

For calibrating TV Broadcast Mixing Consoles,  audio postproduction facilities, and setting / testing color bars,  standard “test tone” level is –20db universally. 

Mix #1 is set for a –10db output, and is a good music-bed mix in terms of frequency and balance for a “midrange” or “baritone” voiceover.  Any voiceover in a higher register will fight the lead synthesizer and will not cut through the way it should on a TV Broadcast.

		Mix #2 is also set for a –10db output, and is a good music-bed mix in terms of frequency and balance for a “falsetto”or higher register voiceover.  Take notice compared to Mix#1, that this mix is “bass and drums” dominant and therefore leaves space for higher treble frequencies to have clear presence.  Adding a bassy / baritone voiceover to this mix will clash and sound muddy.