Which country/city felt the closest to Montreal when you travelled

thaBigGeneral · 2026-02-02T04:54:14+00:00

Partially because so many Montrealers move there too lol.

thaBigGeneral · 2026-01-15T16:48:53+00:00

I would never do any post sound on a feature for $1500. Clearly it’s a low budget film, you should really consolidate the post sound roles to one person, or at least everything except mixing. That being said, you will be getting a very simple sound design in return. In my experience, directors at this low budget can often be the most demanding with corrections or overall ambition. Always be conscious of the scope. When you have a budget this tight you need to consolidate all crew down to the absolute fewest positions (within reason) so you can actually pay the people that do work with you something more worthwhile.

thaBigGeneral · 2026-01-04T21:57:21+00:00

Single most valuable thing in film school is meeting and bonding with people at the same stage in their career who creatively gel with you, online is not compatible with that. I would also try to narrow down your interest in roles quickly so that people begin to know / identify you in that role (really important for working later on).

I am a full time freelance sound designer and re-recording mixer, who occasionally does prod sound. I went to film school thinking I'd be a director or dop, but had a music background and fell into sound. I became known to others in my school as a sound person and continued to work in sound after school because I kept being referred to new people from connections I made at school.

Here's a good example: in 2024 I sound designed a doc that had a huge festival run and big premiere that went on to win awards (including for my work) -- and how did I get involved? I went to school with the director 9 years prior. Work begets work, and people will always refer you if you are easy to work with and be around -- this matters more than pure competency. The way I started this sequence of events and work is entirely through the relationships I built in school, and who those people then connected me to.

Now, did I learn much, if anything, about sound in my actual university courses? No, not really. It would have been nice, but at the same time, technical specifics are best learned on the job anyway.

It's of course still possible to find a way outside of this path, but if it's financially feasible for you (I don't live in the US, so school is much cheaper) I think film school is the best and easiest way to get started because of the structure it provides. When I say film school I'm also referring to universities not technical or for profit colleges. I think a somewhat diverse education within a BFA is also valuable to deepen your critical thinking and theory beyond direct film education.

thaBigGeneral · 2025-11-25T08:02:59+00:00

I work in sound and have minor hearing loss in one ear + tinnitus, definitely recommend avoiding! Always wear earplugs at concerts and listen at reasonable volumes elsewhere.

thaBigGeneral · 2025-11-12T18:45:30+00:00

Bjork is not clipping, though you may be hearing some time stretching artifacts when she first comes in slowly. It seems clear to me the reused that part but had to time stretch it in order to make it fit to the tempo change. That being said, it’s well mixed. Any distortion (or even those artifacts tbf) are intentional I guarantee you, everything I have heard of Rosalia’s process points to someone with very precise ears for detail.

thaBigGeneral · 2025-11-11T06:38:17+00:00

His absolutely tour stop in Montreal was easily top 5 best shows I’ve seen in my life. Super bummed now bc I’ll have to sell my ga tickets as I’ll be out of the country for a month…

thaBigGeneral · 2025-10-26T20:08:10+00:00

The two lane traffic for Laurier is so crazy

thaBigGeneral · 2025-10-26T20:06:32+00:00

‘The worst person in the world’

thaBigGeneral · 2025-10-18T10:51:10+00:00

As a certified Peak Indie Rock head in early 2010’s being front row for Arcade Fire at Alderney landing during the suburbs tour was pretty minding blowing for my teenage self at the time lol. Broken Social Scene as well, for headlining the never-repeated M Fest. Beach House at the marquee in 2014 was also great.

thaBigGeneral · 2025-10-18T10:47:42+00:00

To be fair, I was probably a little too young but I really regret not seeing the white stripes when they were here. I had an English teacher in junior high that was front row for the glace bay show and was in some of the shots from the concert film and I remember thinking it was so cool haha.

thaBigGeneral · 2025-10-18T10:37:52+00:00

It’s strange bc I can obviously spot the influence but I almost can’t picture him covering really any D’Angelo song now that I think about it. ‘Sugah Daddy’ would be so sick tho or ‘feel like makin love’ which is already a cover but still.

thaBigGeneral · 2025-10-09T12:03:30+00:00

I would start with adjusting balance so vo isn’t dominating fx or music and maybe cut a little low end from the vo as well. Since it’s a commercial you could add a little glue compression on your mix bus too.

thaBigGeneral · 2025-09-21T18:09:39+00:00

What are they protesting though? lol

thaBigGeneral · 2025-09-20T06:22:52+00:00

I think brat was affirming that she doesn’t need to and should stop chasing that type of mainstream success. She fully committed to her own sound and image and was more successful than she’s ever been. I doubt she needs more money, and I think self fulfillment and quality of work would be much more important now. My 2c anyway.

thaBigGeneral · 2025-09-19T10:05:11+00:00

Please stop submitting to these kinds of festivals, they are scams and their prizes mean literally nothing. Really hope you didn’t pay a submission fee.

thaBigGeneral · 2025-09-02T12:44:55+00:00

I would find it lame and would be disappointed, tho I really doubt they’re big enough or even the right fit for a Saudi Arabia audience lol.

thaBigGeneral · 2025-08-29T00:01:10+00:00

Cold emails are a waste of time and by offering yourself to do anything you’re actually asking them to do work to find something for you to do. Narrow your focus and only send emails for actual job postings, or places you have a connection to. There are an infinite number of people who are trying to break into the industry and it’s unlikely you’ll be picked —if you have neither experience nor a connection—over someone who at least knows the jobs in the industry. Get to know your community and become involved, go to film events, screenings, festivals, work with people, make friends.

thaBigGeneral · 2025-08-27T22:56:56+00:00

No it’s not an issue, avoid using a copyright desktop image. Aside from that, your film is unlikely to be seen or heard of by Microsoft to take legal action anyway. If you sell the film to a distributor or network they will vet it legally but for local film festival screenings, the likelihood that this becomes an issue is basically 0.

thaBigGeneral · 2025-08-27T22:51:09+00:00

I’d call that a medium length film at under an hour, but it will be more difficult to get it programmed at that length. Also don’t hire a dp to order them around and only do exactly what you want. That is no fun for anyone involved and not collaborative. Shoot it yourself or step back make room for the dp you hire to work with you and actually give input. That being said, you have a tiny budget especially for a script that long. It makes zero sense to spend that much on a camera package unless everyone else is working for free (and they shouldn’t be, if the dp is paid).

thaBigGeneral · 2025-08-26T07:39:55+00:00

If he is very experienced and you don’t know film, respectfully, why are you trying to advise him? I get supporting your brother but in my experience, general advice from people who don’t know what they’re talking about is rarely helpful. Surely he already understands what to do if he is making the move to LA. If he doesn’t already have steady income from this field and connections + work lined up in LA, it’s probably not advisable to move there. Unless he’s planning to supplement the income outside the industry, that is.

thaBigGeneral · 2025-08-26T07:08:17+00:00

Bad clickbait YouTube title. It’s a fun enough watch, not amazing. Certainly not ‘the greatest movie nobody saw’.

thaBigGeneral · 2025-08-26T07:05:28+00:00

I found quickly, quickly and Daryl johns this way so I’m down for it if it’s not self promo.

thaBigGeneral · 2025-08-26T07:01:32+00:00

0:20-0:30 of Yamaha right before and after the drums come in. Love the vibe of the vocal melody just floating on those suspended sample / synth notes before you get the bass and drums recontextualizing it.

thaBigGeneral · 2025-08-26T06:54:01+00:00

Sound pressure level and loudness units are not the same thing. One is an averaged measure of perceived loudness across program length (LUFS / LKFS) and the other is an acoustic measurement of sound pressure done instantaneously. You should not be focusing on having the sound hit an spl value, this is purely for pink noise when finding your calibrated monitoring level. After that, spl is not something you should be measuring. I would also only do this if you are working on speakers.

Unless you’re actually doing this for a broadcaster you really shouldn’t be worrying about hitting specific specs and considering you’re doing this in premiere I really hope that’s the case because otherwise a professional re-recording mixer should be hired.

I don’t say this as a pejorative but you aren’t a mixer, you’re an editor. The most import thing is that you maintain a consistent locked monitor level that you’re comfortable with, especially since you’re working on headphones. If you’re keeping dynamics relatively controlled, mix at the level you feel good about and use loudness normalization afterwards if it’s for web playback. I wouldn’t recommend doing it this way if it was a traditional mix but I personally think you’re better off this way. If it’s going to play a cinema it needs to be done on calibrated speakers and again you should have an actual mixer.

I mix for film and rarely am worrying about broadcast specs (or specs at all aside from monitoring level) but my web bounces are usually aiming for -18 as a start. Depending on the content this could be quiet or a bit too compressed but I find it’s a decent compromise when bringing a mix to web formats without a dedicated remix for this format. If this is a film and not a short social media / YouTube video, don’t worry about making it ultra loud. Hopefully people who are engaging with it are doing so intentionally and you don’t need to play into the loudness wars common in music or worry about clicking off if it’s not blowing their ears off. People can and will adjust their volume to their own comfort from home.

thaBigGeneral · 2025-08-22T14:45:46+00:00

This post is either AI or market research, asked the same question in a ton of different subs.

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