Best methods to edit with headphones

[Scott Sheriff]

Lauren
I don’t think this is the ideal situation. Headphones, while an ideal tool for recording field audio, are far from the best for mixing and never give a ‘real world sound’, that is the sound the audience hears. Also I think you will find wearing headphones continually extremely fatiguing, which won’t do your editing skills much good.
Ideally, (for stereo 2 channel) you should be listening to your work on purpose built audio monitors placed at head level (when seated at the edit/mixing position), equal distance from each other, and yourself, forming an equal sided triangle of around 5 feet on each side.

[Mark Suszko]

I knew an editor once, they stuck her editing setup in an auxiliary boiler room/ air handler room. She had to use Bose noise cancelling headphones just to work. One of the issues with cutting to phones is, the phones first should be calibrated to some known level, or it is like editing with a monitor where the contrast and brightness are all out of whack; your end product may only look “right” on that one wrong monitor. And sound “right” only in the headphones.

Headphones also give you more of the elements that are lost in a regular room without headphones, so your mix will seem “off” as far as the base and treble and EQ.

[Lauren Defilippo]

Thanks for the input so far. So, it sounds like a pretty bad idea overall…

[Dan Archer]

I agree whole heartedly. This is a BAD idea. As for the above mentioned problems you can develope bad ear infections from the sweaty conditions of constant headphone use. Not to mention clotheslining yourself ( done it ) when getting up and forgetting you have them on. IMHO if they are serious about these docs, they should be doing final mix in n audio sweet. Thats the best way you prep it they mix it< Its what they do. A cut is a cut & a dissolve is a disolve, and not just anybody with a system is a pro.

[Ed Cilley]

Lauren,

One more thought. I heard a presentation from an editor who cut a concert of a well known artist. He was working in a room with two Avid’s set-up next to each other and, of course, audio was an issue. One editor would turn up the volume and the other would try to compete. One finally settled for headphones the majority of the time. The difference here is that he had a track to edit to and did very little adjusting of the audio.

My point is, if you are forced to work in a less than ideal situation, make the most of it. Wear the headphones when you have to, listen through speakers/monitors when possible, and jump into the screening room when ever you can to listen to your mix. And as mentioned above, sweetening should be done elsewhere – not in headphones.

Hope that helps.

Ed

Avid and FCP Preditor
_________________________________________________
Anything worth doing at all, is worth doing well.
– Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield

[Nicholas Bierzonski]

Hi Lauren!

Google Near Field Monitoring for more info!

-Nicholas Bierzonski
Senior Editor/DVD Author/Java Boy
http://www.finalfocusvideo.com

[Shane Ross]

I work at a company that has 4 editors and two assistants in one big room that used to be a conference room. They all use headphones. When the producer needs to see a cut, he listens on the speakers. I’m lucky, being the online guy I have my own bay.

I can’t stand editing with headphones. I had to when I edited from home and went late. But then I always went back to adjust the audio the next day.

Ugh.

That companies decision was a poor one.

Shane

GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def

[Grinner Hester]

I am deaf in one ear so headphones are a great handicap, no pun intended.
When looking at space to edit in, one should first start looking at places where ya can actually edit in. Going in with limitations in mind is laying down on a burning bed then pretending to wonder why feeling burned.

[Oliver Peters]

Editing with headphones is fine if you have to do it. The main thing is to get the best and most comfortable headphones available. AKGs are tops if you really have to wear headhones for an extended length of time. Aside from the obvious quality, my main reason for recommending these is the earcup size and the fit.

https://www.akg.com/personal/High_Definition,pcatid,114,_psmand,12.html

The one advantage of headphones, especially if you are editing dialogue, is that you will hear problems that you will totally miss on speakers. Things like poor audio edits, off-camera comments in the background and other noises.

– Oliver

Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com

[Nicholas Bierzonski]

Here’s my two cents…

When I was in college I used to edit with headphones all the time. This led to ear fatigue.

Now I only edit with headphones when requested by my boss or if I want to isolate a troublesome audio edit. (Recreating a word/Cleaning up Noise etc.)

Thankfully this doesn’t happen often. If I must edit with headphones I happily do so, but when it comes to my final mix I always use my Near Field Monitoring setup in the suite.

We also have some cheap computer monitor speakers hooked up to our mixer so I can hear what the lowest common denominator sounds like, but in the end I trust my NFM setup.

On the other hand…just to play devil’s advocate…

When is the last time someone watched a DVD in their living room with headphones on? Not to say that it doesn’t happen. It just isn’t the norm.

In my humble opinion professional headphones that block out the sound in the room should be used during the shoot to locate troublesome noises like air conditioners and refrigerators.

This eliminates time & money spent “Fixing it in post”

If you are in a less than ideal edit room with noises coloring your final mix
I think you should finish your final edit and mix in another suite clear of extra noise and distractions.

Plus when you screen rough cut versions for clients and independent producers will you share the headphones? One ear for each of you?

It doesn’t seem practical. Does it?

What do you think?

-Nicholas Bierzonski
Senior Editor/DVD Author/Java Boy
http://www.finalfocusvideo.com