audio "watermark"

_Daryl_ · Post by **_Daryl_** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 2:13 am

question: as i'm sending rough mixes out the door with a client, and the client paying the balance due upon completion, can/should i be watermarking these mixes? my watermarking i mean, inserting white noise on a channel, and unmuting every once or twice. is this cool, or would i be crossing the line or being paranoid?...your thoughts are always welcome...thanks

daryl

lsn110 · Post by **lsn110** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 6:42 am

Depends...do you trust them to not use them. I recently gave out some "faders up" roughs. Not mixed at all. Some of those roughs are currently out there on myspace. Sigh.

philbo · Post by **philbo** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 10:20 am

If you don't trust them, add a 100 mSec burst of pink noise at -6 dBFS every 15 seconds or so.

Be sure to tell them ahead of time that this is your "standard policy" on rough mixes so you don't piss them off needlessly.
________
PREGNANT ANAL

sonicmook56 · Post by **sonicmook56** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 12:43 pm

accidently pull an important patch for a second.."ooooops..."

cgarges · Post by **cgarges** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 3:24 pm

I know a guy who used to put like a second of 1k tone every few seconds of a rough mix.

I don't usually give out rough mixes unless the balance is current. That way, there's no bullshit about what they do with it. If they want to shoot themselves in the foot by sending the rough mixes to a radio station or whatever, that's their decision, but if the stuff is paid-for, I can't help that.

Along those lines, when I do roughs, I usually do two things to try to help the situation: Make the roughs sound as good as I can under whatever circumstances I'm dealing with and make some obvious blunder-type move somewhere in the songs. Something like having a vocal come in WAY too loud for a second or muting the bass for a second or something like that. Not anything annoying or detrimental to their being able to assess the roughs, but something that obviously marks it as "Not For Production."

If a client thinks that there is any reason they may use the roughs (pre-release publicity or something) then I will forgo the latter treatment and just make the roughs sound good. Again, they don't go out until the bill is current, but this way, they are useable for those scenarios.

As an aside, I worked with a band the other day that wanted roughs at the end of a long and loud tracking session. I was sure the roughs would sound like ass after a day of having my ears blasted like that, but I did my best under the circumstances. Lo and behold, the roughs sound pretty great and even though they have mix time booked, I'm considering trying to talk them into releasing the roughs. I know it's shooting myself in the foot, billing-wise, but I know the band is really happy with the roughs and I'd hate to do anything to mess that up. We'll see what happens.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

audiogeek1 · Post by **audiogeek1** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 5:33 pm

I have let the click track roll for a while on the rough mix and then brought it back in at the end. I was not worried about the clients paying their bill. I just did not want this going out to the public. They were mixes done right after the lead vocals were done. I ended up printing the mixes without the click for myself. Then when we got time to actually mix the songs we realized the roughs had the sound we were after. Just more energy and raw.

Good luck

_Daryl_ · Post by **_Daryl_** » Sat Apr 08, 2006 2:12 am

awesome, 'ppreciate the two cents! sounds like i have a few options

snuffinthepunk · Post by **snuffinthepunk** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 4:03 pm

maybe it depends on the people who are asking for roughs. if it's a buncha high school punks you may wanna do that...i've heard enough stories around this board about getting stiffed to know that it happens more often than we'd like. I always felt like, if I were in that situation, I would talk to the band before we even started recording and tell them that the roughs would be watermarked, not because I don't trust them, but because I had been burned a few times in the past (even if I hadn't) and that it's just business. If you're dealing with mature people it's probably not a problem, but then again ya never know. You're just coverin your own ass you know? If they have a problem with that then they may be people who would jip you. I probably wouldn't make it a really nasty mark, I like the idea of leaving the click track in there at the beginning and at the end...just enough so that it wouldn't ever be able to play on the radio. Or if they want a rough mix at the end of tracking, you could charge a lil more so that you're not gettin stiffed for cash. I've never done any of this, I'm just thinkin out loud.

thesimulacre · Post by **thesimulacre** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 10:32 pm

snuffinthepunk wrote:If they have a problem with that then they may be people who would jip you.

Not being a d--- here, but it's "gyp you" and it is derived from a cultural stereotype about gypsies. I just thought I should let you know... Most people have no idea. I stopped saying it after I found out, though it was pretty well imbedded in my speech, and took some conscious effort.

Anyway, this plug is free, annoying, and cheap.
http://www.voxengo.com/product/beeper/

snuffinthepunk · Post by **snuffinthepunk** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 3:01 pm

thesimulacre wrote:
snuffinthepunk wrote:If they have a problem with that then they may be people who would jip you.
Not being a d--- here, but it's "gyp you" and it is derived from a cultural stereotype about gypsies. I just thought I should let you know... Most people have no idea. I stopped saying it after I found out, though it was pretty well imbedded in my speech, and took some conscious effort.

Anyway, this plug is free, annoying, and cheap.
http://www.voxengo.com/product/beeper/

haha, my bad I'll try not to use that one again =P Knowing is half the battle.

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