First submission, and first newbie mistake :-)

[hubert]

Hey everyone,

So, I submitted my first two tracks on Taxi and got one of them reviewed a couple of days ago. And... I had made a completely newbie mistake!

The track was for a cartoon-like cue (looney tunes type thing), and the review was very positive: "Tons of great ideas here, nice comedic moments and accents". Except that... I completely forgot to normalize the level! As a result it was way too soft and couldn't be forwarded to a client. Major face palm!

Oh well, live and learn. Onward to the next one!

[Telefunkin]

Hi, its good to get the mistakes out of the way early, and we've all made them . Maybe its worth having a little checklist (at least until things become habitual). Once you're sure your track meets the mood/style of the listing and ref tracks, then the practical things you might put on that list could include the following (although some will prefer slightly different values)...
- Even tone across the audio spectrum (to suit the genre).
- No sounds jumping out of the mix to compete with dialog.
- Short intro, composed ending (rather than a fade-out).
- Track includes edit points.
- Track length matches listing spec.
- 1/4s silence at start and end of track.
- Average track volume around -12db RMS or -12LUFS (or whatever your preference).
- DAW Render settings are correct i.e. hi-res mp3, or wav at 24 bit 48kHz (or whatever your preference).

... I completely forgot to normalize the level!

I would suggest getting the volume you require as part of your mastering process within the DAW rather than normalising the file afterwards (if that's what you meant).

[cosmicdolphin]

I agree with Graham, don't normalize your audio files. Get the right level through good gainstaging, mixing and mastering.

[hubert]

Thanks a lot for the checklist and pointers, that's very useful!

- Track includes edit points.

What is an edit point? I don't think I'm familiar with this.

I would suggest getting the volume you require as part of your mastering process within the DAW rather than normalising the file afterwards (if that's what you meant).

Yes, sorry, that's what I meant. Not normalizing, but getting a proper master (which I completely didn't do this time )

[Telefunkin]

What is an edit point? I don't think I'm familiar with this.

Here's where attempting to familiarise yourself with all the terminology and methodology of sync will help you a lot and also help you make the most of your Taxi membership. Of course, we don't know what we don't know, so its hard to know what to ask and get to grips with everything all at once, but I would recommend keeping an eye on these forums, searching within them for anything you're not sure about, as well as watching Taxi TV and searching through back-episodes, plus searching on Google and Youtube. Basically, there's a LOT of help around but only if you're willing to help yourself by looking for it .

In the mean time, try these for more info on edit points.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bardwFHQ20
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VAn72k7QeA
and this one by Taxi member Yo Paulie...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3_aCKHU2y0

[hubert]

Thanks a lot! I wasn't aware of the needs for these potential pauses in cues, really useful to know. I definitely need to do a bit more research.