A mixer's work gets judged months after it's done, in an editing room, when someone decides whether a line of dialogue is usable or has to be re-recorded in ADR. Every airplane, refrigerator hum, and rustling jacket that made it into a take shows up there. So on set, the mixer is the person who asks for the generator to be moved, the fridge to be unplugged, and one more take for sound, and has to pick those battles carefully.
Prep: reading the script with your ears
A mixer reads the script for what will be hard to record. That includes dialogue in moving cars, scenes near highways or airports, crowd scenes with overlapping lines, whispered scenes, songs and on-camera music, phone calls, and large wide shots where a boom can't get close. Each becomes a plan: plant mics hidden in the set, wireless on every actor, music playback for a song, or an agreement with the director to wild-line a scene afterward.
On the tech scout, the mixer listens to each location. They note HVAC systems that need to be shut off, traffic patterns by time of day, flight paths, and where the generator and base camp can park so they don't bleed into the audio. Those notes go to the location manager and 1st AD, since fixing a noise problem is cheaper in prep than on the day.
The sound package
Most mixers own and rent their equipment to the production. A typical cart for scripted work includes:
- A multitrack recorder and mixer (Sound Devices and Zaxcom models are common)
- Wireless transmitters and receivers for lavalier mics, often eight or more channels
- Boom microphones, such as shotgun and hypercardioid mics, with poles and wind protection
- Timecode generators to sync camera and sound
- IFB or Comtek receivers so the director, script supervisor, and clients can listen
- Batteries, cables, and a cart with power
That package is rented weekly on a separate equipment rental agreement or through the mixer's company, and it's not wages. It belongs in the production sound account (3400 in Storiara's generated chart). Boom operators and utilities may add small personal kit rentals, and some mixers bill the whole department's gear as one package. The kit and box rental guide covers how productions handle insurance and invoicing for crew-owned gear.
A dialogue day on location
With a 7:00 AM crew call in a house location:
| Time | Sound department |
|---|---|
| 6:30 AM | Cart set up near set but out of the way; timecode jammed to camera |
| 7:00 AM | Blocking rehearsal. Mixer watches with the boom operator and plans mic placement |
| 7:30 AM | Sound utility wires the two principals with lavaliers in the makeup trailer |
| 8:00 AM | First take. Mixer records the boom and lav tracks separately on the recorder |
| 10:30 AM | A plane passes during the best take. Mixer tells the 1st AD, who asks for one more |
| 12:30 PM | Lunch. Mixer backs up cards and marks circle takes on the sound report |
| 3:00 PM | Room tone recorded for 30 seconds after the last setup in the living room |
| 6:30 PM | Wrap. Files delivered to the DIT or data manager, sound report sent to editorial |
The 1st AD calls "lock it up" and "rolling." The mixer starts recording first and calls "speed" when the recorder is running. MOS takes (picture without sound) get marked on the report so editorial doesn't hunt for audio that doesn't exist.
Paperwork and delivery
The mixer's main document is the sound report: a log of every take with scene and take numbers, file names, timecode, track assignments (boom on track 1, lav on track 2, and so on), circled takes, and notes like "plane at end" or "wild line recorded after." Many recorders generate the report as a file that the mixer edits and delivers along with the audio. Room tone, wild lines, and ambience recordings are noted too.
Audio files go to the DIT or data manager each day for backup and dailies syncing. Post-production relies on accurate metadata, so a mixer who names tracks consistently saves the assistant editor hours.
Local 695 and pay
Production sound mixers in Hollywood are members of IATSE Local 695, which also represents boom operators, utility sound technicians, and video assist technicians. Local 695's join page says the Industry Experience Roster requires at least 30 qualified IATSE days in your job classification within the past year, or a combined 100 qualified days of IATSE and non-IATSE work within the past three years. It asks applicants to use real job titles like sound mixer or boom operator on their paperwork, since generic titles such as "sound person" may not be accepted. In New York, sound crews are part of IATSE Local 52.
Minimum rates are set in the Local 695 wage schedules under the IATSE Basic Agreement, which raised minimums 7%, 4%, and 3.5% in its three years. Local 695's rates page is for members only. Mixers usually negotiate their labor rate and package rental separately.
How mixers get there
Most mixers work as boom operators or sound utilities first, often for several years, and start mixing on commercials, documentaries, reality shows, or small features. Owning a package makes a new mixer much easier to hire for small productions.
Storiara for sound planning
Storiara's script panel can tag lines as sound effects or music, and its Music & Effects module lists sound and music elements by scene with a find in script option, which gives the mixer a scene list of playback and effects cues to plan around.