Launch mix
Tool manual under
launch-film. Start atskills/launch-film/SKILL.md: it holds the core, the hook-plus-body template and the lessons. Where this page differs,launch-filmwins.
A mix is a set of relationships, not a stack of effects. The voice owns intelligibility, the effects own the moments, the music owns momentum and gives way to both. HyperFrames renders the picture; it has no master bus, so the finished mix is made here, outside the composition, and laid onto the render.
In the film template, film/audio.py writes the mix file and runs this script for you. Use this page to understand and change the moves.
Inputs
- the music take (
launch-score) sfx.wav(launch-sound)vo.wavand the word times (launch-voice), when narrated- the picture: the HyperFrames render, rendered silent
Procedure
- Write
mix.json. The full format is in the header ofskills/launch-mix/scripts/mixdown.py. - Run
python3 skills/launch-mix/scripts/mixdown.py mix.jsonfrom your venv (numpy, soundfile, pedalboard, pyloudnorm). - Read the printed ebur128 summary. Integrated must be -14 ± 0.5 LUFS, true peak at or under -1.0 dBFS.
- With
videoset, the script muxes the master onto the picture (video_out). Hand that file tolaunch-review.
The moves and why
| Move | Setting | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Voice bus | high-pass 80 Hz, 3:1 compression at -20 dB, +1 dB at 3.2 kHz | steady level, consonants forward |
| Duck | music down 8 to 10 dB following the voice envelope, attack 80 ms, release 350 ms | the bed breathes with speech instead of sitting at a fixed low level |
| Presence carve | -4 dB at 2.5 kHz on the bed, blended by the same envelope | makes room where speech lives, only while it speaks |
| Music tone | high-pass 28 Hz, gentle low and high shelves | removes rumble, keeps the bed soft behind the product |
| SFX bus | high-pass 40 Hz, 2.5:1 at -18 dB, fast attack | glues the palette so events feel like 1 family |
| Drop-out | music to silence about 0.1 s before the logo, 80 ms ramp | the logo and its sting land in near silence, as strong launch films do |
| Master | 1.8:1 glue compression, then up to 3 passes of gain to target and a look-ahead brickwall at the ceiling | loud enough for YouTube without pumping |
Starting balance with no voice: music -2 to -4 dB, SFX 0 dB. With a voice: voice 0 dB, music -6 dB before ducking, SFX -3 dB.
Targets
- YouTube, LinkedIn, X: -14 LUFS integrated, -1 dBTP. Loudness range 1.5 to 6 LU (a strong reference launch measured 1.6).
- Keep a WAV master (48 kHz, 24-bit) next to the muxed MP4 (AAC 256 kbps).
Rules
- Do not use pedalboard's
Limiteras a ceiling: it behaves like a maximiser (the output level barely follows the input; a 33 s test came out at -10.8 LUFS).mixdown.pyhas its own look-ahead brickwall for that reason. - Never raise the whole mix to fix a quiet voice. Fix the voice bus or duck deeper.
- Never limit more than 3 dB on the master; if you must, the balance is wrong.
- The logo lands in near silence: a drop-out or a fade, never the full bed.
- A mix is not done until
launch-reviewhas measured it and someone has listened on laptop speakers and on headphones.