Now in its third season on the hit cable channel Discovery ID, “My Dirty Little Secret,” follows a simple yet effective formula – combine dramatic reenactments, interviews with real participants, archival footage and voice-over – to tell the real life stories of people with secret lives they’re willing to kill to keep that way. Key to the show’s effective story-telling is the role of audio, and for post house HOBO and engineer Chris Stangroom that means effectively mixing the show’s many audio elements, including recording the voice-over narration, on-set dialogue, stock music and sound design.
“HOBO first came onto our radar two years ago when we were starting production on the first season of My Dirty Little Secret,” Kevin Fitzpatrick, Executive Producer, Red Marble Media, producers of the show, says. “We needed an audio house that could help us find the right balance for a complex show. If the series was going to succeed we needed to ensure the audience could hear the episodes in the right way.”
For Fitzpatrick, that means combining cutting edge audio technology with artistic instinct. “In the end Chris and HOBO give us a mix that truly elevates the quality of the program.”
“My Dirty Little Secret,” which airs Wednesdays at 9pm on Discovery ID, delves into the true crime stories of people who will go to extraordinary lengths to protect the skeletons in their proverbial closets. From cheating spouses to bizarre fetishes to double lives as escorts, the show investigates how a secret can quickly turn deadly.
For Stangroom, whose audio post toolkit includes Pro Tools 11, Waves plug-ins, Avid’s ReVibe reverb software, which he uses to make things more dense and exciting, and DMG Audio plug-in EQuilibrium, a flexible 32 band EQ perfect for dialogue that requires intense fixes, his role ultimately is to analyze each audio component and ask, ‘how can I make this better?’
“Dialogue and story are always important,” Stangroom says, “but for this show we consciously use the music more for dramatic effect, and try to keep the sound effects minimal until that perfect moment in the story when it really make an impact on the viewer.”
Listening to the show can be a masterclass in how to use sound to build dramatic tension: Dialogue will echo as ominous strings and drums blend with sonic drones that build uncomfortably toward a jolting sound design element like sharpened knife screech or a shattered glass, very often followed by jarring silences.
“What is most effective about this show’s audio is how it will often hit these high dramatic moments, and rather then cut right to the next scene, they will let what just happened sink in with audiences for an extra beat or 2 longer than most shows – it creates a great sense tension and a feeling that the dramatic stakes have been raised completely,” Stangroom says.
For Howard Bowler, HOBO’s President, it’s important when mixing to never follow a preset template, but rather let the story and the audio elements guide the mix, never the opposite.
“People sometimes ask ‘how do I make something sound scary,’ and the truth is there are some things technically you can do, but it’s better to rely on what the production gives you,” Bowler says. “Audio post is not static, it’s a constantly evolving process, and the key is to listen and ask yourself if you’re capturing what you want the audience to feel, and what tools are at your disposal to make it happen. If you’re only leaning heavily on effects or reverbs, they lose their effectiveness.”
About HOBO
HOBO is an audio post production company dedicated to creating an exceptional listening experience. The company has earned the trust of some of the most iconic brands and companies in the world. Make yourself at HOBO. http://www.hoboaudio.com/
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