audio settings for tv broadcast

Hey guys,
What settings/effects/filters do you add to your audio for tv broadcast?
2 things ..
firstly, i did a voice over for a commercial in a proper recording studio (we sent it raw,little eq, but that was about it),we sent it to the guys who were adding it to the tvc, only to see it on tv & my v/o sounding muffled compared to the other tv ads that were on.
2nd - what settings/effects/filters do you add to, music & sfx?

thanks.

The EU and presumably every country has specified the peak levels allowed for broadcast. For the reason you described - a commercial sounding too low compared to the ads before and after - the sound engineers who did the final mix used compressors to make it pop. This increased the subjective loudness of commercial breaks and made people long for their remotes. It's known as loudness wars . The actual sound quality suffered because no mix had any dynamic range any more.

In 2012 the EU changed their recommendations. Don't ask me for the details, has something to do with Loudness Units relative to Full Scale (LUFS) and compares levels in milliseconds and seconds. I knew I had read on an FCP X plugin to normalize the audio and googled it. Guess my first hit:
www.fcp.co/forum/4-final-cut-pro-x-fcpx/22706-r128-lufs-in-fcpx

If you're just sending raw audio file for their editors to work with, only thing you need to do is be sure nothing peaks over 0db. Their editors will do the rest. If it sounded muffled, it is the incompetence of their editors, not your recording. But for VO work, here's some stuff to be aware of.

Proximity Effect - closer to the mic you are the more bass it picks up, find the distance that is right for your voice and mic combo.

Pop filter - use it, always, a professional quality one, pantyhose does NOT work.

Keep volume levels between -12 and -6 for broadcast editors to work with.

Don't EQ anything at all if you're turning it over to an editor to work with.

thanks guru & axel

I am amazed at how often this forum gets hit up from people who need guidance for Broadcast Sound.

There are a heap of great texts and online resources.

As has been said - Sound is often the neglected poor cousin in editing visuals, when in fact - PRIORITY needs to be given to sound editing.

Simple tip from me: Never perform your final mix-down, ever - with headphones.

Also always think about the target audience for final content delivery. So - if its for Television, may I suggest you QA your final edit, by watching it on a TV screen.

That would stop all issues with muddy VO etc to air.

Thanks deano..damn noobs..haha

If you ever need to do broadcast stuff yourself, I cannot recommend highly enough iZotope RX5. Yes it's not cheap but this thing is a behemoth for audio in general. A must have if you ask me.

Having been an audio editor for over 20 years before jumping into video I would say your best bet is send it out to be mixed, you should be able to find reasonably priced solutions either online or nearby.

There are tools that I use specifically in my DAW that aren't available in FCPX that make it worth the round-tripping for me - plus the 20 years of tried & true tricks that make mixes pop and remain compliant.

If there is no budget then at the very least pull in something you like the sound of as a reference & try to match that in the environment you're working in.