Audio mixing is the process of balancing and blending multiple audio tracks — dialogue, music, sound effects, and ambience — into a cohesive, well-proportioned final soundtrack.
Audio mixing is where all the individual audio elements of a video come together into a unified whole. The mixer adjusts the relative volume of each track so dialogue is clearly intelligible over music, sound effects are present but not distracting, and ambient audio provides atmosphere without competing with foreground elements. Good mixing feels invisible — the audience should focus on the content, not the audio balance.
Beyond volume, mixing involves equalization (adjusting frequency balance), compression (controlling dynamic range), panning (placing sounds in the stereo or surround field), and spatial processing (adding reverb or delay to create depth and dimension). A dialogue track might be equalized to remove muddy low frequencies, compressed to ensure consistent volume, and placed center in the stereo field. Music might be ducked (automatically reduced in volume) when dialogue occurs.
The impact of audio mixing on viewer experience cannot be overstated. A well-mixed video maintains audience attention because they never struggle to hear dialogue or wince at suddenly loud music. Conversely, poor audio mixing is one of the most common reasons viewers stop watching a video. When commissioning video work, always ensure that professional audio mixing is included in the post-production budget — it is one of the highest-impact finishing steps.
Noise reduction is the process of removing or minimizing unwanted background sounds — such as hiss, hum, air conditioning, or ambient noise — from audio recordings using specialized software algorithms.
Sound design is the creative process of crafting, sourcing, and arranging audio elements — including sound effects, ambient sounds, and processed audio — to enhance the emotional and narrative impact of a video.
Audio sweetening is the final stage of audio post-production where subtle enhancements, polish, and corrections are applied to make the soundtrack sound as clean, rich, and professional as possible.