
Emmy Award-winning sound designer and re-recording mixer Bob Bronow embraces studio-correction software so that his mixes sound great even away from the studio
Brie Clayton June 30, 2022
0 Comments
It's safe to say, anxiety won Bob Bronow an Emmy Award. The Los Angeles-based sound designer and re-recording mixer, who's actually won three Emmys and been nominated for 11 more, characterizes his approach as mixing until it makes me feel something. And when he was tabbed in 2005 to mix the Discovery Channel's new blockbuster reality show Deadliest Catch, what he felt was anxiety.
When I mixed the first episode, I found myself getting very nervous watching those guys doing what they were doing, Bronow explains. Deadliest Catch, now in its 17 th season, follows the dangerous, real-life adventures of crab fishermen working on Alaska's Bering Sea.
I basically created the soundtrack based on what made me feel anxious, says Bronow. I knew if I could convey this to people watching, it would be pretty cool, because it's ridiculous what these guys do on-deck, covered with ice and 30-foot waves all over the place.
To make viewers feel as anxious as he felt watching the show's stars haul heavy crab pots onto rocking boats, Bronow took his cue from the horror movie genre. He created a portentous tone-a rumble sound, he calls it. Coming in around 5 to 10 Hz, barely perceptible, the rumble could be felt with the right speakers.
It just vibrates your energy, he says, and it certainly makes you feel uncomfortable. There were times when things were going smoothly on the boat, but I knew a wave was coming, so I'd let the tone creep in very slowly to create that ominous feeling. If I was successful, viewers would feel uncomfortable, too, and not really know why.
Then boom, the wave hits, chaos ensues, and Bronow is being recognized multiple times for being among the best at what he does.
You Think People Are Going to Watch That?' In addition to his multiple Emmy Awards and nominations, Bob Bronow has won four Cinema Audio Society Awards (14 total nominations) and two Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) Golden Reel Awards (and five nominations). He says his road to success was what you'd expect of a kid growing up in L.A., where the entertainment industry was like the automobile industry in Detroit-all around.
Bronow says he'd wanted to be a rock star; found himself in a recording studio at 16 ( I thought I could spend all day and night there ); programmed radio in college; mixed front of house at a club called the Music Machine ( In the 80s, most of that was telling guitarists to turn it down ); and eventually got into radio production with a college friend who'd previously hooked him up with the 11pm to 3am radio slot.
That's when I took my first deep dive into mixing, Bronow says. We did radio spots, primarily for film releases. We produced, wrote, cast, did all the recording-it was great. We were also early adopters of digital technology.
At the time, a little company in Van Nuys, California, called Digidesign had just released Pro Tools software, including ProDeck and ProEdit. Bronow enrolled in what was then called Pro School to learn all he could from the company, then began calling around to studios and offering his unique digital skills as a Pro Tools editor. His first major gig was with now-defunct WoodHolly Productions working on a Lexicon Opus, one of the first non-linear digital audio workstations.
Their Opus operator was leaving, and they asked if I could do the work, he recalls. I took home this really thick manual and plowed through it over the weekend. By the next Tuesday, I had my first client, which was NBC. It was a bit of a trial by fire.
After nine years with WoodHolly, Bronow went into business for himself, quickly coming into the orbit of Thom Beers' Original Productions, which was churning out a new brand of reality programming for Discovery. Bronow mixed shows like Monster Garage and Monster House before Beers popped over to tell him his next assignment would be to mix that crab show.
My wife, who grew up in Alaska, looked at me and said, Really? You think people are going to watch that?'
They did for the 14 years that Bronow mixed Deadliest Catch, and they still watch today.
Taking the Room Out of the Mix Over the years, Bronow developed a wealth of skills, from new techniques in noise reduction to salvaging audio captured in austere conditions. He was an early adopter of iZotope RX audio repair software. I use it every day. There isn't a mix of any kind-reality or scripted-that doesn't require some noise reduction.
In his own studio, Bronow recently discovered Dirac Live, software that minimizes the room's impact on the mixer's desired sound. Dirac's room correction technology improves studio acoustics and enhances sound accuracy through patented impulse response correction and frequency response correction algorithms.
I'd been called to do a Netflix show in 5.1, he says. I've done a lot of stereo work and had some room correction software for that, but I was having a hell of a time finding anything to do 5.1 and tune all my speakers properly.
After reading a review on Pro Tools Expert of a miniDSP processor running Dirac Live, Bronow says he found a solution.
Not being a professional acoustician, I reached out to Dirac for help setting it up and they were amazing, he explains. As I got it working, I realized what I was hearing was definition. I wasn't hearing all this smearing and bouncing around. I was really able to pinpoint where things were in the mix. It was like a window that allowed me to look into the mix as a three-dimensional thing.
In addition, Bronow appreciates that by using Dirac Live, his mixes can sound the same whereve
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
08/04/2026
Leading video software provider Synamedia today announced Senza Ignite, a cloud-based platform that transforms existing connected devices through a single firmw...
08/04/2026
Modernised architecture increases operational control and agility, while reducing cost and simplifying nationwide media transport across affiliates and news bur...
08/04/2026
Company to Feature DMX Dual Relay, High-Density 48-Channel Relay Panels, and New Private Label Power Program
LynTec, a leading manufacturer of innovative ele...
08/04/2026
Broadcasting Center Europe (BCE), a European media technology and services partner, today announces a technology partnership with BCNEXXT, a Netherlands-based c...
08/04/2026
Encompass Digital Media today announced the expansion of its Master Control Room (MCR) facility in Riga, Latvia, establishing it as one of the most advanced and...
08/04/2026
Leading video solutions provider Synamedia is back at The 2026 NAB Show with innovations that connect tomorrows audiences today. On display will be a range of t...
08/04/2026
COW Jobs: Director Needed for WWII Indie Docudrama
Brie Clayton April 8, 2026
0 Comments
Director Needed for WWII Indie Docudrama
March 17, 2026COW ...
08/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/04/2026
Marshall Electronics introduces its latest POV camera with the new CV376 Compact NDI |HX3 HDMI POV Camera at NAB 2026 (Booth C8339). Designed for versatile 4K c...
08/04/2026
Zixi, a leader in live video delivery and workflow orchestration, enables interoperable live video workflows across multi-vendor environments, helping broadcast...
08/04/2026
Young Forever: The Death of Ageing? airs Monday 13 April and 20 April on RT One and RT Player
Around the world, the race to beat ageing is on. From cutting ...
08/04/2026
Scripps Research scientists uncover new mechanism cancer cells use to survive DNA damage Discovery reshapes understanding of how tumor cells repair broken DNA, ...
07/04/2026
Ikegami USA will launch a refinement to the UHK-X700 and UHK-X750 3-CMOS -in. UHD cameras in the UNICAM XE series plus two new 7-in. viewfinders at NAB 2026 in...
07/04/2026
The NAB Leadership Foundation and NAB PILOT will host a career mixer for technology students at NAB Show 2026 on April 18, 5-6:30 p.m., North Hall, Room N225/22...
07/04/2026
Audinate Group Limited and Futuresource Consulting have published results from a...
07/04/2026
Eluvio has announced the commercial availability of its Content Fabric Bucharest...
07/04/2026
Eluvio has unveiled a new architecture for video AI and an updated Eluvio Video Intelligence Editor (EVIE) ahead of NAB Show 2026. Eluvio AI runs analysis and i...
07/04/2026
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) has announced a deal with Sky New Zealand...
07/04/2026
The NBA and Enjoy Basketball, the digital media company co-founded by YouTube cr...
07/04/2026
The 4,000-sq.-ft. space in Frisco, TX, has produced live and packaged programmin...
07/04/2026
What began as a referee training tool is evolving into a powerful production ass...
07/04/2026
Manifold Technologies will announce at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C.1808) that its manifold CLOUD platform will be available as a deployable application within NEP Pl...
07/04/2026
Shaquille O'Neal, Authentic Brands Group, and TNT Sports, in partnership wit...
07/04/2026
Telos Alliance will debut the Omnia XII, a new FM/HD/DAB audio processor, at NAB Show 2026 in Las Vegas.
Built on a 2RU hardware platform, Omnia XII features a...
07/04/2026
Amazon Web Services (AWS) will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (April 18-22, Las Vegas Convention Center, Booth W1701), with demonstrations, speaking sessions, and int...
07/04/2026
Synamedia will demonstrate AI by Quortex at NAB Show 2026, a framework that applies AI capabilities to video workflows on demand rather than continuously. The s...
07/04/2026
TVNewsCheck will present its 15th annual Women in Technology Awards on Tuesday, April 21, at 5 p.m. PT at NAB Show, in the Media and Entertainment Theater (W146...
07/04/2026
Akta will demonstrate its AI video platform at NAB Show 2026, highlighting new capabilities in media processing and vertical video formatting alongside its exis...
07/04/2026
ESPN and Disney have announced the launch of ESPN on Disney in Europe and select Asia-Pacific markets, bringing the offering to 53 countries and territories a...
07/04/2026
LOS ANGELES, CA, April 7, 2026 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the fellows selected for the 2026 Native Lab, the signature initiative of the ...
07/04/2026
Starting today, Prompted Playlist is expanding beyond music to now include podca...
07/04/2026
Launched alongside piano promotion
The latest instalment in VSL's Synchron Series line-up captures the sound of a faithful copy of a Fran ois tienne Bl...
07/04/2026
Flagship sampling pad gets an update
Roland's flagship sampling pad has just received a major update that kits it out with an array of new features and ...
07/04/2026
Popular compact wireless system upgraded
Sound Devices have recently introduced a new and improved version of their compact wireless transmitter bodypacks, ...
07/04/2026
The November 2025 YEP Newsletter highlights a recent YEP Coffee Chat, offering members the chance to connect with industry professionals in an informal setting ...
07/04/2026
The December 2025 YEP Newsletter includes a Spotlight on Emily Vail, showcasing her career journey and work in the industry, alongside Mentorship Reflections by...
07/04/2026
Ground-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) telescope operated...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Catgut Sound Owner and Production Sound Mixer Chris Welcker, CAS, has built a career at the intersection of music and film. A former musician and composer, Welc...