Mixer Maintains Control with Plug-Ins

Los Angeles, CA (March 11, 2025)―From animation to sci-fi, Emmy-nominated re-recording and effects mixer Brittany Ellis keeps things under control with a suite of plug-ins.

Ellis, whose recent credits are the Fairly OddParents: A New Wish, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and the Emmy-nominated television series Star Trek: Prodigy, has over a decade of industry experience, and calls on a variety of plug-ins from Nugen Audio when mixing. She was first introduced to the brand while working as a recordist for Warner Brothers.

“My time there was extremely hands-on; the engineers taught me so much,” Ellis says. “At that time, Nugen’s Halo Upmix was becoming the new industry standard and the VisLM loudness meter had also just been released. The visualization available on those tools was a game-changer for us.”

Nugen Maps the Wide World of Acoustic Spaces

Since then, Ellis’ career has progressed, and the brand’s solutions have become a staple for her own workflow. “VisLM allows me to stay compliant with loudness standards but also enables me to go to a specific place in a mix and adjust, if needed,” she says. “My mixing is very intentional, and I make choices in the moment. Having to adjust an entire mix can be a hinderance because it’s never going to be exactly the way that I intend. The great thing about VisLM is that you can see exactly where your loudest moments are and go back to adjust only that occurrence instead of having to modify the entire mix, which is very helpful.”

To compare her tracks, Ellis incorporates the brand’s AB Assist quick comparison tool. “It’s always important for me to ensure that the integrity of my mixes is not lost. I utilize AB Assist to make sure that nothing sounds compressed and ultimately that my mix still sounds like my mix.”

With Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Ellis faced the challenge of working with a two-track version of the Atmos file. “What that means is that any changes that I make to my stereo master will also affect my Atmos master. My mix partner and I meticulously go back and forth to make sure we’re not over-compressing our material and that we aren’t over-working our limiters,” she explains. This requires the help of the Nugen Audio ISL Limiter, which, she says, “allows me to look ahead, maintain clarity and prevent unwanted clamping and crunching on my effects masters. This way, I’m setting myself up for success when mixing the two-track.”