Mike Thornton

Apple Plans For Mac Computer Releases In 2025 And 2026 - But Do We Need Them? | Production Expert Considering a new studio computer in 2025 or 2026? In this article, we outline everything we know about Apple’s plans for new Mac computer releases during 2025 and 2026.

Considering a new studio computer in 2025 or 2026? In this article, we outline everything we know about Apple’s plans for new Mac computer releases during 2025 and 2026. www.production-expert.com/production-e...

Do Apple Mac Computers Still Matter To Apple? | Production Expert In the third quarter of 2025, which ended on June 28 Apple generated $94.04 billion in revenue. But how much of that revenue comes from Mac sales? Is it still worth it for Apple to continue developing...

In the third quarter of 2025, Apple generated $94.04 billion in revenue. But how much of that revenue comes from Mac sales? Is it still worth it for Apple to develop and produce Macs? Can we expect Apple to develop Macs for our sector? We investigate. www.production-expert.com/production-e...

Interestingly, I have weaned myself off the PPMs. That said they are still my default channel meters in Pro Tools. But other than that I am using loudness meters. Nugen Audio VisLM in Pro Tools and an RTW TM3 Primus for everything else.

Zplane Announces They Are Discontinuing All Their Audio Metering Plugins | Production Expert As a PPMulator owner, Mike received an unexpected email from zplane announcing that they will be discontinuing all their audio metering plugins: PPMulator+, PPMulatorXL, ppmBatch and Fennek at the end...

As a PPMulator owner, I received an unexpected email from zplane announcing that they will be discontinuing all their audio metering plugins: PPMulator+, PPMulatorXL, ppmBatch and Fennek at the end of 2025. Read the article for more details. www.production-expert.com/production-e...

We Urgently Need Your Help For One Of Our Own | Production Expert It’s very unusual for Production Expert to post this kind of article, but when one of our own is as seriously ill as Mike Thorne and needs this kind of help, the only response is to act, and to ask yo...

We really need your help for one of our own. It’s very unusual for us to post this kind of article, but when one of our own is as seriously ill as Mike Thorne. If you are able, could you please sign up? You never know, you might be the one. www.production-expert.com/production-e...

NUGEN Audio DialogCheck Experts Review | Production Expert With speech intelligibility being such a big issue, NUGEN Audio DialogCheck should be a very welcome tool for mixers of film, TV and streaming content. But what do audio professionals think of it? We ...

With speech intelligibility being such a big issue, NUGEN Audio DialogCheck is a welcome new tool for mixers of film, TV and streaming content. But what do audio professionals think of it? I was one of three asked to check it out & you can read our verdicts… www.production-expert.com/production-e...

Avid Drops Support For macOS Monterey With Pro Tools 2025.6 | Production Expert With the release of Pro Tools 2025.6, Avid has updated its OS compatibility information, which now includes official support for M4 chips and the removal of support for macOS Monterey. We have all the...

With the release of Pro Tools 2025.6, Avid has updated its OS compatibility information, which now includes official support for M4 chips & the removal of support for macOS Monterey. We have all the details, inc. a full list of supported Apple Mac computers www.production-expert.com/production-e...

Your Older Apple Computer May Not Work With the Next macOS Release | Production Expert We expect Apple to announce details of the next version of its macOS during the keynote address of the Worldwide Developers' Conference on June 9. It appears that a number of older Mac computers will ...

It appears that a number of older Mac computers will not be supported by the successor to macOS Sequoia. In this article, we share what we have learnt about what to expect Apple to announce at WWDC 2025. www.production-expert.com/production-e...

The Best Sources for Free SFX Libraries 2025 | Production Expert In the world of audio production, sound effects are the unsung heroes that breathe life into your creations. However, collecting a vast library of sound effects can be a costly endeavour. Fortunately,...

The Best Sources for Free SFX Libraries 2025.
Collecting a vast library of sound effects can be a costly endeavour. Fortunately, there's a wealth of free SFX libraries available, and in this article, we'll explore the top sources to help you up your game. www.production-expert.com/production-e...

Why Creative Professionals Are Challenging EU And UK Government AI Copyright Proposals | Production Expert Both the European and British governments are drafting legislation to enable Artificial Intelligence developers to use copyrighted material to train their content-generating tools, with an opt-out fea...

Both the European and British governments are drafting legislation to enable Artificial Intelligence developers to use copyrighted material to train their content-generating tools. But is it fit for purpose? In this article, I take a look... www.production-expert.com/production-e...

Yes R128. Look at the title of EBU Tech 3342. Loudness Range: A Measure To Supplement EBU R128 Loudness Normalization. tech.ebu.ch/docs/tech/te...

Dialog Gating, or as it used to be known, is set out in the ATSC A/85 delivery spec. Dialog Gating used Dolby's Dialog Intelligence, until Dolby discontinued it and allowed other brands to use the technology in their loudness metering products. As I said in my other reply, BS1770 is the foundation.

This is not true. LRA is not proprietary. The EBU R128 standard is based on BS1770 and goes further and includes specifying LRA. The key is BS1770 is the foundation, and then delivery specs like EBU R128 and the ATSC A/85 go further to provide us with a workable delivery spec.

Client Project Storage - Should You Charge Or Not? | Production Expert Toby Griffin, a community member working as a freelance sound designer, engineer and mixer, recently asked about the pros and cons of charging clients to store their projects and data on your systems....

Client Project Storage - Should You Charge Or Not? A community member recently asked about the pros and cons of charging clients to store their projects on our systems. If you are considering charging clients to store their projects, this article is for you. www.production-expert.com/production-e...

Apple's Expected Plans For Mac Computer Releases In 2025 | Production Expert Thinking about a new studio computer in 2025? In this article, we outline everything we know about Apple’s plans for new Mac computer releases during 2025.

Thinking about a new studio computer in 2025? In this article, we outline everything we know about Apple’s plans for new Mac computer releases during 2025. www.production-expert.com/production-e...

Over 25 Of The Best Recording Studio Hacks | Production Expert These are nearly 30 of the best recording studio hacks around and well worth checking out.

Over the years we’ve been compiling some of the best recording studio hacks from all over the world, some are ingenious, others fun. One thing is certain, these are nearly 30 of the best recording studio hacks around and well worth checking out. www.production-expert.com/production-e...

Cloud Based File Transfer Services 2025 - We Take A Look At Some Of The Best | Production Expert In this article, we take a look at the cloud-based file transfer services that we have used, as well as others that have been recommended to us. For each provider, we have included some information ab...

In this article, we take a look at the cloud-based file transfer services we have used, as well as others recommended to us. For each provider, we have included information about their services, a summary of the pricing options and user comments. www.production-expert.com/production-e...

How To Archive A Pro Tools Session To Protect Against Plugin Obsolescence | Production Expert How do you create a session backup that you can open and use if some plugins in that session are no longer available. Mike developed a workflow 12 years ago to cover this eventuality. In this article,...

How do you create a session backup that you can open and use if some plugins in that session are no longer available? I developed a workflow 12 years ago to cover this eventuality. In this article, I present this workflow. www.production-expert.com/production-e...

The Truth About Pro Tools Friendly AAFs | Production Expert The AAF and OMF were designed to be an ‘open’ format to enable the trouble-free transfer. However, as with so many things, it’s not as simple as that. In this article, we explore the challenges of tra...

AAF and OMF were designed to be an ‘open’ format to enable the trouble-free transfer. However, as with so many things, it’s not as simple as that. In this article, I explore the challenges of transferring from an NLE to Pro Tools. www.production-expert.com/production-e...

As someone who has spent my entire career supporting creatives in the media industry, I am very disappointed at the Uk Government's approach to this very import subject. Please read and if possible respond to this using these excellent resources.

Which Apple Mac Is the Best Computer For My Studio? | Production Expert The arrival of Apple Silicon—more specifically, the M-series chips—has brought a real shift. At last, we’re seeing tech that keeps up with our needs. Now, for the first time, are we seeing machines we...

Which Apple Mac Is the Best Computer For My Studio?
With the arrival of Apple Silicon. Now, for the first time, are we seeing machines we can genuinely forget about, finally letting us focus on our craft? We investigate… www.production-expert.com/production-e...

Sound Editors - Send This To Every Video Editor You Know! | Production Expert If you work as an audio editor or mixer on projects that has been through a video edit, how many times have you been frustrated by what OMF, AFF and video files you have been sent from the video edito...

As an audio editor or mixer, how many times have you been frustrated by what OMF, AFF and video files you have been sent from the video editor. I share my recommendations as to what a video editor can do to make life easier for sound editors and mixers. www.production-expert.com/production-e...

How To Create A Pro Tools Friendly AAF From Adobe Premiere | Production Expert In this article, we explain how to export a Pro Tools friendly AAF from Adobe Premiere Pro. Although the basic process is relatively simple, there are some complications if the video editor has used n...

I explain how to export a Pro Tools friendly AAF from Adobe Premiere Pro. Although the basic process is relatively simple, there are some complications with nested clips and sequences, merged clips or you need to get the metadata into Pro Tools. www.production-expert.com/production-e...

How To Create A Pro Tools Friendly AAF From DaVinci Resolve | Production Expert In this article, we explain how to export a Pro Tools friendly AAF from DaVinci Resolve. There is no doubt that working with DaVinci Resolve has been the hardest NLE for extracting a Pro Tools friendl...

I explain how to export a Pro Tools friendly AAF from DaVinci Resolve. There is no doubt that working with DaVinci Resolve has been the hardest NLE for extracting a Pro Tools friendly AAF. We cover the common issues and recommend solutions and workarounds. www.production-expert.com/production-e...

How To Create A Pro Tools Friendly AAF From Avid Media Composer | Production Expert In this article post-production specialist Damian Kearns shared his advice on the best way to expert a Pro Tools friendly AAF from Avid Media Composer. If you have ever had issues with AAFs from video...

In this article post-production specialist Damian Kearns shared his advice on the best way to expert a Pro Tools friendly AAF from Avid Media Composer. If you have ever had issues with AAFs from video editors, then you will want to share this with them. www.production-expert.com/production-e...

Mac Studio 3rd Party Storage Upgrades Coming In 2025 | Production Expert French Apple Mac repair and service company Polysoft has developed user-replaceable SSD storage for Mac Studio computers that are around half the price of Apple’s prices.

Mac Studio 3rd Party Storage Upgrades Coming In 2025.
French Apple Mac repair and service company Polysoft has developed user-replaceable SSD storage for Mac Studio computers that are around half the price of Apple’s prices. www.production-expert.com/production-e...

AAF And OMFs - Post Audio Expert Panel On The Good, The Bad And The Ugly | Production Expert In audio post-production, we often get AAFs or even OMFs from the video editor, which provides us with the edited audio from the picture edit. In this article, a panel of experts shares their experien...

In audio post-production, we often get AAFs or even OMFs from the video editor, which provides us with the edited audio from the picture edit. In this article, a panel of experts shares their experiences of using AAFs and OMFs in their professional workflows www.production-expert.com/production-e...

Understanding Loudness Part 3 - Calibrating Your Monitors | Production Expert In part three of a free tutorial series, Mike Thornton covers how to calibrate your monitors.  We look at how monitoring should be configured and provide an explanation of bass management and wha...

In Part 3 of this series on Loudness, I cover a key part of delivering loudness-compliant content. I explain bass management before moving on to a practical demonstration of how to calibrate your monitoring with a sound pressure meter. www.production-expert.com/production-e...

Understanding Loudness Part 2 - The Development Of One Loudness Standard | Production Expert In part two of a free four-part tutorial series, loudness expert Mike Thornton covers the development of one loudness standard. We explore how we arrived at a loudness measurement algorithm that works...

In this article and free video tutorial, I cover the development of one loudness standard. I explore the loudness measurement algorithm, the various criteria used when working to the BS1770 specification, including K Weighting, True Peak & Loudness Range. www.production-expert.com/production-e...

Understanding Loudness Part 1 - Why Do We Need Loudness? | Production Expert Not sure what all this loudness stuff is about and how it affects you? Loudness expert Mike Thornton answers all these questions and many more in this six-part series, now available for free. In this ...

Understanding Loudness Part 1. Not sure what all this loudness stuff is about and how it affects you? I answer these questions and more in my four-part FREE tutorial series. In the first part, I clarify what is meant by loudness. www.production-expert.com/production-e...