Alvin Wee is an award-winning LA-based music mixer and producer known for his work on films such as Encanto, Top Gun: Maverick, No Time to Die, Mulan, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and Devotion. Encanto earned over 15 major nominations, including the Academy Award for Best Original Score, and won the CAS Award for Outstanding Sound Mixing. Alvin has also mixed for major game titles like Ghost of Yotei, Final Fantasy XIII, Resident Evil XII, and Kena: Bridge of Spirits.

Congrats on the Grammy Award for Encanto! What did that recognition mean to you?

Thank you. I’m grateful every day I wake up and am able to do this. It’s incredibly inspiring that many folks connected to a project that I was a small part of. The recognition really motivates me to keep going and continue to work on these unique projects.

You've mixed some massive projects – Encanto, Freaky Friday, I Know What You Did Last Summer, plus games like Death Stranding 2 and Ghost of Yotei. How does mixing for film differ from mixing for games?

There is definitely some overlap in both worlds. I’d say a lot of the tools are the same. All the basic concepts of audio still stand. Film and other traditional linear media require a lot of sculpting and molding specifically to the scene at hand. I guess you can compare that to cutscenes in video games. When scenes are predetermined, all the decisions I make directly affect the final result.

In video games, a lot of the music happens in-game. Since the music is fairly interactive, there are different dynamic and tonal considerations when mixing those in-game pieces. Not only that, but there’s a host of factors and scenarios you have to account for, like if the music blends from one track to another or if it even plays the entire piece of music as opposed to just a stem. So for mixing in-game music, I’d approach compression, EQs, and reverbs slightly differently.

Working between film, TV, VR, and games keeps you pretty versatile. How do you adjust your approach for each medium?

I always think about how the end-user experiences it. For film, I know it’ll have to translate to massive theaters with possibly an IMAX or Dolby Atmos setup. Whereas if it’s something like a video game, I’d probably do more referencing on headphones and other consumer speakers to make sure they translate. With VR or other music like songs and records, I’d have a pair of AirPods Pro handy to check my mixes. I always mix to make sure they work across most formats while focusing on how that media would traditionally be consumed.

You've worked with the original DW Fearn VT-7 hardware. How does having access to it in plugin form change the way you work?

Like you wouldn’t believe it. It’s a huge time-saver. These units are quite hard to come by even in my circles, and I’ve loved using them in scoring stages and recording studios for years. The reality is one of the biggest hurdles I’ve always faced when planning for any mix or recording session is resource management. I probably get one VT-7 at most in a session, so sometimes if the setup is complicated, I’m having to decide where I’d want to make the best use of that gear. On the rare occasion that at the end of these sessions I have some time, I’d spend a couple of minutes running the material through the gear. Now, I’m putting three or four instances of the VT-7 on each session wherever I need them.

How have you been using the new VT-7 plugin in your recent projects?

I think I’ve used it every single chance I get. I’ve put them on drum busses, upright bass, giant taikos and timpanis, string room mics, analog synths, felt pianos, shakuhachi, and even bassoon. It’s been all over my template. I’ve just tried to put it in as many situations as possible to see what I can get away with. Haha.

How does the VT-7 fit into your workflow when you're dealing with orchestral scores versus songs?

Both of them require a lot of finesse. In an orchestral setting, I’m using the VT-7 to even out some room mics. It’s usually to manage any overs or loud sections in a piece. It’s just a gentle way to temper dynamics. For some orchestral percussion like timpani or surdos, the VT-7 helps bring out the heft or life of the space a little more. It’s a slightly more aggressive approach, and the VT-7 handles being driven very well, especially with its tubes. If I’m doing a musical or anything with vocals, then I usually like to use the VT-7 on group auxes where it can take a lot of energy going into it. So if I have a drum bus and a BV bus, I’d put the VT-7s there.

Can you walk us through a specific moment on a project where the VT-7 really helped you solve a problem?

I recorded some stereo room mics recently that were quite unbalanced, and we couldn’t access a compressor at the time of recording. The VT-7 came in clutch for the rest of that project since I didn’t spend hours printing those tracks through a compressor.

Film and game audio moves fast with tight deadlines. How do tools like the VT-7 help you maintain quality under pressure?

Consistent, predictable results day in, day out. It’s crucial that I’m able to recreate the same workflow without worrying about some component breaking down. Speed and reliability.

From your perspective, how does a plugin like the VT-7 benefit other engineers working in cinematic and game audio?

It’s versatile, it sounds fantastic, and it’s got all those additional utility features you get with MixWave plugins. Having a Dry/Wet knob as well as the input and output controls with high/low-pass filters has got to be one of the most welcome features in any plugin.

What's next for you? Any projects you can share with us?

Ha, if only the powers that be were kind enough to let me talk about it ahead of time. Ghost of Yotei just came out, so I’d say go plug that in and play! There’s some more fun stuff coming down the pipeline in the next couple of months, so stay tuned.