The first mix of any project, especially long-term projects like a television series, is always the hardest. Everyone involved in the sound package has done their best to put creative high-quality sound into the session. The mixing team have put in the effort to create a mix that they believe is of a quality that could air on television right out of the box. But, then the clients step into the room.
As a mixer, I try my best to do justice to the content. I use all of my tools to achieve balance and clarity. But the clients always have their own unique agenda of what’s important to the story for them, which plot-points need a little extra clarity from the sound, or which emotional beats are essential for the music to carry. There is no knowing these priorities and sensibilities until you’ve sat down in a room with the clients and gone through their notes one by one.