Sound Design - Post - Music

Step 1: Screening

 

The sound supervisor (and/or sound designer), composer, editing team, and even the sound mixer should sit down together at a preliminary meeting with the director and watch the film; taking notes for their respective tasks, and interacting with creative ideas. This not only keeps everyone working towards the same goal, but makes sure that work is not repeated by different departments.

 

Step 2: Editorial

 

Dialogue - More than just fixing difficult edits mid-sentence, air can be added to fill in gaps between words, words can be removed, or sometimes even created. Clicks, pops and distortion can be removed.  However, even with the latest noise-reduction technology the best sound comes from clean, well-recorded audio.

 

ADR - Sometimes dialogue needs to be re-recorded in the studio (if your location sound is unusable, or sometimes to change the performance). Also additional dialogue can be added. Background dialogue (usually provided by a "loop group") is also recorded as non-principal actors are usually silent, even if their lips are moving. If narration is required, this would also be re-recorded in the studio using a member of the cast, or a special voice-over actor.

 

Sound Effects - Using an extensive sound library, specific effects can be used to fill in where sounds are missing, or to enhance those that are already there.  Often "sound design" comes in to play when new sounds that don't exist in the real world need to be created.  Also ambience and background noise can be used to create a more immersive experience.

 

Foley - Some sound effects are much easier to create by hand (or foot). A foley artist adds an extra layer by recording footsteps, clothing movements and other elements that are easier to do "live to picture".  This adds a natural sound to the mix and helps with international versions.

 

Music Editing - Sometimes, when all the elements are combined, the music needs to start or end at different places than the composer originally intended. Possibly "stock" music is being used, and needs to be made to fit to a specific scene or length.

 

Step 3: The Mix (Re-recording)

 

After a rough pre-mix is created of all the elements, the director and the editing team will screen it to make sure nothing was missed. Then the re-recording mixer(s) work with the director to find a balance between all the sonic layers. Obviously dialogue is most important, but making sure the music and effects are at the right levels helps to add to the emotional experience of the audience. Most projects are requred to provide at least a 5.1 surround mix and a stereo mix, but there is a rapidly increasing demand for more channels as 3-D emerges as a dominant format.

 

Step 4: Output

 

The most important part of the process...this includes: exporting the mix to different media (digital and analogue tape, optical transfers, etc.); audio formats (Surround and Stereo versions); as well as special mixes for international versions (i.e. music & effects only, and/or separate tracks for narration, dialogue, effects, and music).