Tip #71: The Final Sound Mix

By Dan Parkes (Director)

The impact of sound on a film should never be underestimated. Often clever and appropriate use of sound effects can really sell a shot, help with continuity and make visual effects come to life.

For Ambleton Delight, it was initially mixed using Logic on a MacBook. The final mix took place using Adobe Audition 3 on a PC (to create a 5.1 mix which we will detail in a later blog).

In addition to obviously a good recording of the original dialogue and sound (detailed here: ), the important components of an audio mix are:

1. A "Wild track"
A wild track is an audio recording made at the time of filming, normally when on location, of background sound and atmospheric noises when the cameras are not rolling. Whenever possible we recorded room tones and exterior sounds. These are incredibly valuable to help match shots in the edit or to cover holes in the audio. On one occasion we recorded the different sounds of the village councillors....grumbling, happy, complaining, applauding etc that we could then use when appropriate in the edit.


2. Foley
Foley is the art of recording live sound effects during post, like shoes on a pavement or a door closing, to match the film. In our case we recorded a number of foley effects during the post-production stage. For example I was used by Colin Bradley, the sound engineer, to cut vegetables and make all sorts of banging sounds in his kitchen for use in the film.

3. Sound effects library
If a sound is too difficult to record as foley, then there are a large number of libraries on-line with thousands of sound effects. Some are completely free while others may require payment. Here are a few you might want to check out:

www.soundsnap.com/
www.audionetwork.com/sound-effects/
http://www.pacdv.com/sounds/


4. Final Mix
You should now have dialogue, foley, room tones/wildtracks, other audio (radio/piano/CD player/TV) and score. Some effects may need further work -such as adding reverb or tweaking of treble and bass etc. Once ready you need to mix these altogether ensuring that the levels are correct and sound natural (some sounds work better if very subtle. The master volume must be set to a level that adheres to in-house or broadcast standards (for example -6db).

In the next few blogs we will specifically look at recording ADR, voice over, 5.1 and audio commentaries.

Tip #45: Ensure good on-set sound

By Dan Parkes (Director)

One of the first victims of low-budget film production is unfortunately often the sound. Even higher end productions can have sound issues, so it is no wonder that when the budget is low or non-existant that the sound suffers first. However, when good visuals are marred by poor or unprofessional sound the result can be very detrimental to the entire project. And since good sound is not rocket science or hugely expensive, there should be no need for it to ever suffer.

On Ambleton Delight we had a very simple set up that in the end was very effective -in fact many have commented on how good the sound is. Firstly we had a great sound man, Colin Bradley, with a good ear for sound. Technically we used a Sennheiser ME-66 shot gun microphone with a K6 power supply, a Rycote Softie with pistol grip/suspension and a Lightwave G5 carbon fibre boom pole. This is not particularly expensive kit and is affordable whether purchased or hired.

Above: Sound recordist Colin Bradley
boom operating on location.

Ideally it is better to record the sound into a DAT or some other kind of separate audio recorder, and use a clapperboard and then sync later in post (this is especially true with the present sound limitations of DSLRS). However we ended up recording the sound direct to camera via an XLR lead. While not ideal this has the benefit of having the sound already synced for post. The negative was that our sound recordist had to monitor the sound via the camera which meant he was not free to move far from the camera's position.

Some key points to remember:

1. Use separate microphones. Do not ever use the stock camera microphone as it is almost always poor quality and picks up camera noise.
2. Use directional mics. Shot gun mics or lapel/radio mics are best, depending on the environment and acoustics.
3. Be sound conscious. Bad sound equals bad film. When planning a shoot think about possible sound interefence issues.
4. Have sound monitered by someone with a good ear, using headphones. You might not notice that plane flying overhead, but a good recordist will. They will also know how best to use the microphones and what levels are good.
5. Record room tones and extra bacground sound whenever possible. For example, we recorded people talking and clapping in the village hall for later reference and proved invaluable.
6. Don't ever say 'fix it in post'! While good sound post-production is a must, try to get the best you can on the shoot as ADR and other post fix-it measures are not always satisfactory.

Above: Getting good sound can sometimes
mean some akward situations. Here sound recordist
Colin Bradley sits on the roof!

VIDEO BLOG: Episode 4

'Low budget does not mean low quality' was our mantra during the production. One of the keys to this was to shoot using 35mm lenses. This has recently become a much more viable option, and camera operator Roger Marshall discusses the pros and cons and also the camera and tapeless workflow used. Director of Photography Anna Carrington describes the impact shooting through 35mm lenses had on the lighting. And there is also information on how the sound was recorded and make-up. Finally, the cast discuss how they approached their roles and worked with the director.

All this and more in the fourth episode of the seven part series 'How to Make a Next-to-Nothing Budget Feature Film' exclusively on YouTube..