- Sound design in film and television essentially describes the process of capturing, layering and mixing of individual sound elements to create one single Soundtrack for the project.
- Just as you shoot and edit the image part of the project, you also shoot and edit the sound part.
- Sound design occurs at all stages of a production, but it is essentially a post-production phase. The process is also called Sound Edit.
"Point blank" (1967) by John Boorman is an example of good sound design and what you can do with it.
The sound designer
- Originally, all the sound editing of a film was completed by a sound editing of a film was completed by a sound editor or a team of sound editors. These were technicians who had little to no creative input in the project.
- In the 1970's, demand for increasingly complex sound-tracks created the need for Sound Editors to have creative input into the "design" of the soundtrack. This led to the role of the Supervising Sound Editor. One person who would oversee, and be responsible for a team of sound editors, and the producing of the film's sound track.
- This new Supervising Sound Editor position became known as the Sound Designer.
- The first film to credit someone with this new role was 'Apocalypse Now' by Francis Ford Coppola. The Sound Designer was Walter Murch.
Sound layers
- The job of a sound designer is to assemble a number of layers or tracks of sound, which are then mixed together to form one whole.
- On some productions there might be fifty tracks of sound, but most commonly there will be between 5 and 20 tracks.
There are about 7 different types of tracks. These are: Dialogue, Sync, ADR, FX, Foley, Atmos and Music. There can be any number of tracks under these headings, (you might have 6 FX tracks and 2 Atmos tracks). Plus, some productions don't use all the types of tracks available.
Sound tracks
Dialogue
- This is all the recorded dialogue from the actual shoot. Voice-over would be on a separate track.
Sync
- This is the recorded sound from the shoot that is NOT dialogue. I.E someone walking across the room or getting into a car.
ADR (Automatic dialogue replacement)
- This is all the dialogue recorded or dubbed after the shoot. Nearly all Hollywood films use ADR for the whole film. This is to get a cleaner, more controlled dialogue. Recorded in a soundproof room (no need to worry about wind, rain, background noise etc).
FX:
- Certain sound effects for elements such as car engine, a computer, or an explosion. These will either be recorded specifically for the production or more commonly they will come from a Sound FX library.
Foley Artist
- These are sound effects, created specifically by a Foley Artist, that cover personal action elements such as footsteps, breathing, body hits or a creaking door. Recorded in a special studio, Foley artists use various ways to mimic the sound needed.
Atmos/FX:
- This is all the sound elements that make up an atmosphere for a particular location. This could mean weather elements like wind and rain, or room elements like the creak of an old house, or landscape elements, like countryside, city or jungle.
Music
- This is all the music in the film. Diagetic music on a radio or someone playing an instrument in a scene, and non diagetic which is all the composed music placed over the film - known as the score.
The sound edit
- Through the sound edit phase, the sound designer and his/her team (if there is one) will compile all the tracks, editing the various sounds to the picture, making creative decisions all the time.
- The sound is cut just like the picture and can be done in FCP, but more commonly will be done using specialised sound editing software like Pro Tools or Nuendo.
- On larger productions the individual tracks are handled by one person or team. So you will have a Dialogue Editor, an FX editor, a Foley editor etc, and their reasonability will be just those tracks.
- That's where the Sound Designer plays a key role, by ensuring all the various editors are working towards the same vision.
The mix
- Once the tracks have been compiled and the edited to the locked picture, the sound edit goes into its final phase - The mix.
- The mix is where the Sound Designer, along with a Mixer and other key members of the production such as the director and producer, mix all the separate tracks of sound together to form one complete sound track.
-This is perhaps the most creative aspect of the Sound Design process.
- The Mix enables all the sounds to be balanced with each other and the picture to create the perfect soundscape.
- You're not always trying to use ALL the sounds on the tracks, just the ones that work and add to the overall feel.
-This process means that quite often whole sections of a particular track of sound won't be used in the final mix.
- In the cinema and, now with the increasingly advanced home television sound systems, also some television programmes, the final stage of the mix will be creating a Dolby 5.1 (or similar) output.
- Unlike stereo which is just two channels of sound, the Dolby 5.1 system means you can have specific sounds coming from different speakers and creating a virtual 4D soundscape.
- For example you could have the sound of a helicopter coming up from behind you before you actually see the helicopter on the screen.
The Art of Sound Design
- The art of sound design is to add depth, feeling and emotion to the picture. It's not about making something sound LOUD, it's about making it feel right, so the audience believe in what they are seeing.
- Even if the story is set on an alien world, it should sound RIGHT.
- Great sound design can add details the audience can't actually see. A clock ticking in a room, a bird high up in a tree or a dog barking at night - all these add depth and detail to the picture.
Silence is golden
- To understand sound design, you have to be silent. If you want to convey the feeling of silence you need to add sounds that we normally don't hear. This can be breathing, fly, bird, elevator, clock etc. It's never completely silent.
Keeping it real
- A large part of sound design is about making the image come to life, making it real.
- Sync sound from the shot is often compromised, so the sound edit enables you to add richness to everything from breathing to a door opening.
- One notable exception is the scene from Michael Mann's 'Heat' where the sounds were real.
Atmosphere
- Adding depth and emotion to a scene doesn't always mean adding a piece of music. It can be done with sounds.
- A person alone in a house, scared... Add a distant dog barking, or a rumble of thunder to highlight their predicament.
Music only atmos
- Sometimes a single track of music can convey very complex ideas. Example, bar scene in Goodfellas.
The cut
- When you need to create a specific emotional moment, such as horror, fear or love, this can be done with sound design.
- A classic edit in horror or thriller is to cut from the image of someone about to scream to the image of a train or alarm clock. We see the picture change, but it's the sound of the train whistle or alarm that does the trick.
Sound design
- A production might spend 7 weeks shooting a film/programme, but they often spend double that amount of time on the sound design.
- You can have the most beautiful, clever and striking images ever captured on film, but if you have a thin, basic soundtrack all the work will be undone.
- When you are planning and shooting your production, always think about what the audience will hear too.
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