Film Sound
Working to picture: capturing usable location sound and building a soundtrack that supports the image.
Sound for picture has a different success condition from music work: it must serve something that already exists. A beautiful recording that fights the edit is a failure, and a modest one that disappears into the scene is a success.
The module starts on location, because that is where the material is either won or lost. Dialogue recorded in the wrong place cannot be rescued convincingly, so a large part of this work is judgement made before the take.
Spatial formats are covered as concepts, so you understand what surround and immersive mixing ask for and how a downmix behaves. We do not claim a specific speaker configuration for practical work; ask about the current facilities when you enquire.
Curriculum
Location recording
- Boom and radio microphone technique
- Judging and controlling a location's noise
- Recording usable dialogue in difficult conditions
- Timecode, sync and reporting
Sound effects and Foley
- Recording your own effects
- Foley technique and material choice
- Building and organising a library
- Matching effects to picture
Sound design
- Creating a sound that does not exist
- Layering and processing for character
- Using silence and contrast
- Serving story rather than showing off
Post-production
- Conforming to a picture edit
- Dialogue, effects and music stems
- The final mix for picture
- Delivery specifications and loudness for broadcast
Spatial concepts
- How stereo, surround and immersive formats differ
- Panning and placement against the frame
- Downmix compatibility
- What each format asks of a mix
What you will be able to do
- Record dialogue on location that survives post-production.
- Create and place effects that read as part of the scene.
- Build a soundtrack in separate stems and mix it against picture.
- Deliver to a broadcast or festival specification.
Practical components
The practical component includes a location recording exercise outside the studio, because the difficulty of location sound is the location, not the equipment.