Introduction to Sound in Film

Automated/ Automatic Dialogue Replacement– Recording the dialogue in post-production, otherwise known as looping. It should be recorded while watching the edit. ADR is used to replace the actor’s vocal performance from the original scene and replaced with the new dialogue that has been recorded in a booth, this is also known as post-synchronisation.  A reason for this is because it will make a safe TV cut in addition to it fixing technical problems.  It also serves creative purposes, for example, the actor can change the style of their voice during post, in order to fit the scene more effectively. The microphones in the studio and the placement of the microphone will match the ones that were used originally while filming. Visual ADR is when the actor visualises matching the lip sync, the in audio ADR, the actor matches the sound of the clip.

Foley Sound Effect-

This is a creative way of creating sound effects for a film. For example, using coconuts to create the sound of a horse walking, or breaking wood to replicate the sound of a broken bone. Foley sound is important because it emphasises the sounds that aren’t picked up during production. For example, it isn’t possible to pick up the full audio of human footsteps, therefore recreating the sound and adding it in makes the sound richer and more noticeable. Therefore, this will add more effect to the scene. However, the problem with Foley sound is that it is a very long process and the Foley artists have to be extremely precise.

Music-

When using music in film, it isn’t just a piece of popular music. There can also be an underscore. This is just the music or sounds that play in the background of a movie or a TV show. Creating and underscore requires a careful understanding of the action on the screen and the importance of the scene in the overall narrative.  However, trying to get popular music in movies/ TV shows can be very difficult because these songs are expensive to buy for the movie, therefore the filmmakers need to have the budget to purchase the songs. If the filmmaker is independent and making the film on a low budget, they have to ensure that all the music they are using is copyright free.

Ambience track/ sound bed.

Sound Bridging is when audio bridges over two visual clips. There should be multiple layers (including ambience), this ensures that the cut of the audio cannot be heard, it will blend all of the audio to together to get it sounding smoother.

Mixing sound together-

1. Add ambience first.
2. Add the Foley and dialogue.
3. Put the music behind (if appropriate).
4. Mix the volume of each track using the levels.

There should be multiple audio tracks.