I get a lot of questions on if I can “do” sound sweetening, usually by frantic filmmakers, calling in the middle of the night. They are frantic because the sound in their movie or video is bad.

They’ve used a cheap mic, plugged into the camera, or worse, have used the on-camera mic.

They had a friend aimlessly point the mic at the floor, or the sky, anywhere but at the actor muttering his lines, and moved the mic randomly during shooting.

Some, from the sound of it, have pointed the mic directly at the whirring camera, or rumbling electric generator, or humming air conditioner, or buzzing fluorescent lamp. They’ve bumped the mic against the wall, or the ceiling, or trees or bushes.

They’re far away from what they’re recording, not even in the same vicinity. There’s so much “room sound,” you can barely hear the actor mumbling along.

So, the Sound Guy (whoever they can get for a few minutes – usually a well-meaning person with no experience) turns up the level too far, which just makes the sound distort horribly, or too low, which buries the good sound in the mud.

Sound Editing adds more mistakes, and compounds the problem. The filmmaker has the equipment, and wants the film to be good. You’d think he’d read a book on the subject. You would be wrong.

He chops the sound when he chops the picture, and that’s it. He doesn’t split it into tracks, or replace bad sound, or finesse the tracks, or otherwise spend time exerting care and craft on his precious film’s soundtrack.

Essentially, when he’s done shooting and cutting and laying music, he thinks he is done, without spending the minimum of time and care and money it takes, to have a good sound track.

So the filmmaker shows his movie, with its bad sound, to lukewarm audience reaction. Ouch!

People don’t know why the movie is bad, actually. Not one in ten can recognize “bad sound,” they just think the movie stinks.

If the filmmaker is very, very lucky, somebody will tell him the sound is bad. Otherwise, he has no clue.

He’s disappointed, but he still wants to maybe fix it. Somebody says “sweetening” the sound will help. So he comes to me.

He wants to know if bad sound can be fixed. I have to tell him the bad news – no.

At this stage, unless he has a great deal of time and money, and is willing to start completely over and take the proper care, nothing can be done.

Bad sound is the product of negligence. If you spend the time and care, from the beginning, there is no reason for your film or video sound to be bad.

You’ve probably seen many commercial movies with good sound, so why doesn’t your movie sound like them? You probably don’t really know how a good movie sounds, and what effort went into making them sound good.

Take some time, and actively listen. After a while, you’ll notice what a good movie sounds like.

I was very lucky when I was starting out. I read a book by Ivan Watson from England, who spelled out precisely what it takes to record and edit and mix good movie sound.

You can still find “Uncle Ivan’s” books, either online, http://snurl.com/brbu or at your library. If you haven’t read any filmmaking books, you need to. Get going!

What can you do to make your movie track sound less like a video, and more like a real movie?

Maybe a better question is, “Why does video sound so bad?”

I think that’s a fair question, because frankly, most video sound, (all elements music-dialog-effects), sucks. I’ve heard exceptions, so I know it’s not just the video itself.

Film does sound very different than video, I am certain of that.

Real movies are rich-sounding, with only the sounds and music that move the story along. Video, even shot by filmmakers who should know better, often is tinny and muffled, with thumps and noise on the tracks.

How is film sound different from video? Making a movie sound like a movie starts with the production sound.

Film sound is recorded on analog machines (yes, they still exist), or on cool new 96Khz/24bit sampling recorders.

Mini-DV camera sound is uncompressed 48Khz/16bit sampling. That’s better-than-CD audio quality, but camera makers save money by using cheap audio circuits in most under-$5k video cameras.

Cheap-and-dirty analog-to-digital circuits add noise and distortion to your high-quality mic’s crisp analog sound.

The best video camera sound I’ve found is on the Panasonic DVX-100A. Its audio section is good as most DAT or solid-state flash memory recorders. Shooting with one is like recording on a separate digital recorder.

Film sound is recorded with a midrange bump, and an EQ raise above 6KHz.

6KHz is the high end of the human voice. “Midrange” is around 2.5KHz. The film sound “EQ raise” at 6KHz increases dialogue intelligibility and perceived crispness.

In video, sound is recorded without pre or post EQ. Video sound also usually uses inferior mics to those used in film sound.

Film sound mics have a cleaner sound, and flatter response, sounding better than the mics used to record video sound. They are highly directional (rejecting extraneous noise).

Give your video sound’s midrange an EQ bump, and a raise at 6Khz, and it will be more like how film sound is recorded.

Get some decent mics, not the cheapies. A Sennheiser ME66, or an Audio-Technika 835b, is mid-level, not terribly expensive, and really works well. Those will give you a rich and full sound.

You may not want to record double-system (sound recorder separate from the camera), but if you can, do it!

If you have a Nagra or other analog tape recorder, use it. They just sound better.

35mm mag film to edit? Sounds great. It should – it’s a 1/4″ magnetic track at 18ips, and if you fill empty spaces with slug stock, it’s self-gating.

In film sound, the sound designer matches sound to the look of the film. A sad movie has mood lighting, and the sound will be designed to match it in emotional tone. Its dialogue is EQ’d less crisply, with a lower-frequency boost.

In a happy comedy, lower frequencies are rolled off, and it’s EQ’d and mixed to be “brighter.”

Film sound is “sweetened” by manipulating room tone, premixing audio levels, and carefully considering dialog, music, and effects for their proper audio EQ.

Film sound expects post-production sweetening, which makes film audio sound so different from audio for video. Video sound can be sweetened, but Indies use it pretty much as it is recorded. Yuck!

What can be done about it? How can you make your movie sound like a real movie?

First, notice how video procedures are designed for quick-and- easy operation, and not really for quality.

I think most video sound sucks because the camera operator is also the sound recordist, and the camera op doesn’t care about sound.

He wants the framing and focus and color and bla bla bla. Sound is not his priority, and he’s not really listening to what’s coming through the mic and mixer and headphones. He can’t.

For your sound to be good, you must care about it being good. That care will force you to listen to your track, something most video hobbyists, and many filmmakers, simply don’t do.

Until they’ve lost a film festival, and notice the winner has good sound. Or they see the one Indy film that comes along in a blue moon, the one with good sound.

If you actively listen to your track, you’ll start hearing (it takes time to train your ears) all the junk you’re recording.

You’ll take the steps necessary (filtering, mic placement, EQ, editing) to discard everything that is extraneous. Get rid of anything that doesn’t create a mood, or push your story along.

You will put the mic just as close to your subject as you can, and roll off the wind noise, and use a fur piece on the mic, and only mix in enough room or ambient noise, and only when it’s necessary.

If there’s a single “most important part,” I would say it is “gain staging.” Set your levels carefully – at every stage!

When we recorded in analog, there was a certain forgiving quality to the recording process. Overmodulation would “saturate” the tape, limiting levels before actually distorting.

Now everything’s digital, and if you’re recording digitally (to DAT, CD, Mini-disc, or Flash Memory), there is very little “headroom,” and much less tolerance for clipping, than in analog.

If your meter goes “into the red,” the sound becomes a chattery digital nightmare. It is ruined forever. So make sure you use “-6Db” for your “0Db,” to keep it clean.

Always “expect the unexpected” when setting your levels. I’ve noticed actors always “perform” 6Db louder than they “rehearse,” and musicians do too.

I always feed one mono signal to both stereo tracks, with L at the “proper” level, and R backed off 6Db or so.

If the sound gets too loud, L will distort, but I’ll still have a chance to salvage that section of R, when I’m editing.

How much is enough? Experience will teach you. Listen!

The major difference between how film dialog sounds and video dialog sounds is the EQ and compression that is used to make it intelligible and “fatter.” With practice, you will learn how to get that sound. There is no shortcut – you must practice!

You will learn what distortion sounds like, and you will learn to set the gain properly, and boost the midrange or add compression in recording or mixing, when it’s necessary, to push the important signal up out of the mud, and into your audience awareness.

How much boost? Again, experience.

That’s why you need a Sound Mixer with sound as his only job, one who cares, with enough faith in his ears, and experience at setting the gain and EQ, and also a trained and experienced Boom Operator, with necessary skills to point and move the boom.

Make it clear to your sound crew that you consider sound just as important as the picture, and you expect good work from them.

Insist they yell “Cut!” if it distorts, and tell you when they need another take.

Don’t make the mistake of letting “just anybody” volunteer to record sound. Make sure they’ve done it before.

Just hanging a mic on a boom stand is better than nothing, but not very much better. Care must be taken at every stage.

Get the best sound you can, when you shoot, so your editing will go smoothly.

Few things are worse than an edit session that becomes an audio salvage operation. It detracts from the creativity, replacing it with an air of desperation. You want to edit, when you edit.

After your picture is locked, start the sound edit. Split your tracks, so you can vary the gain on any element. If two characters are talking, you should have each on his own track.

Cut your dialogue, and then effects. Use your audio editing program to “normalize” your levels, and clean up the sound.

See what needs to be fixed, and fix it. Some stuff can, like Boom mic crashes, and ambient noise, but if something is bad and can’t be fixed, replace it with ADR, looping, and foley.

Foley is extremely subjective, that is, it’s not realistic. You don’t notice footsteps at all in real life, but in the movies, if you need to know somebody’s purposefully walking along, the footsteps are loud and pure and pristine. Tik, tik, tik.

Papers or clothes rustling, same thing. There are persons who make their living making clothing rustling noises, and walking and all those noises. They’re called “Walkers,” or “Foley Artists.”

I don’t mind having to record every footstep and line of dialogue. I’ve done it enough, I know how to make it seem real. How? From doing it and doing it, so if you want to learn how, get started, record something.

In fact, I much prefer replacing location dialogue. This frees me to shoot with literally any camera, noisy or not. Eyemo? Arri or Cameraflex? Mitchell, Eclair, Konvas?

All quite delightful results, if you record a track just to use as a guide track.

Or shoot two takes, one with the camera running, one without, but recording sound both times, and cheat the camera-less sound over the camera take, and cut it into sync.

Looney, but it works, and that’s what I do, and I get good sound.

The harder and longer you work on your sound edit, the better chance your mix has to be good.

In my experience, looping or ADR are not all that expensive, when you have a vocal room in your house, and some good mics.

In a pinch, a closet full of coats works fine, or a tent made of carpet, hanging from the ceiling. Just put the mics away from your computer fan or open windows.

My friend Jimmy O’Brien, Editor and Dialogue Director at Universal for many years, told me he’d flown to NY and far-off places to record a few lines on occasion, if it would fix or change a line reading, or even change the whole plot line!

I know much of what I know about film sound from a long-ago interview with Walter Murch, in an issue of “Filmmakers Newsletter,” where he advised to replace all the lines, rather than just one, so they’ll all match. Die-hard attitude, but his tracks are lovely.

One of those that comes to mind is “Apocalypse Now,” which had virtually no usable sound when they entered post-production. Think about that – everything was ADR and Foley!

Which brings me to the point in “making your movie sound like a real movie.”

Real movies have real good sound tracks to start with, and are willing to replace most, and sometimes ALL the sound, to make it really good.

Use your imagination, to determine what process might make your sound “sound right.” Create a sound space for each scene that serves the story. Use EQ and reverb and sound effects to create that space.

Compression is still a useful tool, even in these days of digital audio. It makes the “louds” quieter, and the “quiets” louder, raising the overall perceived level. That makes the track easier to mix, because it is “pre-mixed.” The mix flies itself.

Use compression sparingly, so it doesn’t make overall changes you don’t want. Rather than compressing everything, use your audio editing software to draw in your gain changes.

This is actually a manual type of compression, with intelligence, (yours). Drawing in your level changes makes the track fatter and more intelligible.

Take all the time and care your movie requires, with only one outcome in mind, to make your movie tracks sound better.

Have the picture scored by a composer who knows what he’s doing, and get the very best mix you can.

Good audio takes as much planning as good picture, from start to finish. Good audio doesn’t “just happen,” it is the result of careful listening, and time, and care.

Most video hobbyists don’t give sound the attention it deserves, and that’s why there’s such an astonishing difference in quality between video and film sound. Be different.

Start listening! Take care!

About The Author
Sam Longoria is a Hollywood producer, working in film since 1970, in a variety of jobs. His work graces several Oscar-nominated films, and one Oscar winner. Sam teaches Independent Producing at http://hollywoodseminars.com, and writes for his Filmmaking Blog. http://samlongoria.blogspot.com.

© 2006 Sam Longoria, All Rights Reserved. You may forward this in its entirety to anyone you wish. Hollywood Seminars, Box 2449, Hollywood CA 90078 USA

In the last article, I discussed Blocking – the first part of a four stage process of shooting any scene:

1) Blocking – determining where the actors will be on the set and the first camera position

2) Lighting – time for the DOP to light the set and position the camera for the first shot

3) Rehearsing – camera rehearsal of the first set-up with the actors and crew

4) Shooting – shooting the first scene (then repeat the process)

In this article, we will discuss the Rehearsal process.

When the DOP has finished lighting, the 1st AD calls the actors back to the set for the rehearsal. This is when all the elements of the scene are rehearsed together – actors, camera, sound, stunts, effects etc.

When the actors arrive, it is important to tell them of any changes that have happened since the blocking. For example: in the blocking, an actor might have stopped on the left side of the window and turned around for his line. But during lighting, the DOP had to move his mark to the right side of the window.

Because the rehearsal process is for both cast and crew, the first rehearsal will sometimes be a stop-and-start rehearsal: a technical run-through with the actors (especially if there are complicated camera moves.) The actors should walk through their positions and let the Camera Operator stop them to adjust their end marks or let the Sound Man find a better position for his mic. Once the crew is happy about positions and lighting, begin a full rehearsal.

During this first full rehearsal, watch the camera movement and the placement of the actors in the frame. Are you getting what you had imagined? Should you tighten up the lens? Should you delay the dolly in? Should you change the actors positions slightly?

Once you are happy with this rehearsal and the crew have made their adjustments, begin another rehearsal – and watch the performances. If this is a TV Series, this will probably be your last rehearsal, so concentrate on the actors and make your notes.

Unless there is a technical problem, I like to shoot after the second rehearsal. (I hate great rehearsals – why didn’t we shoot it!) I usually don’t give notes to actors during the rehearsal stage unless it is about movement because cast and crew will only give 100% once the camera starts rolling – and that is the only time you will see if the shot really works.

The 1st Ad calls for Finals and the “pretty department” goes to work on the actors. This is also the time any technical adjustments are made: the camera crew gets final focus marks and the DOP adjusts his lighting.

During the first take, you watch everything – camera movement, performances and background action. Does the shot feel right? are the actors making the right choices? does the dolly move come at the right time? Very rarely does the first take get printed – this is your first true rehearsal with cast and crew.

After the first take, make any technical adjustments and talk to ALL the actors. This is the first time you have seen them working up-to-speed and it is important that you give them all some feedback.

Talk with the DOP and the Camera Operator if you have any concerns about the camera moves or the framing. (The DOP usually watches the monitor with you and if he sees anything wrong he will deal with it after each take.) Discuss the extras with the 1st AD or any line changes with the script supervisor.

If things are going well, the second take will be your first print. Make a note of where you want changes and focus on those areas for the third take. If you are shooting a “oner”, get at least two prints for safety. If you are shooting coverage, concentrate only on the parts of the scene you want corrections.

Once you are happy with the shot, and you have at least 2 prints, move on to the next shot. Tell the script supervisor what takes you like or what portions of several takes you like for the editor.

And the four-part process begins all over again!

About The Author
Peter D. Marshall has worked in the Film and TV Industry for over 32 years. In 2000 he created www.ActionCutPrint.com as an online resource center for Filmmakers where you will find filmmaking tips, articles and directing workshops. Peter also publishes the free monthly ezine, “The Director’s Chair.” http://www.actioncutprint.com

When I was a Second AD (many, many years ago) I learned a valuable lesson from a dolly grip on how a film set works. Very simply, every film shoot is divided into four parts:

1) Block – determining where the actors will be on the set and the first camera position

2) Light – time for the DOP to light the set and position the camera for the first shot

3) Rehearse – camera rehearsal of the first set-up with the actors and crew

4) Shoot – shooting the first scene (then repeat the process)

Blocking is the first, and most crucial, aspect of this 4-part sequence. When you first start directing, blocking a scene can be one of the hardest – and most embarrassing – parts of your job. Get it wrong here, and you could waste valuable shooting time trying to get out of the mess you created!

a) Director Prep – Before you step onto any film set, you need to first do your homework on Script and Character Analysis. In the last two articles, we talked about Understanding the Script (what the story is about; the themes; the story points) and Character Development and Analysis (the development and objectives of the characters).

b) Blocking a Dramatic Scene – The first thing I do when the actors arrive for a blocking is to get them in a group and read the scene: no moving, no “acting” – just reading the scene through. This makes sure everyone is on the “same page”. (Sometimes actors do not have revisions and this is a good time to find that out.) Also, by reading together, the actors start to feed off each other – and you get to watch the process.

After the actors read the scene, I ask them to show me what they want to do. I just step back and let them go for it. If it is a set no one has been in before, I take a few moments to discuss the physical lay out of the room – the door an actor will come through; a window they can walk up to; which desk they can sit at etc.

The actors then begin their first walk through – they read the scene and walk around the set to get a feel of what they want to do and where they want to be. During this initial blocking, I try not to make any suggestions to the actors – it is important that they show me what they have in mind. Remember, this is the first time the actors have been together on the set and they need their time to explore. As you watch the actors, you get a feel for what they want to do, where they want to go and how they are relating to each other.

On the next blocking, you begin to make your changes. Maybe you want an actor to sit in a chair by the window instead of on the couch; you ask an actor if it would be okay to pace beside an actor and not in front of him so you can save a set-up; you make a suggestion to an actor to move across the room instead of standing by the door etc.

Once you have discussed the scene, and everyone agrees with the suggestions, the actors do it again. This time, you begin to figure out your camera placement based on their movement and what you first had in mind. As the actors go through the scene, you walk around them looking at all your camera positions. Usually the DOP is with you to discuss camera set-ups and positions. This is also a time where you can stop-and-start the actors – move them around to get a better background. During this blocking, a camera assistant will place marks on the floor whenever the actors stop.

When everyone is satisfied, the actors leave and you discuss the first set-up in more detail with the DOP and the camera operator. When the DOP begins to light, you go over all your set-ups with the First AD and the Script Supervisor.

c) Blocking Tips – having a shot list will help you during the blocking process. The shot list is like a map: it gives you a path to your destination but you don’t always have to follow it

- let the actors show you what they want to do first, then, when you make a suggestion, it is based on something you have already seen

- in Television, speed is essential, so try and block some scenes so that your action takes place in one direction (to avoid turning the camera around for reverses)

About The Author
Peter D. Marshall has worked in the Film and TV Industry for over 32 years. In 2000 he created www.ActionCutPrint.com as an online resource center for Filmmakers where you will find filmmaking tips, articles and directing workshops. Peter also publishes the free monthly ezine, “The Director’s Chair.” http://www.actioncutprint.com