Sound Design for Low & No Budget Films

by Patrick Winters

Overview

Don’t let your indie film be sabotaged by bad sound! One of the weakest technical aspects of a low or no budget short or feature film is usually the sound, and in Sound Design for Low and No Budget Films, author Patrick Winters explains what filmmakers need to do to fix that. Learn how to improve the sound quality of your low budget film with specific tools and practices for achieving a better sound track, including detailed, step-by-step explanations of how to edit your production track, create a sound design, record and edit ADR, Foley and sound effects, music, and much more. Focusing on the essential details indie filmmakers need to know, Winters teaches you how to turn a thin and distracting sound track into one that makes your film shine.

This practical guide offers:

• In-depth focus on hands-on, step-by-step instruction for achieving great sound in post-production, including recording and editing sound effects, ADR and Foley—even without expensive equipment and software.

• Techniques specifically designed for low and no budget projects, perfect for both students and aspiring indie filmmakers.

• A simple and direct style that any aspiring filmmaker or student can understand without already knowing the industry jargon.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781317557920
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	01/23/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	280
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Patrick Winters has been working in sound design for 30 years and teaching sound design for 12 years. He has personal experience working on major motion pictures as well as creating his own short films, stretching minimal budgets to get the best sound tracks possible.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

1. Introduction

• Purpose
• Sound Definition
• Sound's Abilities
• Sound Supervisor
• Contracts, Agreements and Licenses

2. Location Sound: How Was That for Sound?

Common Mistakes

Single System

Double System

Timecode

Smart Slate

Boom and Lavaliere

Wired and Wireless

Wide Shots and Close-Ups

Two-plus Camera Set-Up

Exercise

Sample Sound Report Form

3. Sound Design

Defined

Introduction

Movie Examples

Recording

Creating

Editing and Processing

Mixing

Exercises

4. Dialogue Editing: It's Work, Not Magic

Introduction

Picture Lock

Collecting Materials

File Management

The Process

Cleaning

Smoothing

Editing

Split Tracks

Room Tone

Fixing Issues

Processing

Exercise

5. ADR: What Did They Say?

Introduction

Spotting

Microphones

Working with Actors

Production ADR Recording

Post-Production ADR Recording

Editing

Exercise

ADR Cue Sheet Form

6. Walla/Group /Loop Group/Group ADR/Rhubarb: Why Can't I Hear Them?

Introduction

Group Leaders

Research and Scripting

Walla

Specifics

Callouts

Efforts

Screams

Performing

Recording

Editing

Resources

Exercise

7. Narration: It Isn’t Dialogue

Introduction

Purposes

Pre-Production

Recording

Editing

Processing

Exercise

8. Sound Effects: Creating Reality

Sound Effect Functions

Types of Sound Effects

The Grey Area (Foley and Sound Effects)

Production Sound Effects

Location Sound Effects

Custom-Recorded Sound Effects

Foley Sound Effects

Library Sound Effects

Spotting

Creating

Recording

Editing

Processing

Exercise

9. Foley: Who or What is Foley?

Foley History

Overview

Spotting and Cueing

Synchronized Recording

Microphones

Performance

Moves or Cloth

Specifics or Props

Pats and Grabs

Footsteps

Libraries

Editing

Sound Effect Resources

Exercise

10. Backgrounds: What's an Ambience, Atmosphere or Background?

• Introduction
• Spotting
• Production Sound
• Room Tone
• Recording
• Library
• Editing
• Layering
• Processing
• Exercise

11. Musical Score: In The Mood?

Introduction

Making Notes

Spotting Session

Cues

Hits or Hit Points

Tempo Map

Click Tracks and Guide Tracks

Temp Scores

Music Software

Scoring

Theme and Motif

Titles, Montage and Credits

Composing, Arranging, Orchestrating and Instrumentation

Recording Performance (Tracking)

Digital Music

GarageBand

Song Score, Pop Music and Source Music

Cue Packages

Bands

Musicals

Library Music: Hard Drives, CD's and Downloads

Editing

Stems

Mixing

Deliverables

Exercise

12. Mixing Myself Preparation

Introduction

Preparing Your Mixing Room

Reference Levels

Room Monitor Calibration

NLE or DAW

Mixing In-The-Box By Myself

Session Set-Up

Stereo, LCR or Surround?

13. Pre-Mixing or Predubbing and DSP

Introduction

Mixing Preparation

Track Layout

Virtual Mixing

Mix Tools

Levels

Gain Staging

Fades

Panning

Constant Gain or Constant Power

Equalization

Compression

Normalizing

Noise Gate

Expansion

Exciter

De-Esser

Noise Reduction

Reverberation and Delays

De-Verberation

Effects and Filters

Limiter

Premixing

Buses, Auxes, Sends and Returns

VCA Faders

Master Fader

Metering

Two Pops and Tail Pops

Dialogue and ADR PreMix

Foley Premix

Sound Effects Premix

Design Effects Premix

Backgrounds Premix

Music Premix

Temp Mix

14. Mixing Myself

Introduction

Set-Up

Getting Started

Dialogue First

ADR

Sound Effects

Ambiences

Foley

Music

DME Stems and M&E

Master Output

Quick and Dirty Mix

15. Studio Mix

Introduction

Mixer Interview

Mix Preparation

Premixes

Stems

Mixing

Run Through

Dialogue Mixing

Sound Effects Mixing

Foley Mixing

Ambience Mixing

Music Mixing

16. Deliverables

Introduction

Film

DCP

DVD/Blu-Ray

Streaming

Broadcast Television

Marketing

Archiving

17. Summary

Clean Production Sound

Creating Sound Design

Mixing

Conclusion

Internet Resources

Glossary

Bibliography

Index