In a nutshell Break your sound design down into background atmosphere and action soundsBuild your mix from a combination of location sounds, foley and automated dialogue replacementAudio mixing software like Adobe Audition or AVID Pro Tools can help you create background and atmospheric noises

This article addresses audio transitions from the perspective of working with short-form video, field recording, corporate sound, and freelance audio. Of course, different disciplines offer their own challenges and opportunities. Thus, each scenario has a different balance of pre-production, live e

When people ask what’s most important when making a video, we start off by saying the word audio. Audio can decide whether or not your project is successful. Audio is what drives a scene and draws audiences in. In the last year, a large new development for online video came about, and that developme

Choosing the right music–whether you’re playing DJ around your friends, or doing something more serious like working on a video for a client– can be a hard choice. Our tastes in music are subjective and sometimes difficult to explain. People might like a song or artist for a variety of r

If I were to sum up sound effects into a single word, that would be “control”. They are an extension of the same control and craft that allows filmmakers to best tell their story. To that end, sound plays a huge and important part of that story. A sound effect is any artificially created or added so

Do you record a lot of voice overs or vocals? If so keep reading! Create a Voice Booth Having a flexible space allows you to configure and arrange your booth to suit your needs. Voice overs and other methods of vocal capturing utilize similar techniques when it comes to setup and recording. Pick a r

Lavaliers are the go-to microphone when requiring a localized, portable and hands-free solution when miking your talent. Lavaliers are primarily used with dialogue, where headsets or handhelds are usually used by singers for reasons of quality and proximity. Types of lav Most lavaliers are omnidirec

To this day, I still think that audio for video is one of the coolest aspects of audio engineering that I’ve had the chance to study and practice. On one side you have the end-product and expectation of reality that watching a scene or movie conveys. On the other, you have a blank canvas and the opp

Coming to terms with the reality that your audio is either subpar or unusable is never a good experience, but also a necessary one. Facing failure and learning from it is an important step in your journey, and there will be a point where you either directly contribute to a problem or have to pick up

Let’s define a few things before we start. What content is considered public domain?  Public domain is defined by law as works that are not restricted by copyright and do not require a license or fee to use. Public domain status allows the user unrestricted access and unlimited creativity. Publ

What is the key to capturing good quality audio? Is it about having the right equipment? Or is it about closely controlling your environment, and eliminating all those annoying background buzzing noises? Mark Ulano has worked on more than 120 films in a career spanning 40 years. In 1997 he won an A

People are creatures of habit, and just like with any other task we can develop routines that throw some best practices into the wind. We have broken up this article in sections that outline the typical audio production workflow to help you steer clear of the common pitfalls in each phase. Recording

Depending on your point of view, I’ve either been lucky enough to travel and live in a lot of different places, or I’ve had to deal with the inconvenience of moving — a lot! Since I’ve always been involved with some form of media — be it music or video — I’v

When working on a tight budget web series, or a low budget film, there is no money — or time — to re-record audio. You have to get it right the first time, in the field. This article will help you overcome noisy obstacles and capture high quality audio on location. According to Randy Thom, Sound Des

Choosing your recording space is the place to start. If your acoustics are lacking, then everything down the line will suffer. A good microphone in a bad room is just that; you will have a great recording of a terrible space and a wasted opportunity. Video Projects You can choose one: a controlled i

Natural sounds, or nats, are the ambient sounds that exist in and around the focal points of your recording. Grasping the subtleties and importance of nats is a key component to bringing out the best in your audio and potentially getting yourself out of some tricky situations. Nats for Sync Clapboar

We’re going to keep the tech level low here because we’d rather take the time to explain how to use them and make you familiar enough that you are comfortable with them. However, we highly recommend that you do some background research on your own. Radio and transmission technology is tr

In a nutshell The final soundtrack breaks down into four parts: dialog, sound effects, music and ambient background noiseKeeping sound elements on multiple tracks helps you pay attention to all the necessary sound design aspectsBalance should be thought of first and foremost when mixing In da

The sections below reflect a reasonable set of expectations for a postproduction environment. Metering Since most of us work with digital systems, we will use them as a reference point. DAWs use dB FS as their metering scale. You should try to keep your mix between -12 and -9 dB FS, that way there i

What is delay? In its most literal definition delay is just what it implies, slowing down a signal so it arrives later than the original. Early analogue delays used tape to store the signal, with later units using analogue circuits, and finally digital units where the signal is stored in RAM. In th