A frankenbite is a slang term used typically in reality television. It’s when a picture editor assembles together dialog from multiple sources or interviews to make someone say something they didn’t actually say. While that sounds bad (or potentially unethical), you have to consider that sometimes picture editors have hundreds or even thousands of hours … Read More
If you are delivering an audio edit to a mixer, the process is fairly simple. Save session as a new file name (for your own reference, so using the same naming convention with “delivery” at the end) Delete Unnecessary Tracks Do a Save Session Copy Get copy to the mixer The goal of this process … Read More
In the music world, the “Loudness Wars” have been a topic of discussion for decades. Even Wikipedia has a page about it! Over time, music has become increasingly loud but critics say it decreases fidelity and enjoyment for the listener. Good mastering can tighten up a mix and make a song pop but bad mastering … Read More
If you’re a filmmaker or producer looking to get an estimate for post-production sound, there’s a number of questions you’ll need to be prepared to answer. (If you’re a sound person, these questions will help you put together a better estimate.) What’s the Schedule/Timeline? What’s the project about? Some genres generally take more work than … Read More
If you’re here, you’ve probably seen this dreaded error message in your Session Notes: “Pro Tools does not support import of aaf/omf references to multi-channel audio files.” So, what does it mean? AAF and OMF are file formats that exist to move media (like audio files) from one software to another. It’s a way to … Read More
Hiring/Bids When should I get a bid for post-production sound on my project? Either while you’re in editorial or after you’ve locked picture. Anyone giving you a fair bid will want to see some footage and get a sense for sound coverage and quality. Sound shouldn’t start working til picture is locked (unless there’s a … Read More
In 2015 I worked on the score for Great Human Odyssey, an Emmy-nominated documentary series about the origins of humans and how we have survived climate change. The filmmaker, Niobe Thompson, put together a fantastic short about the process of recording the score with composer Darren Fung. (My cameo is around 3 minutes.) Why full … Read More
Audio is important throughout the filmmaking process. If you can catch and solve audio issues before you get to post, it means we (the post sound crew) can spend our time and your budget making your project sound badass in other ways. Technical problems can eat up the budget and take time away from things like … Read More
If you’re looking to build a career in post-production sound (sound for picture like television, film, web) there’s two primary routes: Work for yourself Work for a facility that specializes in post-production sound There’s advantages and disadvantages to both. If you don’t have a lot of experience, working for yourself could mean high competition for … Read More
We covered why you might want to work for a studio in Different Jobs at a Post-Production Sound Studio. Now we’re going to talk about how to land a studio job. 1. Get a recommendation from a connection A lot of studios do not post job listings online and hire by word of mouth instead. Sometimes … Read More