CRAFT AUDIO


PRODUCTION/POST


of sound


main briefing before the tracklay starts. There will be a spotting session that entails the sound editor and director sitting and going through the film, with the director giving notes on their vision of the film. During the tracklay process the director may ask for rough mixes so they can monitor progress. In the past we wouldn’t get as involved in the edit, we would wait until the picture was locked. What generally happens now is that throughout the editing process we’ll supply sound effects to make the picture edit work.


The process for sound in natural history is exactly the same as drama, only you don’t have the dialogue. You’re given pictures for which you have to create a landscape or a feel, highlighting action. We’re trying to create a naturalistic and as accurate a soundscape as possible through mono sound effects and stereo atmospheres, which includes everything from thunder cracks to lion roars. We’ll also have two days, or more depending on the complexity of the show, for Foley to fill in those bits I can’t cover with


sound effects. After that it gets pre- mixed before being finaled with music and narration.


When we get to picture lock, we’ll spend half a day or so going through the film. Some things are obvious and I’ll know what to put in but sometimes the director will want a particular feeling or there’s a sequence that needs a lot of big sound impact, which I can concentrate on. There are elements that need a certain amount of creativity. For straight natural history you’re not making it up but a lot of the films have graphics and need graphic sound effects. How does the director want those to sound and are they backing up the music or are we creating everything? There are also lots of conversations about that and if there is a general feel to the film.


Most of what I work on now is mixed in Dolby Atmos. We at least start with pre-mixing in Atmos and there’ll be an Atmos final mix, either for cinema or home. There are secondary mixes after that to make a 5.1 and a stereo for various other


outlets. We tend to tracklay for the biggest and it’s mixed for the biggest - Dolby Atmos. It’s not always for cinema but definitely for home Atmos. When you definitely know it’s going to be a theatrical release, you’re very aware it can be bigger and you can have atmospheres going around the top and moved around more. The best thing about Atmos is that everything can be heard. It’s really good for allowing the music to do what it does, as well as hearing all the atmospheres and sound effects. The main thing with Atmos is not to get gimmicky and send sound flying around the room, which can be distracting but can also work if the picture demands it.


Autumn 2022 televisual.com 55


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