Sound Design for Low & No Budget Films

Sound Design for Low & No Budget Films

by Patrick Winters
Released January 2017
Publisher(s): Routledge
ISBN: 9781317557920

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Book description

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.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Preface
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. CHAPTER 1 Introduction
    1. a. Purpose
    2. b. Sound Definition
    3. c. Sound's Abilities
    4. d. Sound Supervisor
    5. e. Contracts, Agreements and Licenses
  9. CHAPTER 2 Location Sound: How Was That for Sound?
    1. a. Common Mistakes
    2. b. Single System
    3. c. Double System
    4. d. Timecode
    5. e. Slate
    6. f. Smart Slate
    7. g. Boom and Lavaliere
    8. h. Wired and Wireless
    9. i. Wide Shots and Close-Ups
    10. j. Two-Plus Camera Set-Up
    11. k. Exercise
    12. l. Sample Sound Report Form
  10. CHAPTER 3 Sound Design
    1. a. Defined
    2. b. Introduction
    3. c. Movie Examples
    4. d. Recording
    5. e. Creating
    6. f. Editing and Processing
    7. g. Mixing
    8. h. Exercises
  11. CHAPTER 4 Dialogue Editing: It's Work, Not Magic
    1. a. Introduction
    2. b. Picture Lock
    3. c. Collecting Materials
    4. d. File Management
    5. e. The Process
    6. f. Cleaning
    7. g. Smoothing
    8. h. Editing
    9. i. Splitting Tracks
    10. j. Room Tone
    11. k. Fixing Issues
    12. l. Processing
    13. m. Exercise
  12. CHAPTER 5 ADR: What Did They Say?
    1. a. Introduction
    2. b. Spotting
    3. c. Microphones
    4. d. Working with Actors
    5. e. Production ADR Recording
    6. f. Post-Production ADR Recording
    7. g. Editing
    8. h. Exercise
    9. i. ADR Cue Sheet Form
  13. CHAPTER 6 Walla/Group/Loop Group/Group ADR/Rhubarb: Why Can't I Hear Them?
    1. a. Introduction
    2. b. Group Leaders
    3. c. Research and Scripting
    4. d. Walla
    5. e. Specifics
    6. f. Callouts
    7. g. Efforts
    8. h. Screams
    9. i. Performing
    10. j. Recording
    11. k. Editing
    12. l. Resources
    13. m. Exercise
  14. CHAPTER 7 Narration: It Isn't Dialogue
    1. a. Introduction
    2. b. Purposes
    3. c. Pre-Production
    4. d. Recording
    5. e. Editing
    6. f. Processing
    7. g. Exercise
  15. CHAPTER 8 Sound Effects: Creating Reality
    1. a. Sound Effect Functions
    2. b. Types of Sound Effects
    3. c. The Grey Area (Foley and Sound Effects)
    4. d. Production Sound Effects
    5. e. Location Sound Effects
    6. f. Custom-Recorded Sound Effects
    7. g. Foley Sound Effects
    8. h. Library Sound Effects
    9. i. Spotting
    10. j. Creating
    11. k. Recording
    12. l. Editing
    13. m. Processing
    14. n. Exercise
  16. CHAPTER 9 Foley: Who or What is Foley?
    1. a. Foley History
    2. b. Overview
    3. c. Spotting and Cueing
    4. d. Synchronized Recording
    5. e. Microphones
    6. f. Performance
    7. g. Moves or Cloth
    8. h. Specifics or Props
    9. i. Pats and Grabs
    10. j. Footsteps
    11. k. Libraries
    12. l. Editing
    13. m. Sound Effect Resources
    14. n. Exercise
  17. CHAPTER 10 Backgrounds: What's an Ambience, Atmosphere or Background?
    1. a. Introduction
    2. b. Spotting
    3. c. Production Sound
    4. d. Room Tone
    5. e. Recording
    6. f. Library
    7. g. Editing
    8. h. Layering
    9. i. Processing
    10. j. Exercise
  18. CHAPTER 11 Musical Score: In the Mood?
    1. a. Introduction
    2. b. Making Notes
    3. c. Spotting Session
    4. d. Cues
    5. e. Hits or Hit Points
    6. f. Tempo Map
    7. g. Click Tracks and Guide Tracks
    8. h. Temp Scores
    9. i. Music Software
    10. j. Scoring
    11. k. Theme and Motif
    12. l. Titles, Montage and Credits
    13. m. Composing, Arranging, Orchestrating and Instrumentation
    14. n. Mock-Ups
    15. o. Recording Performance (Tracking)
    16. p. Digital Music
    17. q. GarageBand
    18. r. Song Score, Pop Music and Source Music
    19. s. Cue Packages
    20. t. Bands
    21. u. Musicals
    22. v. Library Music: Hard Drives, CDs and Downloads
    23. w. Editing
    24. x. Stems
    25. y. Mixing
    26. z. Deliverables
    27. aa. Exercise
  19. CHAPTER 12 Mixing Myself Preparation
    1. a. Introduction
    2. b. Preparing Your Mixing Room
    3. c. Reference Levels
    4. d. Room Monitor Calibration
    5. e. NLE or DAW
    6. f. Mixing In-the-Box by Myself
    7. g. Session Set-Up
    8. h. Stereo, LCR or Surround?
  20. CHAPTER 13 Premixing or Predubbing and DSP
    1. a. Introduction
    2. b. Mix Preparation
    3. c. Track Layout
    4. d. Virtual Mixing
    5. e. Mix Tools
    6. f. Levels
    7. g. Gain Staging
    8. h. Fades
    9. i. Panning
    10. j. Constant Gain or Constant Power
    11. k. Equalization
    12. l. Compression
    13. m. Normalizing
    14. n. Noise Gate
    15. o. Expansion
    16. p. Exciter
    17. q. De-Esser
    18. r. Noise Reduction
    19. s. Reverberation and Delays
    20. t. De-Verberation
    21. u. Effects and Filters
    22. v. Limiter
    23. w. Premixing
    24. x. Buses, Auxes, Sends and Returns
    25. y. VCA Faders
    26. z. Master Fader
    27. aa. Metering
    28. bb. 2-Pops and Tail Pops
    29. cc. Dialogue and ADR Premix
    30. dd. Foley Premix
    31. ee. Sound Effects Premix
    32. ff. Design Effects Premix
    33. gg. Backgrounds Premix
    34. hh. Music Premix
    35. ii. Temp Mix
  21. CHAPTER 14 Mixing Myself
    1. a. Introduction
    2. b. Set-Up
    3. c. Getting Started
    4. d. Dialogue First
    5. e. ADR
    6. f. Sound Effects
    7. g. Ambiences
    8. h. Foley
    9. i. Music
    10. j. DME, Stems and M&E
    11. k. Master Output
    12. l. Quick and Dirty Mix
  22. CHAPTER 15 Studio Mix
    1. a. Introduction
    2. b. Mixer Interview
    3. c. Mix Preparation
    4. d. Premixes
    5. e. Stems
    6. f. Mixing
    7. g. Run Through
    8. h. Dialogue Mixing
    9. i. Sound Effects Mixing
    10. j. Foley Mixing
    11. k. Backgrounds Mixing
    12. l. Music Mixing
  23. CHAPTER 16 Deliverables
    1. a. Introduction
    2. b. Film
    3. c. DCP
    4. d. DVD/Blu-ray
    5. e. Streaming
    6. f. Broadcast Television
    7. g. Marketing
    8. h. Archiving
  24. CHAPTER 17 Summary
    1. a. Clean Production Sound
    2. b. Creating Sound Design
    3. c. Mixing
    4. d. Conclusion
    5. e. Internet Resources
  25. Glossary
  26. Bibliography
  27. Index

Product information

  • Title: Sound Design for Low & No Budget Films
  • Author(s): Patrick Winters
  • Release date: January 2017
  • Publisher(s): Routledge
  • ISBN: 9781317557920