ADR dialog looping Ambience matching

The last couple of day's I have been doing the audio post on this film which required some ADR work and ambience matching.  Some of it came together pretty easy, but there were a few dialog lines that were done in a big living room space with lots of glass windows.  It was real hard to get the same ambient sound with my reverb devices in the studio. I had to match the lines of the living room location dialog with the ADR replaced dialog.  If you can,  sometimes it faster to go back to the location and re-record that ADR.

Walter Murch explains the concept of ‘worldizing’. This involves re-recording sounds in a real location to add the acoustic characteristics of the environment to the original sound.

On Set Production Sound tips

Getting good quality sound on-set can sometimes feel like an impossibility, especially on lower budget productions. While the sound mixer can often go underappreciated on many of these productions, their job, if done correctly, is right up there with the 1st AC (or focus-puller). If your movie is not in focus it’s going to distract the audience, and at the same time, bad audio will be even more distracting.

 Nicholas Allen, who is the sound mixer on NBC’s Parenthood and is one of the best out there now, put out this cool video. check it out!


Binary Recording Studio a Audio / Video Production Company in Bellingham Wa.

"Spotting" A Locked film Cut for Audio Post

What is the locked cut ? 

In short, the final version of the finished film. Although it may receive a small edit here or there in the next few weeks, the film is essentially "locked" into this form.   

What happens once the cut is locked ?  

Audio Post begins now in earnest. Once the cut has been locked, the film can be spotted for the placement of sound effects and music. The Sound Editor, the Director and possibly the Composer will gather at one or more spotting sessions to determine the film's audio post needs. "Spotting for music" is the process of viewing the locked cut and deciding where the music score will be, and where the source music will be needed. "Spotting for sound" is the process of determining:  

• if and where any dialogue problems may exist, so that ADR can be cued to be recorded

• where sound effects are needed and what kind 

• what Foley effects will be needed in the film, and where 

• If Sound design (the creation of special sound effects), will also be needed.

After the spotting cues are determined the audio post progress begins.

In the next weeks the sound editors will locate and synchronize all of the sound effects needed in the film. 

I will be getting into more elements of post audio in the next postings on this blog.

Adobe Media Encoder or Apple Compressor H.264

You have just put together this beautiful looking high rez film and now you have to compress it down for streaming content or DVD.   I have spent alot of time trying different compression methods  so that my footage will be represented the way I see it in my editor.  I started reading Jan Ozer's post on what he has learned.

Link:

Tutorial: H.264 Encoding in Apple Compressor and Adobe Media Encoder

Why do films entertain us?

To be entertained a good film has to engage us and this is done with how well the film maker can bring us into their visual creation. How well they use the tools of film making determines their success.

Being provided with amusement or enjoyment is entertainment for us. We are entertained by film in many ways and not always the same way for each person. That is why we have different genres of film to enjoy.

We do alot of post production for independent film artist. I have seen many films that come in that are technically great but don't provide the entertaining discovery of a story.  This can be as simple as the sound effects are great, but are used in a way that is so predictable that they don't lend to the movement of the mood or story.

In my opinion a good film should be a journey.

Don’t hit them over the head with the effects, sound and a story that is so layed out that there no engagement from the viewer.  Let your audience discover as they watch, created some curiosity that promotes interest.

Here is a quote from independent French director and musician Woodkid’s (aka Yoann Lemoine) approach to music videos. 

“I create these stories with missing pieces. Missing pieces are very interesting because then people wanna fill them. People are afraid of emptiness and they wanna fill those gaps…. That’s exactly what I want to do with my art. I want people to think about what they see and wonder if what they see is real. If what they see has a meaning.”

Here is one of his video's with 24 million views!

Woodkid - Iron from WOODKID on Vimeo.

Camera Dolly System for DSLR, $300 dollars?

When you need more then a slider to get your shot this looks like a good alternative.

No Entry Fee Film Festivals

I support film festivals charging to submit your film. Why?  I have been involved in running a film festival and they cost money to put on, there is no way around it.  But if you have spent all your money on making the film and you want to get it out there, here are some that can get you started. This is a valuable resource for film makers!   http://noentryfeefestivals.com/