completely re-doing sound in post

dory_breaux

dory_breaux

Todd Wannabe
Hello all,

Basically, I am recreating the sound for my entire film in post. Everything. Dialog, ambiance, scene interaction... everything. This is largely due to the fact that I haven't any audio gear nor the crew to run it. What I am wondering is, has anyone here done this before? if so, how did you do it? It seems like simply adding sounds into the track where an event happens isn't enough, like there should be some sort of ambient sound that keeps it from being dead.

Any tips would be great, if it isnt too much trouble.

Thanks,
Dory
 
It sucks.

Obviously people who know what they are talking about will chime in but what I do is start with everything but dialog. I do all the ambiance first, then all my sfx and folly, then I bring dialog in and then music.
 
I'm afraid that you're in for a rather uphill climb, Dory. Rebuilding an entire track in post-production requires a great deal more resources than recording the production sound would.

If you're entirely comitted to this course of action, then you should start by assessing the damage. Is any of the production sound salvageable as dialogue or production foley/effects? Do you at least have useable guide audio?

Once you determine exactly what needs to be covered, you're going to need a small army of sound editors, mixers and recordists working in parallel (or one or two dedicated folks with a great deal of time on their hands).

To avoid duplication of effort, plan out in advance what will be covered by effects, and what will be covered by foley. Meanwhile, detailed ADR notes will save time on that end of things.
 
well yes, some of the sound will be salvageable, and it will all be used as referance.


thanks for your advice!
 
Ditto.

Recreating dialog in post is a process to salvage mistakes in production not a plan to skimp on production. It will cost you much more time and money in post to fix what could have been done much simpilier during production.

You will still need to get the right equipment, including studio, that done cheaply will still cost more then a modest sound kit. Depending on how dialog heavy, a professional woud take several weeks, even over a month, working 8 hour days to just ADR the dialog. That is time with the director and actors by his side.

After that you are still looking at 10 to 20 man hours a minute to finish out your tracks.

Jay Rose and Tomlinson Holman have good beginner books covering post production. Start there. Shoot a minute scene and finish to perfection (from ADR to final mix). Then decide if you want to re-do that 90 more times.

Good luck
 
You haven't shot this film yet?

Don't do ADR unless you have to.

It would probably be easier to re-shoot your film with a proper sound person and call the first one a rehearsal. Seriously.
 
Simply put: if you do not have the equipment/expertise/crew/budget to record satisfactory production sound, then I can guarantee you that you do not have the equipment/expertise/crew/budget to "fix it in post."

Mike's just given you some very valuable advice: if you've already shot footage, chalk it up to a taped rehearsal. Unless you're facing some pretty costly up-front production expenses (high-profile actors, elaborate set-design, pyrotechnics, motion-control camera rigs, cranes, wind machines, blue-screen stages, etc.), the cost of full ADR and foley coverage will dwarf the cost of a re-shoot.

Before you even consider doing all the post-fixin' yourself, stop right there. It takes a good two or three years for most sound editors to become proficient with their craft, and much longer to become really good. In most cases, it also requires the same types of microphones used for production sound, in addition to heaps of much more specialized gear.

So, to answer you're original question: yes, other filmmakers have opted to replace their entire sound-track in post-production. Moreover, its entirely possible to do so in a way that will leave you with an outstanding mix. All it really takes is a great deal of labour by very experienced professionals. Although there are many veteren sound editors who will occasionally work on low/no-budget films at significantly reduced rates, they almost always avoid films with unuseable production sound.
 
Ditto above. You are close to the BayArea and it is loaded with under employed sound people and loads of schools with equipment. Put out an ad and get someone. ANYTHING you can do while shooting will help a LOT in post. I have done many low to no budget films but I would step away from a project that the director wanted me to ADR the whole thing, unless of course they had the $$$ to pay for it.
Now there is one big exception and that is if you don't care about sync. If your redoing What's up Pussycat well then ADR is the way to go and it won't be the nightmare described. BUT is your expecting the audience to believe that the line actually were spoken by the actors while shooting your in for a very bad time.
 
Ditto what everyone else said and more. Don't forget that ADR also means that you not only have to get your actors back after you've cut the thing, they then have to be good enough to recreate their performances in a studio environment. Not easy.

As many know, I work on both sides of the camera (check out my new demo reels at http://www.philtalsky.com) and have done ADR several times in many different conditions and it is NOT easy. One time I actually re-recorded another actors dialog completely (director loved his look, hated his performance.) I will repeat, this is not an easy process for the most experienced folks, let alone someone with less or no experience.

As Scott said, you're close to the bay area - there are lots of hungry sound folks here (and even some that aren't so hungry and will often help out on projects with little or no budget...).

Phil
 
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