Post Production Audio

ollywood88

ollywood88

Well-known member
Hi All,

Keen to hear about people's post-production Audio process.

I have access to Audition. I shoot a lot of talking heads.

Any tips or checklist would be great.

Thanks
 
Most audio post can be split into sections.

1: Dialogue ( location and added ADR or narration)
2: Effects ( location and added in mono and stereo including Foley if required.
3: Music (generally added as a music score or as required to edit picture sequences or as actuality as a sound effect E.G a radio on a drama)

If you edit and build up you sound scape following the above you will be able to then balance each of those elements out to give you a final mix.

I personally now track-lay and build up audio tracks in my edit software which is final cut pro.

1: I edit the dialogue and add sound in mono to ensure a constant sound track for the mono location so that the background is consistent and does not change, this can be done over several tracks and can be arranged for each scene or actor if it is a drama.

2: I then edit and add stereo and mono sound effects to enhance and add to the location sound including mono spot sound effects such as doors or any noises off camera that add to the storyline. This could include sound effects to enhance or replace location sounds or enhance visuals such as footsteps etc.

3: I add music or any other score that may be required and once again this may be laid up over several tracks or on a track that may need special effects to make it sound like a radio on set or a TV etc.

I personally then export all my audio tracks via OMF which allows importing to the timeline into pro tools which I prefer for mixing and doing final audio delivery.

I then mix a few different levels of mixing starting with the dialogue and then add sound effects and music to create the final soundscape. This will also involve some audio grouping or busing to provide individual stereo mixes as follows.

1: Dialogue
2: Effects
3: Music
4 Stereo mix ( sum of 1,2+3)
5: Stereo M&E mix ( music and effects = sum of 2+3)

Basically that is it and around 36 years experience and if you wish to do 5.1 or surround it is the same principles.

Of course you don't have to do all of those split mixes but if you think as sound as a multi channel process and layered up in tracks and various elements you can paint a picture in sound to mach your visuals which tend to be more a single linear track. The balancing and final mix is akin to picture grading as you add or subtract elements to create your final product!
 
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I prefer to receive OMF files when I'm hired for post. unfortunately FCP-x no longer has that export option. AAF is possible with some other NLEs, but there are problems more times than not. AATranslator is highly recommend to use for importing to Audition, and works well with many other DAW/NLEs and formats as well. One does need a few sets of reference speakers and a properly appointed (acoustically) room. For broadcast work, EBU R128 and/or ATSC A/85 LUFS compliment meters are essential. Even for non-b'cast, the loudness recommendation is LUFS. No accurate way to convert to/from dBFS or RMS, among others.
I use Vegas Pro (a formidable DAW, despite being marketed as a video editor) and 'SloTools' when I have too.
OT and FWIW; Magix, a German company, just bought the SCS (Sony Creative Software) line, so we will see where that goes.
 
Being one who has bitched and moaned over that FCPx feature dump I have found out that there is a plugin that will export OMF or AAF (can't remember which) and it's like $50. So there isn't a good reason why anyone serious about editing can't give you a proper export for sound post.
 
RE: OP

Your doing mostly talking heads so a lot of normal sound post is not going to be in your workflow.

Even on narrative films I start with the dialog. I would much rather be doing FX but...
How much you polish the dialog depends on what you are going for. In general I remove lip smacks and other "noises", reduce breaths if they are too loud. You don't want to remove them or your audience will get uncomfortable. We kind of know how long you can talk before you need a breath and if you remove them all everyone gets on edge waiting for the breath.

I will sometimes run noise reduction if there is AC or something in the BG.
I will often EQ the track. With talking heads it's often a subtractive action. A lot of times I get tracks that have resonant frequencies. If you take a very sharp band pas filter at max gain and sweep it I often find some places in the middle that peak out. If you then notch those down a bit you can often clear a lot of mud out of the track.

I will fill any holes in the track with room tone, on a low budget narrative I generally don't do this because I will be adding backgrounds and often it ends up unnecessary.

There is a sticky on sound post HERE That has a lot of detail.
 
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