I keep watching tutorials on it and reading it, but I cannot find out how to record Foley dry. Every tutorial the person is always recording in a room without blankets or carpet. So how do they get it to match the room in their movie, if there is reverb attached to it from another room. And why don't any tutorials seem to go into this that I can find? For example, I saw a tutorial where they went to a shooting range to record gunshots, but the range was not covered in blankets or carpet or anything, so how do they expect to make the gun sound like it's in the room of the movie, if they recorded it with all that reverb? Thanks.
Question about doing Foley.
- Thread starter ironpony
- Start date
What tutorials have you been watching?
Real Foley studios generally have treated walls (no need for blankets etc), and some have different rooms or different portions of a larger room made to resemble certain types of environments, so it's not always recorded dry. you can also control how much room you want by how close the mic is placed.
Regarding gun shots, they are so loud that I suspect treating the area won't do much. I also find it hard to make outside shots "fit" in a room sometimes - I mostly use a short piece at the start and then add my own reverb. maybe someone else has some tips to share.
Real Foley studios generally have treated walls (no need for blankets etc), and some have different rooms or different portions of a larger room made to resemble certain types of environments, so it's not always recorded dry. you can also control how much room you want by how close the mic is placed.
Regarding gun shots, they are so loud that I suspect treating the area won't do much. I also find it hard to make outside shots "fit" in a room sometimes - I mostly use a short piece at the start and then add my own reverb. maybe someone else has some tips to share.
If they went to a firing range to record gun shots, it isn't Foley. It's FX. To be Foley, it is recorded as a performance synced to playback of the film so that the Foley artist can match the moves in the picture. As a side note, the best place to record gun shots is the Salt Flats, since it has such a vast and flat landscape that does not create any echo or other reflections. That allows for a very dry recording that can be matched to just about anything.
As for a Foley stage, there are several things that can be done to make a home studio much more friendly for recording. Basic acoustic treatment for absorption and diffusion will get you in a good starting place, including acoustic panels on the walls and bass traps in the corners. It's not uncommon to see lots of overstuffed furniture and fake plants and lots of stuff on shelves and on the walls, even on professional Foley stages (excellent example HERE). These things break up reflections and also help to absorb. The next most important thing is to get rid of extraneous noise (AC, the fridge, traffic outside).
As for a Foley stage, there are several things that can be done to make a home studio much more friendly for recording. Basic acoustic treatment for absorption and diffusion will get you in a good starting place, including acoustic panels on the walls and bass traps in the corners. It's not uncommon to see lots of overstuffed furniture and fake plants and lots of stuff on shelves and on the walls, even on professional Foley stages (excellent example HERE). These things break up reflections and also help to absorb. The next most important thing is to get rid of extraneous noise (AC, the fridge, traffic outside).
Noiz2
Sound Ninja
Alex covered most of it.
I'm not sure what "tutorials" you have seen, there are only two videos of real Foley that I have seen so you may have been watching "tutorials" by folks who don't know what they are doing. Or possibly "PR" footage of "Foley" where in just a few moments and some magic the whole sound scape is created!
Foley is really interesting if you are doing it or have never seen it before. Other wise it's kind of a snooze ,because it's a lot of time doing little bits that are not in context of the rest of the sound track. It's a little fun because relatively speaking you sort of see this instant feedback, but really not much unless you are part of the project.
Big films go to Foley stages. If you can I recommend it because, if it's your project, it is really fun to watch.
Depending on where you are in the world you may be able to get into a smaller Foley stage. Probably though you either don't have the budget or there just isn't one anywhere close. A combo of FX and Foley done in real spaces can work very well.
In northern CA there is what is sometimes called WIFO (WIld FOley). By definition it is really FX but it's a term for Foley type things that have been recorded wild, but with specific scenes in the film in mind.
An example was in Never Cry Wolf, the snow footsteps were recorded in actual snow in Alaska. It's FX because it was not in sync to picture but they were recorded for very specific sequences and were timed etc to fit and then cut in as Foley. Hence WIFO.
I did Foley for a lot of shorts and some features in my house. I would haul a monitor and mic etc to a room that sounded like the one in the shot and then perform the Foley. It usually would drop in with out needing much else.
For a lot of ads we did we would use a laptop to playback picture and walk the Foley in spaces that were appropriate. That will let you go out doors also.
On our micro Foley stage we had two walls treated with sound blankets covered with egg crate foam. One wall was sliding glass doors and 1/3 of the fourth was the control room window. We could go very dead to medium bright depending on where we set up and open the sliding doors to get a lot of "room" if we needed. There also was a sound blanket that could get rolled down over the glass wall to make the room very dead.
I'm not sure what "tutorials" you have seen, there are only two videos of real Foley that I have seen so you may have been watching "tutorials" by folks who don't know what they are doing. Or possibly "PR" footage of "Foley" where in just a few moments and some magic the whole sound scape is created!
Foley is really interesting if you are doing it or have never seen it before. Other wise it's kind of a snooze ,because it's a lot of time doing little bits that are not in context of the rest of the sound track. It's a little fun because relatively speaking you sort of see this instant feedback, but really not much unless you are part of the project.
Big films go to Foley stages. If you can I recommend it because, if it's your project, it is really fun to watch.
Depending on where you are in the world you may be able to get into a smaller Foley stage. Probably though you either don't have the budget or there just isn't one anywhere close. A combo of FX and Foley done in real spaces can work very well.
In northern CA there is what is sometimes called WIFO (WIld FOley). By definition it is really FX but it's a term for Foley type things that have been recorded wild, but with specific scenes in the film in mind.
An example was in Never Cry Wolf, the snow footsteps were recorded in actual snow in Alaska. It's FX because it was not in sync to picture but they were recorded for very specific sequences and were timed etc to fit and then cut in as Foley. Hence WIFO.
I did Foley for a lot of shorts and some features in my house. I would haul a monitor and mic etc to a room that sounded like the one in the shot and then perform the Foley. It usually would drop in with out needing much else.
For a lot of ads we did we would use a laptop to playback picture and walk the Foley in spaces that were appropriate. That will let you go out doors also.
On our micro Foley stage we had two walls treated with sound blankets covered with egg crate foam. One wall was sliding glass doors and 1/3 of the fourth was the control room window. We could go very dead to medium bright depending on where we set up and open the sliding doors to get a lot of "room" if we needed. There also was a sound blanket that could get rolled down over the glass wall to make the room very dead.
gonzo_entertainment
Veteran
"you can also control how much room you want by how close the mic is placed."
^ Pretty major right there.
^ Pretty major right there.
I think that most of the responses have covered the principals of Foley and the difference between it and sound effects.
When it comes to creating a room for recording Foley, the best thing to do is record in as FLAT of a room as possible. I know a lot of people say to record in a room that has similar tonal characteristics as the locations you filmed in, but I can tell you (as someone with a vast background in audio engineering) that no matter how hard you try, you will never be able to PERFECTLY emulate the tonal qualities of the location you recorded. Sure, you can get close, and sometimes close is all you need, but my best suggestion would be to do as follows:
- Find a room that you can use for all of your post audio recording (ADR, Foley, Sound Effects, WaWas, and etc).
- Spend a little time learning how to treat the room to get it as flat as possible. Not DEAD, but FLAT...there is a difference. Basic acoustic treatment kits from Amazon or Guitar Center will be adequate if placed properly. Also, suggestions for furniture, plants, and other objects are great additions.
- Purchase quality microphones and learn the difference between them and their uses and applications.
- Purchase a quality Impulse Response based Reverb Plugin for your DAW of choice. Altiverb is one of my favorites, but McDSP and Waves also make quality IR Reverbs. Impulse responses are essentially recordings of the natural reverb of a room or space. Most IR Reverbs come with tons of presets of various types of rooms and spaces, however, they all give you the capability to record and load your own impulse responses.
- Google the steps to recording your own custom Impulse Responses and loading them into whichever plugin you have chosen.
- When on location shooting your film, have your audio recordist setup and record impulse responses either before or after you shoot each scene. Essentially, you have now recorded the natural reverb of your scene.
- Once in post, record your Foley or sound effects as flat as possible. Now, you can apply your IR Reverb and load up your custom Impulse Responses that correlates with each particular scene and location.
The end result, if done correctly, you should have Foley and Sound Effect tracks with reverbs that near perfectly match your locations and location audio. Furthermore, you will be able to individually adjust the reverb parameters, such as length, decay, and amount. So, you can fine tune each audio file and sound to sit perfectly in your mix. Also, if you end up having to record ADR or Voice Dubs to your film, you wont have to worry about them feeling off.
Yes, this is a much more involved process, however, this is the only method to give you the most accurate end-result. You'll be amazed after the first time you mix the audio for a scene using accurate impulse responses from location. Everything seems to just fall into place in your mixes a million times better.
Hope that helps!
When it comes to creating a room for recording Foley, the best thing to do is record in as FLAT of a room as possible. I know a lot of people say to record in a room that has similar tonal characteristics as the locations you filmed in, but I can tell you (as someone with a vast background in audio engineering) that no matter how hard you try, you will never be able to PERFECTLY emulate the tonal qualities of the location you recorded. Sure, you can get close, and sometimes close is all you need, but my best suggestion would be to do as follows:
- Find a room that you can use for all of your post audio recording (ADR, Foley, Sound Effects, WaWas, and etc).
- Spend a little time learning how to treat the room to get it as flat as possible. Not DEAD, but FLAT...there is a difference. Basic acoustic treatment kits from Amazon or Guitar Center will be adequate if placed properly. Also, suggestions for furniture, plants, and other objects are great additions.
- Purchase quality microphones and learn the difference between them and their uses and applications.
- Purchase a quality Impulse Response based Reverb Plugin for your DAW of choice. Altiverb is one of my favorites, but McDSP and Waves also make quality IR Reverbs. Impulse responses are essentially recordings of the natural reverb of a room or space. Most IR Reverbs come with tons of presets of various types of rooms and spaces, however, they all give you the capability to record and load your own impulse responses.
- Google the steps to recording your own custom Impulse Responses and loading them into whichever plugin you have chosen.
- When on location shooting your film, have your audio recordist setup and record impulse responses either before or after you shoot each scene. Essentially, you have now recorded the natural reverb of your scene.
- Once in post, record your Foley or sound effects as flat as possible. Now, you can apply your IR Reverb and load up your custom Impulse Responses that correlates with each particular scene and location.
The end result, if done correctly, you should have Foley and Sound Effect tracks with reverbs that near perfectly match your locations and location audio. Furthermore, you will be able to individually adjust the reverb parameters, such as length, decay, and amount. So, you can fine tune each audio file and sound to sit perfectly in your mix. Also, if you end up having to record ADR or Voice Dubs to your film, you wont have to worry about them feeling off.
Yes, this is a much more involved process, however, this is the only method to give you the most accurate end-result. You'll be amazed after the first time you mix the audio for a scene using accurate impulse responses from location. Everything seems to just fall into place in your mixes a million times better.
Hope that helps!
Also...I should note that when filming on location in places such as house or apartments, city streets, forests, by the ocean or water, restaurants or bars, inside of a running car, and etc etc...
Make sure your set is cleared of people, and is as quiet as possible, then have your audio recordist record for about 5 minutes. This is called an Ambience track. What this is, is the natural sound of the environment without your actors in it. Post audio mixers use Ambience tracks to help take some of the sterility out of your mix, and make it feel more natural.
For instance, if you're in an interior, such as a kitchen, your ambience track will not only pick up the tone of the room, but also things like the humming of a refrigerator, or other appliances. If you're in the woods, for example, you might get the light sound of wind blowing, trees restling and creaking, and maybe the dribble from a nearby stream. Of course, your primary vocal boom track will record these sounds and tones too, but critical EQ'ing and compression when mixing your vocals can drastically alter your natural background sounds and ambiences, leaving your scene feeling un-natural.
Also, you can record natural background noises from traffic on city streets, birds chirping and barking dogs from an open window, or the rumbling of an engine and vibration of the tires from a moving car, and etc.
I'm sure you probably know all of this and it seems like common sense, but I just figured I would post it following my last comment for those beginners out there who might be reading this thread.
Make sure your set is cleared of people, and is as quiet as possible, then have your audio recordist record for about 5 minutes. This is called an Ambience track. What this is, is the natural sound of the environment without your actors in it. Post audio mixers use Ambience tracks to help take some of the sterility out of your mix, and make it feel more natural.
For instance, if you're in an interior, such as a kitchen, your ambience track will not only pick up the tone of the room, but also things like the humming of a refrigerator, or other appliances. If you're in the woods, for example, you might get the light sound of wind blowing, trees restling and creaking, and maybe the dribble from a nearby stream. Of course, your primary vocal boom track will record these sounds and tones too, but critical EQ'ing and compression when mixing your vocals can drastically alter your natural background sounds and ambiences, leaving your scene feeling un-natural.
Also, you can record natural background noises from traffic on city streets, birds chirping and barking dogs from an open window, or the rumbling of an engine and vibration of the tires from a moving car, and etc.
I'm sure you probably know all of this and it seems like common sense, but I just figured I would post it following my last comment for those beginners out there who might be reading this thread.
one more thing what they do with Foley is, they put one mic close, and one mic far away . That "far-away-mic" is to record the "reverbs" itself and to give the "close and far" feeling.
For example: guy is walking far (mic far is open, mic close a little bit), when the guy comes closer, the close mic opens more so you have a "he's getting closer" effect.
Well at least they do it in Belgium...and not everywhere...
But it's "live" mixed... one track as in "this is it".
For example: guy is walking far (mic far is open, mic close a little bit), when the guy comes closer, the close mic opens more so you have a "he's getting closer" effect.
Well at least they do it in Belgium...and not everywhere...
But it's "live" mixed... one track as in "this is it".
Okay thanks. Some if it helps but I don't know anything IR plugins. I am actually not very experienced at post effects and have done all my recordings on location, in order to save on post work in the past. The last location I just didn't have enough time on though, and cannot get it back. I want to get the Foley done in two weeks if that's the possible to meet a deadline, but have never done it before. I always did location recordings, but if i can somehow get it done in two weeks that would be nice. I probably cannot, but also won't be able to hire anyone within that time either. In two weeks some people I met want to see a short film I did, which would probably help a lot to make a good impression. It would be easier to find a room with simular acoustics. When I edit audio, if the acoustics in a room are similar personally I cannot tell the difference, but can tell if they are not.
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Noiz2
Sound Ninja
Part of the conflicting advice is based on peoples work flows. If you are going with very few tracks of sound then something like an ambience track might be a help. If you are working in a more big feature way with lots of tracks the post folks are creating the ambience so that ambience track will never get used.
Room tone is a different thing. Certainly you are not going to be picking up refrigerator hum on your set or somebody needs their pee pee slapped.
In your case I would not try to deal with impulse responses. But then again my general recommendation is to hire somebody who knows what they are doing.
IF you are not doing full backgrounds, well maybe you will hear some difference with shooting it in a room as opposed to on a stage. I don't know I don't work that way. I was trained on major features and one is constantly using sounds that are neither from the space nor made in an acoustically flat location. It is almost never a problem and if it is you use something else. By the time you build up the tracks and go through the mix it all fits in.
I would agree that in general you want a flat or neutral room not a dead one. But that is why you want to be able to change responses because sometimes you DO want a dead room.
Also even major films have shot or tried to shoot Foley in the right space. When it hasn't worked it's been for logistic reasons not because it sounded wrong. Since it is part of the sonic world you are creating it pretty much can't sound wrong. Of course IF you are not creating the sonic world then you have to match the world you did the production in. But then you also just lost an opportunity to greatly enhance your film by taking control of your sound world.
Anyway the point is don't be afraid to Foley in a sound alike location. If you don't have a serious sound stage to mix on it's going to be work to try and get those sounds with out ambience to fit into your film. Foley and even ADR "on location" is one technique that the big boys use that you can afford to do also.
And do record those ambiences. But record them where the scene takes place in your story, not where you ended up shooting it. THAT is the ambience you want.
Room tone is a different thing. Certainly you are not going to be picking up refrigerator hum on your set or somebody needs their pee pee slapped.
In your case I would not try to deal with impulse responses. But then again my general recommendation is to hire somebody who knows what they are doing.
IF you are not doing full backgrounds, well maybe you will hear some difference with shooting it in a room as opposed to on a stage. I don't know I don't work that way. I was trained on major features and one is constantly using sounds that are neither from the space nor made in an acoustically flat location. It is almost never a problem and if it is you use something else. By the time you build up the tracks and go through the mix it all fits in.
I would agree that in general you want a flat or neutral room not a dead one. But that is why you want to be able to change responses because sometimes you DO want a dead room.
Also even major films have shot or tried to shoot Foley in the right space. When it hasn't worked it's been for logistic reasons not because it sounded wrong. Since it is part of the sonic world you are creating it pretty much can't sound wrong. Of course IF you are not creating the sonic world then you have to match the world you did the production in. But then you also just lost an opportunity to greatly enhance your film by taking control of your sound world.
Anyway the point is don't be afraid to Foley in a sound alike location. If you don't have a serious sound stage to mix on it's going to be work to try and get those sounds with out ambience to fit into your film. Foley and even ADR "on location" is one technique that the big boys use that you can afford to do also.
And do record those ambiences. But record them where the scene takes place in your story, not where you ended up shooting it. THAT is the ambience you want.
David G. Smith
Steak Knife Member
FIVE MINUTES!.... WOW!.
Now, I am a camera dude shooting very low budget and I try to be very sound friendly... but getting five minutes to record room tone and ambiance requires, A: A very sound knowledgeable and friendly director (Good luck with THAT!) and/or, B: Somebody to bl*w the first AD in the grip truck on a regular basis! (THAT, we could arrange!!)
All joking aside, it is very smart to get as much original sound from the actual locations as possible, especially if you are shooting low budget. I haven't done it yet, but I think that doing "Sound takes" where the action and dialogue are recreated on set, just for sound recording, is a good idea.
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@Noiz2
I agree that we all often use sounds and samples that werent recorded in either acoustically treated environments or in environments that dont necessarily match our locations, and of course they can be made to work, and if not, we will find something that does. My advice, however, was for someone who I assumed wasnt working on major features, but a low budget indie.
That being said, most of the time when we are shooting on locations where our time is more than limited. In addition, our budgets are often even more limited than our time. A lot of us can only afford a few hours on a location, or have convinced a friend or business owner to let us use their location for a couple of hours. Generally, we spend that time making sure our lighting is perfect and we get the coverage we need. A lot of times, we dont have the time or ability to spend hours on locations recording ADR and Foley. Sure, sometimes we can make it happen if the situation permits, but I have a feeling for a lot of us, those instances can be few and far in between. That being said, the workflow I suggested only takes a few moments on location to capture impulse responses and ambiences, and will make the process of post a lot easier for whomever is doing the Foley, ADR, Mix, and etc.
Sure, like I said, recording in sound alike locations can be very effective and easy, but there are often instances where we can't find a solid enough locations. I agree that everyone has their own preferred methods of workflow....there are certainly a million ways to solve the same problem, and the one I suggested is one in which a good amount of people swear by, but to each his own. Essentially, there is no right or wrong approach, as long as it fits and sounds right.
I only suggest the IR approach because of its level of consistency, control, and affordability. You can be sure when working with Impulse Responses, that if captured correctly, you can apply them to every track in your mix and have global consistency that should fit perfectly into your scene. Additionally, you will have the ability to control multiple parameters of the effect for fine tuning. Finally, anyone with a simple DAW and a moderately affordable plugin can do it. The cost of purchasing an IR plugin could be equivalent to spending half a day at a location recording ADR and Foley tracks.
You definitely have a valid point, and like I said, everyone has their own methods. Ive always chosen this approach for consistency and to save time and frustration.
I agree that we all often use sounds and samples that werent recorded in either acoustically treated environments or in environments that dont necessarily match our locations, and of course they can be made to work, and if not, we will find something that does. My advice, however, was for someone who I assumed wasnt working on major features, but a low budget indie.
That being said, most of the time when we are shooting on locations where our time is more than limited. In addition, our budgets are often even more limited than our time. A lot of us can only afford a few hours on a location, or have convinced a friend or business owner to let us use their location for a couple of hours. Generally, we spend that time making sure our lighting is perfect and we get the coverage we need. A lot of times, we dont have the time or ability to spend hours on locations recording ADR and Foley. Sure, sometimes we can make it happen if the situation permits, but I have a feeling for a lot of us, those instances can be few and far in between. That being said, the workflow I suggested only takes a few moments on location to capture impulse responses and ambiences, and will make the process of post a lot easier for whomever is doing the Foley, ADR, Mix, and etc.
Sure, like I said, recording in sound alike locations can be very effective and easy, but there are often instances where we can't find a solid enough locations. I agree that everyone has their own preferred methods of workflow....there are certainly a million ways to solve the same problem, and the one I suggested is one in which a good amount of people swear by, but to each his own. Essentially, there is no right or wrong approach, as long as it fits and sounds right.
I only suggest the IR approach because of its level of consistency, control, and affordability. You can be sure when working with Impulse Responses, that if captured correctly, you can apply them to every track in your mix and have global consistency that should fit perfectly into your scene. Additionally, you will have the ability to control multiple parameters of the effect for fine tuning. Finally, anyone with a simple DAW and a moderately affordable plugin can do it. The cost of purchasing an IR plugin could be equivalent to spending half a day at a location recording ADR and Foley tracks.
You definitely have a valid point, and like I said, everyone has their own methods. Ive always chosen this approach for consistency and to save time and frustration.
Noiz2
Sound Ninja
Actually my advice is aimed at the low budget indi production. If you have a big budget you can get into a Foley stage. At upwards of $500 an hour I don't consider going to a real stage a low budget option. You keep using the word "samples" and I don't know any FX cutters that use that except when they are actually talking about sounds in a sampler. I'm wonder ing if your coming from a more music background? Not a negative but it would explain some of our differences in technique.
You should NOT be using the set. The whole point is to create the environment that the film takes place in NOT the one it was shot in. The reason I am not recommending convolution reverbs is because the OP is not an experienced sound person, or he wouldn't have been writing this post, and convolution reverbs are tricky to get right and any reverb is almost impossible to get right, with out a LOT of experience, if you are mixing in a space significantly different from the one where the film will be played. Don't get me wrong I love convolution plugins both for reverb and for creating sounds. But I wouldn't toss them on a newcomer. And again for dialog matching the IR of the set can be useful BUT a film story almost never takes place in the location that the film was shot. The IR you need is from where the STORY takes place not from the set.
I do post for a living. Big films and tiny films, big crews to just me and what I am suggesting is what I do on low budget films. Some high budget films also do Foley, or some of it, in locations. ADR not so much.
Last first, absolutely correct. If it's working for you go for it. And in all honesty it may also work for the OP, I suspect not because you (according to your earlier post) have a lot of experience and he doesn't. Of course I'm also coming from a lot of experience. But I am also coming from a lot of experience helping low budget and new filmmakers. I've seen many approaches to making a film and have a lot of experience with what routes have led new filmmakers down a rough road.
You don't need a bunch of locations and you certainly don't need to go to places you need to pay money for. Most houses probably have enough different rooms to cover just about any interior you need. If your stuck in an apartment well that is much more problematic. The biggest issue is outside sound.
There is more of an argument for ADR where you do want to match the production sound.
There is nothing cheaper than free and that is what you pay to shoot Foley in your own house (or a friends, your mothers etc.).
The "captured correctly" is the first catch. It's not that easy to get a really good IR. The "simple" approach with a starters pistol can get you into a heap of grief if you haven't checked out the local regulations. The less simple approach requires an accurate tone sweep. You need a decent playback system and dead quiet for that to work.
And again you should almost never (in a narrative film) be aiming to sound like the set. And you are still going to be spending the time doing the Foley or ADR. For the convolution approach to work you are going to have to record everything in a very quiet pretty dead room. That is a lot harder to find in my experience than one that sounds the way you want in the first place. You can't "fine tune" unless your mixing in a tuned room that ideally is close to the size of your final venue. All of the above are hard or expensive to get. There are more options on the PC but on the Mac a decent convolution reverb (with the deconvolver to extract the IR from the recording you made) is not terribly cheap.
Sound post folks are usually brought in after the shoot is over so even having the chance to get IR's of the locations for ADR matching is, in my experience, rare. IF I'm around before the shoot I will try to get IR's of the locations because I do think it helps with ADR. It's not magic since there are a lot of factors other than the acoustic nature of the space that will help ADR fit. But I do think it helps.
I have yet to use it for Foley since in that case I'm trying to match the environment the story takes place in and I don't need it to match anything from production. And the OP was asking about Foley not ADR.
But we are both trying to put out the way we have found that works best. I'm not big on saying "you need to do X this way" because as you said, there are a thousand ways to get to the end. I just try to point out why I work a certain way and why I think it might work in this situation. Different poster with a different situation my advice might well be different.
On a big budget film for instance Foley is almost always done on a Foley stage. ADR is almost always done in a vocal booth. Generally we try to get things as clean and dry to the stage as possible so the mixers have more flexibility.
On low budget films with micro crews I generally record in context as much as possible because it's saved me time and frustration.
So OP you have the two basic approaches. Go have fun.
Actually the scene I shot all takes place in different rooms of a house and I cannot use the same house anymore, but I have my house, with similar rooms. So the story of the scene should be okay since it's set in a house anyway. And yes I would like to avoid things like convolution reverbs for now. I think what I will do is record with similar acoustics, since I am on a bit of a deadline to show some people, and then worry about rerecording what I have to later, if that sounds like a good idea?
gonzo_entertainment
Veteran
You'll see various numbers that do and don't include the time spent on foley, but generally it's at least 2 or 3 hours per running minute for audio post to do a decent job.
Noiz2
Sound Ninja
Actually, I talked to a "big time" sound supervisor about this and his numbers and mine were almost dead on. We came up with 10 to 15 work hours per finished screen minute, for editorial. You would then add on for the mix. On a big film you have a few weeks of premixing and a few weeks of final mixing plus many times a "temp mix" or two for test screenings.
On a micro budget film I have found I can get down to seven or so hours/ screen minute but I have a large library and a lot of experience. You do save on mixes since you are usually premixing as you go and so "temp" mixes are not much more than printing out a version of the edit. Also final mix is generally a few days rather than a few weeks.
This is to get the kind of full coverage sound track that would be the norm on a big budget. Under the above you have to start cheating. Some films you can cheat a lot and it's not noticeable some you cant.
On a micro budget film I have found I can get down to seven or so hours/ screen minute but I have a large library and a lot of experience. You do save on mixes since you are usually premixing as you go and so "temp" mixes are not much more than printing out a version of the edit. Also final mix is generally a few days rather than a few weeks.
This is to get the kind of full coverage sound track that would be the norm on a big budget. Under the above you have to start cheating. Some films you can cheat a lot and it's not noticeable some you cant.
gonzo_entertainment
Veteran
I'd agree more is better. I think 2 or 3 hours to just to get "passable" not "good". Excellent is more in that 12 to 15 hour range for sure.
gonzo_entertainment
Veteran
Good plan. I use "temporary" stuff (foley, music, etc...) during the editing process then turn it over to the sound pro for finishing.