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The Making of a Movie Soundtrack
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Conform |
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The re-editing, or conforming of
sound elements to match a newly edited version of the picture.
Also, to assemble
sound elements from their original sources to match their
location in a picture edit, often with the assistance of
an Edit Decision List supplied in a computer-readable file.
Once the audio is loaded, it is given to the Dialogue editor.
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| Spotting
/ Cueing |
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Spotting is
the general act of reviewing the film with the director to determine
work that will be needed on the soundtrack. For example, spots for
a car chase scene would be tire skids, auto accelerating, auto suspension
bumps, etc.
Cueing is the act of listing the sound effects,
Foley, ADR or music required for each scene. The next step is to:
1) Audition and pull specific skids, bumps, etc.,
from the sound library, and design custom effects
2) Record foley artists and edit the foley to picture
3) Book actors and walla group for looping sessions
4) Cut in music delivered from the composer or music
supervisor.
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| Dialogue Editing |
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In dialogue editing, an editor is responsible for creating
smooth transitions from shot to shot. The editor uses fill or room
tone between words in a production track to replace undesirable
noises and to create handles extending the audio region at the
beginning and end. Handles enable the re-recording mixer to crossfade
smoothly between shots with differing background tones.
A dialogue editor will also look for alts or alternate
takes for cleaner audio, where necessary, and edit the take
to match the actor on screen. ADR recordings are also edited
the same way.
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| ADR / Looping |
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Dialogue is typically
recorded on the set while the movie is being filmed using a variety
of equipment
(microphones and tape recorders).
If the film is being shot on a sound stage, there is a very
good likelihood that the dialogue recorded will be useable
in the final film mix. However,
if the scene is shot on location (high background noise) or
the sound stage contains mechanical special effects (wind
machines, etc.), the
dialogue may become contaminated. At this point, the director
or sound designer may require that the actor "loop" their
lines. Looping or ADR (automated dialogue replacement) is
the process whereby an actor enters a sound studio and repeats
their lines of dialogue in synchronization with the film
action. The individual scene is usually shown on a loop of
film (hence the term looping) so it can be repeated
over and over. Good ADR is truly an art form. It requires
actors to repeat, not only their lines, but their emotions
days or even weeks after the scene is shot.
During looping, a director may even change lines of dialogue,
usually during scenes where the actor's mouth is not fully
visible. Quite a bit of time is spent during dialogue pre-mixing
to ensure that the tonal quality of the ADR matches the dialogue
recorded on the set. Any change in dialogue character or
quality could distract an audience.
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| Walla |
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Walla is film sound slang for the sound of a group of people
talking. Group walla is when a number of actors create background
crowd sounds in a studio against edited picture.
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| Foley |
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Foley sound effects are recorded in synchronization to edited
picture in post-production. Named after Jack Foley, who was the head
of the sound effects department at Universal Studios for many years.
Contrary to popular myth, he did not invent the process.
Since it's rather difficult to pick up the sound of an actor's
footsteps on the set and still keep a microphone out of the
picture, a Foley artist is responsible for reproducing those
footsteps on a variety of surfaces and to recreate the sound
of props, clothes rustling, body pats and more.
Foley is often expressed as Foleys in New York. Likewise,
what is called the cloth track on the West Coast is
referred to as rustle back East.
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| Sound Effects Editing |
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Sound Effects (FX) editors contribute to the fullness of a
movie soundtrack by editing and layering sound effects from CD and custom
libraries. Many times an editor will need to go out and record a sound
specifically for a scene.
Sound effects are typically thought of as two distinct groups:
hard effects and backgrounds. While there are no inherent
differences between editing hard or background effects, it
is more convenient for re-recording mixers to deal with sound
effects in these terms.
Periodically, a sound designer is recruited to create sound
that may not exist naturally. A sound designer uses audio
techniques such as pitch shifting, flanging, and synthesizers
to create strange and wonderful sounds for the director.
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| PreDub |
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Also called
premixing, it is the act of mixing edited sound elements
(either dialog, music or sound effects) so that the final
mix can be
accomplished with less work involving level, equalization,
effects and panning. With sound effects and music, there
will also be a substantial
reduction in the number of tracks, as in premixing 24 tracks
into a 6-track premix. Dialog premixing often does not
actually reduce the
number of tracks that will go to the final mix, but instead
just copies a cut track across with careful equalization,
noise reduction and level
adjustments.
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| Final Dub |
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Also called final mixing, it is the act of mixing the sound for a
motion picture (or television show) into separate dialog, music and
sound effects stems, which, when combined and played at equal level
through a monitoring system, represent the finished soundtrack. In a
stereo film (or surround-encoded TV show), it is common to record the
dialog, music and sound effects stems on digital tape. Final mixes are
also frequently recorded on 4 or 6-track magnetic film, analog multitrack
tape or on digital dubbers.
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| Printmaster |
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The final, composite (dialog, music and sound effects recorded together)
mix of a film that can be transferred directly to a track negative or
a mag-stripe print with no further changes in level or equalization.
If noise reduction is used on a printmaster, it most often matches that
of the final print format, and thus can be transferred stretched to
the mag-stripe print or track negative. In the case of a stereo-optical
film, the printmaster contains two tracks, Lt and Rt, that are transferred
directly to an optical sound negative.
The soundtrack of a discrete 35mm 4-track or 70mm 6-track
mag print will be recorded from a 4 or 6-track printing master
in a real-time transfer.
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| M&E |
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M&E,
or Music and Effects. Standard motion-picture practice today entails
creating a minus-original-dialog element that
can be used to create a foreign-language mix by adding only
the newly recorded foreign-language dialog. This requires that all
sound effects
that are otherwise included in the dialog stem be copied
across to this element. If these production effects are not clear
of dialog,
then they must be replaced either by Foley or by cut effects.
Once the effects are complete, the track is said to be filled;
thus, contracts specify "music and filled effects" Also
known as the international version.
DME, or Dialog,
Music, and sound Effects, are the three basic mix stems
of motion picture soundtracks. Originally referred to the
35mm 3-track master mix of Academy mono films.
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