Obtaining solid sound design is essential to a film’s success.

So what steps can you take to

craft the best audio experience for your film project?

There are a few misconceptions when it comes to what sound design for film is, so let’s get
that out of the way first…
 Sound design is not about assembling neat effects, loud gunshots or using a car crash
SFX for every bang or crash in your film.
 It is not about having the loudest film.

Sound design is a process of experimentation to create an audio environment

that supports the on-screen action and engages the audience. The true sound designer is
constantly listening, learning and experimenting.

Getting a good mix starts with clean and healthy signals from your sound recordist and
boom operator. The dialogue to your film is an essential part of what’s going to translate the
pictures to your audience in an emotional direction.
 So let’s dive in and explore the principals and techniques of obtaining a good mix for a film:

 Gain staging and Volume

 Compression
 EQ
 Reverb

Gain Staging And Volume

Proper gain staging is important to the fidelity and cohesiveness of your mix. As previously
stated, obtaining clean and healthy signals for each track is perhaps the most important part
of structuring a mix; as every decision you make from here on out is directly affected by
your choices in gain staging.

As a quick aside, it’s important to capture wild tracks on-set when possible (audio intended
to be synchronized later on). This will save you from a great deal of ADR in post production
(a few extra minutes on set could save you countless hours later). 

As you structure your mix, it’s imperative to create sonic depth for the picture. This is done
by adjusting and fine-tuning each track’s dB control; creating a sonically rich and diverse
atmosphere. You can further create depth and separation in your mix with the addition of
reverb sends, but we’ll get to that later. This is where your mix should start to shine; before
any compression, EQ or reverb effects have been used.

You generally want your master channel to be peaking around -15dB to -12dB in it’s loudest
moments, as it’s important to leave plenty of headroom for mastering. Generally speaking,
it’s better to reduce the volume of all the other tracks, rather than boost any one
volume. Don’t be afraid to drastically reduce the volume of a track only to gradually bring it
up again to find that “pocket” where it belongs. Personally, I find this method much easier
than reducing the track’s dB starting at a high volume.

Compression

Applying compression to your dialogue tracks, as well as the rest of your mix, tends to be a
subjective matter. So let’s explore that for a moment…

Most every engineer uses compression; with a few carving themselves into this niche (in
what has become popular over the years). Compression, gating and expansion all represent
the dynamics family of processors by altering the dynamic range of your signal. When
squashing your signal into a narrowed dynamic range, the audio is better controlled: it will
fit into your mix easier and appear to sound more full.

Most can attest to a threshold ratio somewhere between 2:1 and 6:1 with the attack and
release set to fairly fast response times. Though again, there are no rules here. It is best to
use one’s better judgement, and most importantly your ears, when determining how much
compression to use.

If you have a dialogue track that has a fair amount of ambience noise that you cannot
eradicate, you don’t want to use much compression. Because the compressor is “leveling
out” the signal, all of that background noise will be boosted to an uncomfortably high noise
floor. Yet another reason why it’s very important to have clean dialogue tracks from the get-
go.

EQ

Before you begin equalizing your dialogue, soundtrack, or the entire mix, there are a few
things to keep in mind about frequency ranges. To avoid a muddy mix, it’s important
that each track’s sonic range of frequency is balanced to allow all audio components
enough frequency space to breathe. See the image below for a more visual explanation
(click for larger view):
 Image from Waterline Media
 

The human voice generally sits smack in the middle of the frequency range. Therefore: you
can cut the top and bottom of all the dialogue. A low-pass and high-pass filter is generally
what you want to use. This eliminates all of the low and high frequencies that are
not necessary for the human voice’s frequency spectrum: the low rumble of a your
generator that perhaps was too close to the set, a big truck driving by, or even the
movement of your boom operator’s fingers on his pole. To eliminate these cut below 100
Hz and above 10 KHz.

Always EQ the dialogue with the entire mix playing so that you’re not soloing the tracks
and working in the dark. Otherwise this can create problems with dialogue clarity in the
entire mix. Below are a few tips and tweaks when addressing your dialogue (reverse for
opposite effect):

 Male fullness= Boost 120 Hz

 Female fullness= Boost 240 Hz
 General Dialogue= Boost 2.5KHz
 Nasally dialogue= Cut between 2 KHz – 4KHz
 Male sibilance=  Cut between 4KHz – 6 KHz
 Female sibilance= Cut between 6KHz – 8KHz
 Increase vocal presence= Boost 5KHz

Reverb

Early reflections to the human voice can contribute a great deal of presence and realism
that EQ simply cannot recreate. Placing the dialogue in the correct acoustical space is a
crucial element to obtaining good sound design and a solid mix. This is especially true for
ADR work.

Because of the different types of reverbs and effects, the decisions you make creating your
acoustical space will vary drastically from each scene, person, and the placement of your
actor in relation to the camera angle. For example, your actor may be speaking directly at
the camera, then completely turn his/her back to the camera speaking into the
distance. Remember, the camera is the audience’s point of view.
So, how would you best demonstrate this in your mix? Usually by automating the volume,
reverb, and low-pass filter to the desired effect. EQ is your friend here too. But again, there
are no rules. Generally, you want a far-sounding verb and a near-sounding verb on your
reverb busses to obtain the correct atmospheric mix.

Summary

We take in a huge variety of noises and sounds in our everyday lives. The sound designer is
always taking advantage of these opportunities, consistently thinking outside the box. They
are continually scheming and searching for the best way to create engaging soundscapes
through experimentation.

Matt Hibbard