Major Project: Sound Design

I have taken up the role of doing the sound editing. The sound is such an important aspect of the film and it shouldn't be overlooked - but often is. I knew when we was recording on set that there wasn't only the dialogue to sync and music to add, but there was a lot of foley and sound effects that needed to be added. I wanted to do some research to find any techniques that may help the process along, and all the right technical information such as what the levels should be on.

I first decided to create a sound design, a list with information on where needs music and foley sounds.

                                       

From here, I looked at the video below which has some basic information on audio. This included the levels of each particular audio, the difference between stereo, dual and surround.

The video was really helpful, and I learnt a lot of tips that will make editing easier.

Something which I struggled with what making sure the levels are all correct.

He explains that the correct level OVERALL (once music and audio and sounds are sync together) should be at 0. If it's over 0 it may sound distorted when you play it after its exported. 

A tip I found to always monitor the levels, was to double click on the small audio meter next to the main time and the levels will come up at the right hand side. This is really helpful as when playing the film i'll constantly be able to see if the sound is going higher than it should be.

In the image above, I also found a technique that's handy for cut the clip at certain points. When the red line is on the section you want, you can click Option [ to start the clip where your line is, or Option ] to end the clip where your line is. This is so much more beneficial than having to keep cutting it using the blade tool as it's not always accurate.

https://www.macprovideo.com/hub/final-cut/5-editing-tips-every-final-cut-pro-x-editor-should-know


I also was reading the article ''Mixing Sound for Film'' and found the correct levels that have been suggested below:

• Max peak: -2db  (This was absolute on everything that I tested probably because of BS1770-3/A85)
• Loud sound effects (explosions, gunshots): -3db to -2db
• Louder soundtrack or score music not competing with dialog:  -5db to -4db
• Dialog level: -11.5db to -10db

Peach pit's article also discusses the level of audios, interviews, sound effects, and music. 

''Most audio mixers set the dialogue, interview, or narration to an average audio level of –12 dB, which allows plenty of room for adding sound effects, music, and other elements without risking over-modulating. This average audio level also provides a little headroom if you want to make a specific sound deliberately louder than the dialogue (such as a music swell or explosion).''

They also mention that sound mixers who work on theatrical films set the dialogue levels to -24 dB or -31 dB as they turn up their speakers so the dialogue plays at a comfortable levels. I've also noticed in our footage there is a lot of unwanted hum and noise. In some clips, the sound is extremely bad from the sound recorder not working on one specific day - it sounds very tin like and is something which i'm working hard on to remove. 

I found that because final cut pro is just a video editor and the sound editing isn't very reliable, we should try other programmes such as Audacity to fix the audio.

I've watched a few videos and the hum removal tool looks especially helpful. We also have a few high pitched tones in our audio which I really want to fix so hopefully I can find another software that will help out with this. In regards to the tin like sound we have (dinner scene + Lucy and Bethany in dining room) I think it is unfixable, as you can't add audio that isn't there (there voices sound quite different) but nevertheless, i'll try my best to fix the audio we have.

However, beware of using this trick if your target platforms are computers, handheld devices, or televisions without fancy sound systems. Those lower-quality speakers may not be able to reproduce so much dynamic range (variance between the loudest and quietest sounds), and your audio mixing artistry may come across as a muddy mess.

I've decided to work on the sound from a small external speaker due to the laptop sound not being very loud at all, this will enable me to edit sharper sounds and make sure that I can hear everything in the scene clearly.

Source: http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1879718