Production Mix
On-set audio is the responsibility of the Production Mixer - also known as the location sound mixer - and is the leader of the production sound crew, responsible for recording high-quality audio on set and location for film and television productions. It's their job to solve any audio issues that arise during filming, such as background noise. Depending on the budget it can mean one person: setting up equipment, fixing lapel mics to cast, operating the boom while mixing on a mobile unit; or more who take on these various roles.
The goal is to achieve a good quality recording to be passed on for post-production to be incorporated into the overall sound design.
Sound design is the art and practice of creating sound tracks for a variety of needs. It involves specifying, acquiring or creating auditory elements using audio production techniques and tools. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including filmmaking, television production, video game development, theatre, sound recording and reproduction, live performance, sound art, post-production, radio and musical instrument development. Sound design commonly involves performing (see e.g. foley) and editing of previously composed or recorded audio, such as sound effects and dialogue for the purposes of the medium, but it can also involve creating sounds from scratch through synthesisers.
Sound Design
White Noise Project
Video: Gun Shot Full Movie | 2019 Latest Telugu Movies | Mohanlal, Miya George, Manjari | Sri Balaji Video
In signal processing, white noise is a random signal having equal intensity at different frequencies, giving it a constant power spectral density. In other words, every frequency that transmits sound can all be heard at once. The goal of this project was to create a soundscape for the video (digital GUI's) using only White Noise as the source sound. Working in Pro Tools with Signal Generators, plug-ins, ADSR's and more we set about creating the sounds. The end result was close to the initial idea to emulate machine noises that were living and breathing, while maintaining a digital essence.
Trailer Redesign
This project was to recreate a complete trailer for the film Mad Max: Fury Road. Everything had to be original except for the music, but this did have to be different from that used in the official release. After working out the rhythm of the edits (72/144 BPM) I went in search of a suitable track knowing that it should be primitive and dystopian and came upon the brilliant Velvet Under "Venus in Furs'. Naturally, it had to be edited to fit the length and in doing so the vocals were dropped except for the one section with the bridge.
Video: complete sound redesign of Mad Max: Fury Road trailer
For educational purpose only and not for commercial use
Once this was in place it was a matter of adding in the FX as many as possible created using foley (see above). Finding tractors, vans, cars & quads helped with the sounds for the vehicles, but the explosions unfortunately had to be sourced from online libraries. Again, post-production effects were added to help get the right sound using EQ, Pitch, Reverb and more to make them sit in the mix.
What was a little more difficult were the voices. Not so much the narration, but having to lip-sync the words visible on screen. Using Additional Dialogue Replacement (ADR) techniques of lining up the dialogue for voice-over helped, but it still proved somewhat tricky. However, it was well managed and especially fun trying out the various voices with the actors. We hope you like what we did and will be looking forward to working with you on your next project. Don't be shy and come ask us for advice.
Foley Design
Video: clip from Wall•E used for educational purpose only and not for commercial use
The project shown here in the video is a short clip from the animated film Wall•E from Pixar Studio with the original sound design by Ben Burtt, the father of modern sound design who was enticed out of retirement to work on the film. After removing the original audio Nucleus Recordings created their own Foley Sounds to replace it. This included recording squeaky metal bars being turned & shaking buckets of metal bits and pieces, dragging feet over a sandy cement floor, and pouring cold water onto a hot pan to create a fire extinguisher.
All of these were then added to the clip, edited and altered using EQ, modulation, reverb and other effects before being layered over each other to create the sound you hear. There were a couple of uses of synthesis (using synthesisers to create sound) for the vocals of Wall•E and the insect. The clip of the scream (when Wall•E clicks the car fob) is The Wilhelm Scream from a sound library, along with the squeaky toy. Other than those all audio was made here in the studio.
If you think your next project could benefit from enhanced sound design, please get in touch for a consultation.
For the uninitiated Foley Effects are the creation of sound added to film in post-production. In general, on a film shoot the only audio required will be a clean dialogue with no other sounds in the background - even these are often added in post. Later those sounds, such as footsteps, squeaking doors, sirens and a lot more are added once the film has been edited. There are two ways of getting these sounds - the first is using sound libraries of already created audio clips, the second is to create them yourself.