Dubbing

(Part of Lee Prescott's rough guide to movie sound - go to page 1.)

Recording Music

All music in motion pictures should compliment the visuals. You can also use it to highlight moments, add drama, apply emphasis - where necessary. Music can mean anything from double forte (ff) to pianissimo (p) using any combination of instruments you can think of.

Consider: a white yacht with tall sails reflected in a "mill pond" azure Aegean sea - heavy metal rock? I don't think so. Same yacht, same sea, dark, high wind, rough with high waves - heavy metal rock - possibly!

Whenever you can use little known pieces. Familiar music can distract the audience from your movie. Use music to link, overlap visuals.

You should almost always fade music in and out, even if only for 1/2 a second, to avoid those jarring clicks, bumps and switches between pieces of music.

Avoid using vocals except in exceptional circumstances - or - as an integral part of a story.

REMEMBER COPYRIGHT

Check out your IAC licenses. Note: copyright requirements vary from country to country.

EFFECTS (FX).

There are many and varied FX discs (CDs) available. Often these have to be ordered. The BBC provides an excellent variety. Other organisations do also. If your original camera recording is bad, loopy, faint, over-modulated, spasmodic, ruined by unrequired noise, then replace the original with appropriate sound from an FX disc. This can work wonders.

ADDITIONAL FX: a scene on Exmoor covered in deep snow but not a breath of wind. Jack, crawling, agonisingly dragging his broken leg - to dramatise it we need some wind. So in postproduction we add a howling gale to the scene. Simple. The bride and groom couldn't afford bell ringers? If they want church bells they can have 'em. Dub them from a sound effects record.

SPOT EFFECTS: a scene where a car door is slammed shut, trouble is it's one of those tinny French cars, which in reality only make a thin click? From the FX record we dub a rich clunky sound of a car door shutting. Really easy! An alarm clock going off, lovely big close-up but the only clock the set dresser had - didn't have a bell? Easy: spot effect, dub the alarm from the FX record.

FX, along with music, commentary / narration and correctly recorded original sound can and do work wonders with creating, enhancing and improving a motion picture. Sound is as creative a medium as visuals. Writing the words and selecting the music, whilst time consuming, is also absorbing. Work at it. Never put up with third or even second best.

Remember too that under certain circumstances copyright licenses are required for some FX discs, though rarely for true amateur use

Sound Levels

At the original or dubbing recording stage it is essential to ensure that recording levels are set properly. It is vital that your recording levels are relevant to the visuals. If your original recording is overmodulated, then on every mix or mix down no matter what subsequent levels you set, that overmodulation will be present. The only real way of getting rid of the problem is to start over, do it again!

I agree this is not always possible with original sound. For example your "talking head" may have gone to Timbuktu for the winter! A vicar is highly unlikely to re-perform someone's wedding just to satisfy you. It is better to undermodulate (slightly perhaps) - than overmodulate.

Remember when setting recording levels the relationship to other tracks on mixing down. Experience counts here. In its absence - just use "trial and error". Above all always get to know your equipment.

Page updated on 21 March 2008

Authors' views are not necessarily those of The Institute of Amateur Cinematographers

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