2016-07-06

There are many stages in the audio post-production process, and it’s easy to get confused about the best order in which compete various tasks. Because audio can make or break a video, a basic understanding of the audio post-production is a must for everyone on a video project.

In this tutorial, you will learn about each of the steps in
the post-production process, what happens in each phase, and the best way to organize your workflow.

Order of Operations

The standard process for audio work
has evolved over many years of movie and video production, and helps keep audio-quality at it's maximum throughout. When you are
part of a larger team it’s especially important to follow this order,
but even if you are working solo sticking to this process will make your
workflow efficient.

The standard order of operations is:

Dialogue editing

Automated dialogue replacement

Sound design

Foley

Music composition and editing

Mixing

Now let's take a closer look at each phase.

1. Dialogue Editing

In this
phase the raw recordings are organized and synced to the timeline.
Unwanted noise is removed and the recordings are trimmed down to the
necessary length.


Noise Reduction

How To Use An Expander To Efficiently Reduce Background Audio Noise

Rob Mayzes


Video Editing

How to Manually Synchronize Audio Tracks on Your Video Editing Timeline

Ben Lucas

2. ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement)

In most cases, some of the original audio recorded on set will be corrupt, noisy or simply missing. Other times, the quality is not up to scratch and the tone of the voices is poor.

ADR is the process of recording new dialogue in a studio environment to sync with the video. The actor will lip sync to their original performance as closely as possible.

Voice-Over

Automated Dialogue Replacement: How to Improve Any Video With ADR

Rob Mayzes

3. Sound Design

Sound design is the process of creating audio effects for the picture. The sound designer adds wild tracks and new field recordings to create background ambience. Any special sound effects are created at this point, too. Various techniques are used to create sounds, included field recording, heavy processing and electronic synthesis.

Sound Design

30 Incredible Sound Effects on AudioJungle

Rob Mayzes

4. Foley

Foley is similar to sound design in the sense that it is a process of creating sounds to enhance the realism of the picture. The difference is that Foley refers to human-based sound effects. Foley artists will usually re-perform the scene live, replicating footsteps, rustling clothes and prop movements. These sounds are then edited to match the scene.

Audio Production

DIY Foley Pit Construction

Jonah Guelzo

Recording

A Beginner's Guide to Field Recording, Pt 1

West Latta

5. Music Composition and Editing

In this step diegetic music (sound occurring inside a scene) and nondiegetic music (sound not part of a scene, like soundtracks) is composed and organised. Where applicable, licensed music is also curated and organised.

Music

Score! How to Use Background Music in Your Videos

Shruti Shekar

Video

New Course: Creating Custom Music Cues for Video

Andrew Blackman

6. Mixing

Lastly, all of the
audio is balanced to create a final audio mix. EQ and compression are
applied when necessary. The individual sounds and the entire mix are
measured for loudness and adjusted for optimal volume levels.

Voice-Over

A Master Guide To Voice Equalization—How To Apply EQ to Voice Recordings

Rob Mayzes

And You're Done!

That's the basic audio post-production workflow for video. Having a basic understanding of the phases involved in the audio post-production process will make it easier to work with sound engineers. Follow this workflow on your own projects and you'll be well on your way to a successful video.

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