Update on Puddles Post Production

Post-production for Puddles is currently a go!

Whilst only been in the process for about two weeks now, I have definitely covered some ground in achieving my other two professional goals: to be more meticulous in reaching the sonic ideal and to garner experience in sound design foley. As it stands I have edited the sound for five scenes. Four of which I was assigned to sync up dialogue and polish off any unwanted or undesirable pops in the audio stream. I was also responsible for the atmospheric sounds. As will be outlined in this post, this proved to be a rather tedious and at times frustrating process. One of the scenes, however, I was given to as a blank canvas, and was able to sonically build it from the ground up. Consequently, the editing for this particular scene is the highlight of my post-production experience thus far.

The first thing I want to talk about in this post is the importance of documenting and communicating everything that happens both on set and in the post production process. After every take on set I would tell the producer if the recording was good or not. That way, post-production is made a lot smoother for the video editor in deciding what scene to use. As one can imagine, the director does not always go with the take that is the most ideal in terms of sound (e.g. for actors renditions etc). As a result, it can be frustrating as a sound designer with a perfectionist streak. This frustration is extended when the director does not send you a file format you can work with, that is only sends a video file with a singular audio stream (of which makes it very hard to componentially edit!) It is here when the importance of documenting comes in. In terms of my experience, I was given a pool of audio files to choose from, but without a documented reference for which sound was used in each shot of the final cut, I had to result to a process of elimination. This was exceedingly frustrating for me, and I had no choice but to hassle the director for a shot-by-shot breakdown of all the sound files used. It was here that I learnt the importance of synergistic project communication within a filming project. Without it, it can make for a great amount of frustration for all parties involved.

Aside from the arguably negative, the Puddles' post-production process has also granted some rather awesome experiences for me. The most notable of which was my work on the third scene of the film, where I was allowed to sonically build it in its entirety from the ground up. The scene was simple; it had no dialogue, and took place in an empty pawn shop with a radio, desk fan and fluttering piece of paper in view. This simplicity allowed me to focus on reaching the sonic ideal. Perhaps the best example of this was achieving the ideal fan sound. The fan recording I had access to was way to harsh and bassey to be implemented in this scene. Despite this, I was determined to use it. Consequently, I placed bandpassed equalisation and light compression in to the fans signal path. I also added a little bit of reverb on the bus to achieve the ideal spatial sound for that particular environment. From what the sound started out as, I think the resulting sound is an impressive example of how far a bit of audio editing can go.

Another great thing about this particular scene was that it witheld certain visual elements that warranted the implementation of foley recordings. I had never had experience with foley, that is, the physical replication of on-screen actions for sound recording purposes, and as a result I was keen to give it a go. The paper fluttering acted as the perfect victim of my debut foley attempt. It provided a whole host of challenges, including paper flutter timing and timbre. A number of takes were done to acheive the sonic ideal, in addition to light audio manipulation techniques (notably EQ and compression). Although a relatively simple example of foley, it really informed me of the multiple parameters that go into attaining the ideal sonic replication of a visual.

Although not even half done, working on Puddles has provided me with a good insight into the logistics and technicalities that go into the production of a short film. There is an inherent amount of meticulousness that is required on the sound design of such projects, but almost as equally, you must be diligent on deadlines. As it stands, I am required to submit a draft of the film by November 15. Given my commitment to the GRE exam at the moment, I predict that this is going to be a challenging exercise in time management. Whatever the circumstances though, I will be ready for it.