I have a standard kit that I always bring along. On drama it makes sense to record the sound separately, onto either DAT or Hard Disc, and you have to do this if they’re shooting on film. On commercials shot on HD, or with documentaries, I usually record straight to camera, which can make life easier in post, so a decision has to be made about what you’re recording on. The other main consideration is how many characters are talking and how many personal mics you’re going to need; so you need to read the script. If there are loads of characters, which is rarely the case on shorts, then you might also need a larger mixer.
Are you responsible for picking and prepping the gear for a shoot?
Before I bought my own equipment I would always pick up and prep the sound equipment. The way I see it, it’s part of the job as a head of the sound department to make sure that all the kit is working. I would never want to turn up on a job without having gone through the kit only to realise that something essential, like a cable, was missing. It’s too stressful and you could lose half a day’s shooting.
Can you record all the sound on your own or do you need assistants?
Depending on the shoot, it is possible to record the sound on your own but essentially you would be doing the work of two people so it’s not to be advised. The sound would also be compromised, as there’s only so much balancing you can do when you’re boom operating at the same time and only so much you can carry! Without a boom operator it’s tempting to rely more on radio mics but they quite simply don’t sound as good and they come with all kinds of problems.
How many people are normally in the sound recording crew and who’s in charge?
The sound crew normally consists of two people, the sound recordist or mixer, and a boom operator. On larger productions there’s normally a third man. The sound recordist is head of the department but the work should be more of a collaboration in my opinion, as opposed to the sound recordist telling the boom op what to do. As a sound recordist you want to listen, mix and record, as well as making notes, rather than checking up on your boom op. Decent boom operators know what to do anyway. They know where to place the boom mic, they are ahead in finding out what’s going on, they understand the importance of pulling the mic back if one of the characters starts shouting and they help pack up when moving location etc. The problem is, you rarely get experienced boom operators working on short films.
What kind of skills do you need to be a good sound recordist?
Being able to listen critically, and to be able to hear and understand the difference between a decent recording and a not so good one helps. Obviously you need to know how to use the equipment. It’s certainly useful if you like gadgets. An overall knowledge of filmmaking is of course important and it also helps if you understand the post-production process and can think in terms of editing a scene together. As with any job on set it’s important to have decent people skills and not to get too precious about what you’re doing, but rather to remember that ultimately you’re there to help the director achieve what he or she wants.
What kind of kit would you normally take on a small budget short film?
On a small budget short film the kit I normally use consists of the following:
Sennheiser HD 25 Headphones
SQN-4S MK IVe mixer
Tascam DAP1 Dat Machine
Sennheiser 416 shotgun microphone with full Rycote Kit
Neuman TLM 103 microphone (used for voiceovers)
Mini Panamic Boom Pole
Maxi Panamic Boom Pole
2 x 2020 Audio Ltd Radio Kits with Sanken Cos 11s
An excessive supply of 9 volt batteries
48v Phantom Power Cable for the TX2020
2 x U 100 Audio Technica Radio Kits with MT830Rs + AT899s
(these are also sometimes used as directors’ comms)
Hawkwoods APR1 adaptor, which is used to power everything
2 x Hawkwoods NP65 Li-Ion batteries
1 Hawkwoods NP-29 Ni-Cad battery
1 Hawkwoods MR4 Multi-Chemistry Battery Charger
KT Systems bag + harness
3 x Microphone Stands
Magic Arm + Stand
Peli Cases
2 stools
2 x 10 metre and 2 x 5 metre XLR cable
All kinds of connectors
Carpet (to quieten footsteps that are out of shot)
Toupee tape, plaster tape and other accessories for attaching radio mics
Radio mic pouches and belts
All kinds of other accessories such as wasp spray, head torch, tessa tape to quieten shoes, warm clothes and waterproofs, sound report sheets, envelopes and multiple pens, cable ties and leatherman.
Why are there different types of microphone?
Different types of microphone have different applications. In a music studio scenario you wouldn’t want to use the same type of microphone to mic up a punchy loud sound, like a kick drum, as a quiet delicate one, like a breathy vocal. Different types of microphone also have different pick up patterns. On film sets the most common types of microphone used, attached to the end of boom poles, are directional shotgun microphones, though supercardioid non-shotgun mics, which are also strongly directional, can also be used. Directional microphones allow the capsule to be somewhat further away but they do need to be pointing at the sound source. Personal mics, which tend to be omni directional, are also very frequently used on drama. These are hidden on the actors and connected to some sort of radio link. They’re particularly useful for wide shots and other times when you can’t get the boom in.
Are there any that you can use in all circumstances?
Not really. The most important mic to have though is a shotgun mic. They’re reliable and can be used in most circumstances.
What are the basic techniques you might use to record a scene?
With short films there seems to be no standard way of shooting a scene as often filmmakers want to experiment but I do have a basic approach to sound recording that seems to work quite well which is, if it moves record it. Exceptions to this are when the camera is recording slow motion at a higher frame rate and it’s making too much noise or when the director has specifically insisted that it’s a mute shot.
When a situation isn’t immediately obvious, it’s sometimes worth stopping a moment and just thinking what is really important to hear for this particular shot and how should it sound and then go from there. On a single close up shot it’s obvious to focus on the person in frame talking and the boom mic should be on that character but, if it’s not too much hassle, it might also be worth getting the off-screen dialogue of the person they’re talking to, perhaps with the radio mic that’s already on them, as an additional editing option, even though you know that they’re going to come round and shoot the reverse. What’s really important is that the boom mic and the radio mics should not be mixed together but should rather be split onto different tracks. If this isn’t done, a perfectly acceptable boom track might be spoilt by something like an actor knocking his personal microphone or some strange off-screen breathing.
What’s the most common way of recording a scene?
It all depends on how it’s being shot and what’s happening in that scene. If the scene’s being shot handheld or on steadicam and we’re outside and there’s lots of movement, I’d be inclined to mic up the talking characters. In more standard interior scenes you can often get everything on the boom. A classic way of shooting is to start with the master wide and then to go in for two shots and close ups. On the master wide you could just get a general recording with perspective, knowing that you can get the more intimate close recordings when the camera goes in. It’s useful here to think about the wide recording and the closer recordings editing together. Some would say it’s best not to get too close and keep some kind of perspective but others argue that the dialogue should be recorded as clean and close as possible – after all you can always make it sound further away in post. I think there are too many variables to make any hard and fas
t rules here, like the size of the room, the microphone you’re using, how good a radio mic is sounding or how loud the actor is talking. But if in doubt, get closer with the mic and listen carefully.
Why do you use a boom pole?
Using a microphone on the end of a boom pole is the best way to get decent audio on a film set. The pole enables the operator to get the microphone in an appropriately close position to the actor. Normal practice is to have the pole in front of and above the actor’s head pointing down as that’s where the top of the frame is and it’s out of the way. Sometimes it’s necessary to go from underneath, which is fine.
How long does it take to get set up to record a scene?
That depends on the particular sound team. From opening my case I can be set up to record in seconds. Everything is always connected. But putting personal mics on can be a little time consuming and fiddly and finding the right moment can also prove difficult. Ideally the sound department should never keep on set waiting so it’s best to be ahead of the game and to be efficient and organised, knowing where everything is. It’s important to keep your best cards for when you really need them and not to hold people up unnecessarily.
If you are recording dialogue, do you have to know the script?
Knowing the script helps, especially as regards balancing multiple radio mics, but it’s particularly important for the boom operator to know the script. As a boom operator I used to remember the last word a character would say before moving the mic towards the next person.
Do you have to log all the different takes that you record?
Yes, you do. Comments like ‘end board’ make life a lot easier in post as well. Having worked as a sound editor, I also know it’s useful to have a little description of the shot and scene when looking for words from alternative takes.
Why do you have to record a take of just ambience (presence) as well as the dialogue?
Having an atmos track where there is no movement at all is a very useful thing from a sound editing point of view. In an intimate dialogue scene, for example, to make the dialogue work smoothly a sound editor might want to get rid of a distracting breath or a clothing move in between the dialogue. Chopping it out is the easy bit but it has to be filled and finding a matching bit of sound from somewhere else can prove difficult. That’s why room tones and the like are recorded. But it’s difficult to get a whole crew to be silent so I tend to do atmos tracks only when I feel they’re really necessary or when there’s no or little crew around. For these types of recordings, the microphone should be in a similar position to where it was during the actual shooting of the scene and all the same lights should be on.
Do you record sound effects too?
Yes, I record sound effects as well, but would never want to do it at the expense of holding the whole production up unless it was absolutely necessary. In a restaurant scene, for example, I would want all the background characters not to be making any noise during the shooting of the dialogue and then afterwards I’d record the sound of background chat. What I wouldn’t do is record all the other sounds you might hear in a restaurant as these can easily be sourced from a library, or created in a foley session, and I wouldn’t want to use up valuable production time. Other sounds, whether they’re general atmospheres or specific effects, I might go off and record away from the rest of the shoot.
If you think that you didn’t get a clean recording for a take, what do you do?
If it’s an appalling take from both a performance and camera point of view, and the sound was also spoilt by a plane, for example, I won’t bother saying anything, as there’s no point. Most of the time, though, everyone can hear the plane or the siren that’s gone off in the middle of the shot so they look at me and see me shaking my head and the director will yell cut. If that doesn’t happen and I’m the only one who knows it wasn’t a decent enough recording then I would say straight away.
Do you ever add effects like reverb in the mix while you are recording?
No. Adding effects, like reverb, is something you would not want to do. It’s best to record in a way that will allow more, rather than less, creative freedom in post-production. In an editing room, or a dubbing theatre, you’re in a far better situation to decide how to treat a sound. The most I might do is add a bit of bass cut.
Do different post-production workflows require different techniques for the location sound recording?
Yes, they do. My recommendation is that if you want to do something a bit more complicated, like recording stereo sound in M+S, or recording on multiple tracks of audio, then it’s worth having a chat with the picture and sound editors. Some editors might only want a two-channel mix as they don’t want the hassle of dealing with multiple tracks of separate audio.
Is it now possible to fix any location sound recording problems in post-production?
NO. It’s definitely a mistake to go down the ‘it can be fixed in post’ route. In a similar way, when you take a photograph it’s best to take a decent photograph to begin with, rather than thinking ‘I’ll tweak it in Photoshop later’. Yes, all kinds of things can be done to improve how something sounds and with effort it’s sometimes possible to make a dodgy recording usable, but you can never turn it into a decent recording. Turning a decent recording into something more dirty, on the other hand, is quite easy. Similarly, you can make a close recording sound more distant but you certainly can’t effectively make a distant recording sound close. When there’s a serious problem with the location sound – for example, there might be a rain machine used on a certain scene – then you have little choice but to record everything again in an ADR session, using the location sound as a guide.
Are you involved in the post-production? Do you record ADR as well?
I’ve worked as a sound editor in post-production a fair amount and have attended a number of ADR sessions, sometimes as a recordist but usually as a dialogue editor. This is certainly not usual though.
What are the most common problems you encounter when trying to record a scene?
The most common problems include clothing rustle on personal mics, having a boom operator who doesn’t know what they’re doing, hearing sirens, planes or other loud vehicles, and recording in extreme weather conditions. Noisy generators and HMI lights are often problematic as well. Also, actors sometimes have a tendency to speak too quietly which can be a problem. Similarly, in nightclub scenes and other loud situations, it’s hard for them to remember to raise their voices and express themselves as you might if it was actually loud.
What can the producer or director do to make your life easier on a film?
The director doesn’t really need to do anything, I’m here to make his or her life easier, but it’s always a good idea to wait just a bit longer before calling cut though. Those extra seconds can make a dialogue edit a lot smoother. But by far the most important thing that makes my life easier on set is to have a decent boom operator. Being sent the latest script with scene and page numbers also helps a lot, as well as unit lists and an easy to read call sheet that clearly says what time call time is and where it is. Quiet locations are great too.
How would you go about finding a sound recordist for a short film?
The best way is through recommendation, so ask around. Alternatively, there are all kinds of websites and resources on the Internet for short filmmakers. Or you could approach a film school.
What advice do you have for inexperienced people considering recording the sound for a short?
Get some experience as a boom operator or sound assistant first.
Only consider using professional equipment.
Don’t rely on meters. You always have to listen.
Keep your best cards for when you really need them.
Remember you are there to help the director achieve their vision.
If it moves record it.
Make sure you get on with the first AD.
If you make a mistake admit it straightaway.
Don’t turn
up on set expecting the kit to work without having gone through it first.
Make sure you have a surplus amount of stock and batteries.
Think what the important sound is for each shot and how the scene will be cut together.
Watch, and listen to, lots of movies.
What do you enjoy most about working on short films?
There’s nearly always a good atmosphere on set. People are doing if for the love of it or they’re there to learn. There’s little room for overly cynical or jaded people. Everyone tends to be coming from a positive place and are into doing something quite cool. It’s great to be involved in actually making something, especially something that requires a great deal of collaboration. I also enjoy both the technical and creative side of filmmaking as well as its constant variety.
24. POST-PRODUCTION WORKFLOW
Workflow refers to the series of technical steps your film needs to go through in post-production for it to be completed. This includes everything that you have to do to turn your raw footage into a finished film on a screening format, so the processes and changes in format that are involved in moving the footage between these stages as well as the order you do them in.
Different productions will have different needs, for example a film shot on 16mm will require development and transfer, while a DV production won’t, but might require complex computer effects etc.
So workflows differ greatly depending on the nature of the project and can be complicated or easy to plan depending on the specific needs of a film.
Because different formats have specific technical qualities, your workflow will, to a certain extent, be decided by which format you choose to shoot on, so it is something that should be planned during pre-production.
Short Films Page 17