6 min read
Film sound design basics: building a world the camera cannot show
Sound design is not adding effects. It is deciding what the audience should believe exists just outside the frame.
A frame shows a corridor. Sound decides whether that corridor is in a hospital at three in the morning, a school at lunchtime or a ship at sea. Sound design is the construction of the off screen world, and it starts with choices, not libraries.
Spotting first
Watch the locked cut and write down every moment that needs sound and why. A spotting list keeps the design in service of the story instead of turning into a decorative layer nobody can mix.
Layers, not single files
- A base layer that defines the space, usually a quiet, continuous ambience.
- A character layer for events tied to people and objects.
- An accent layer for the two or three moments that carry the scene.
- A low frequency layer, used sparingly, for weight and unease.
Perspective and distance
Sounds should sit where the camera sits. A door heard from across a room needs less high frequency and more room reflection than one heard at the handle. Getting perspective right does more for realism than any amount of layering.
Silence is a design choice
Removing sound is as strong as adding it. Dropping the ambience one second before an impact makes the impact land harder than any additional layer will.
Technical hygiene
Keep every asset at the project sample rate and bit depth. Library files arrive at 44.1 kHz, 96 kHz, stereo or 5.1, and a session full of mismatched rates is a session that will glitch at the worst moment.
Convert library files before importing them: sample rate, channel layout and format, all locally with our converter, splitter and downmix tools.