5 min read
The sound report: the document that saves the edit
A sound report is not paperwork. It is the map that tells post which take works, which microphone to use and where everything lives.
The sound report is written by the mixer during the day and delivered with the cards. It lists every take, what was recorded on each track, and the notes that only the person wearing the headphones could know.
What a report contains
- Production title, date, roll number, sample rate, bit depth and frame rate.
- Every scene and take, with start timecode and duration.
- Track assignments: which microphone is on which channel, by name.
- Circled takes, false starts and technical notes such as plane, generator, radio interference.
- Room tone and wild track entries, clearly marked.
Why it matters more than people think
Editorial receives hundreds of files with similar names. The report is what tells them that on scene 42 the lav was unusable because of a costume change, or that the boom on take three had an aircraft over the last line. Without it, that knowledge is lost at wrap.
The report and the metadata should agree
Modern recorders write scene, take and track names into the file itself, in the iXML and bext chunks. The report and the embedded metadata should say the same thing. When they disagree, post loses time reconciling them.
Before delivery, open a few files in an inspector and confirm that channel names, sample rate, bit depth and start timecode match the report. It takes two minutes and prevents an entire category of post production email.
Digital reports
Most recorders export a CSV or PDF report automatically. Send it alongside the audio, not buried in a card folder nobody opens, and keep a copy with the backup of the day.