The world of audio is surprisingly complex yet deceptively simple. When microphones work and cameras remain in sync It seems like anyone with a basic knowledge of production can run audio on set. However, it’s when things go wrong that it becomes painfully apparent how complicated audio can be. As an audio specialist, I regularly encounter myths involving the “cans and can nots” and “dos and don’ts” of audio. Below is a list of the most popular myths that seem to frequently come up in the production world.
We can fix it in post.
Maybe, maybe not. This colloquial phrase is by far the most popular. Often said as a joke but all to often uttered in a state of desperation. The truth is complicated. The fact is that many audio problems can in fact be fixed in post. Noise reduction and audio restoration software is more affordable now than it’s ever been and certain companies have made giant leaps forward in developing algorithms that can detect and remove non-dialog sound without leaving artifacts.
However, it’s only the audio professional who actually knows which of these problems fall into the category of “fixable”. Moreover, while certain aural offenses CAN be fixed in post, there’s no guarantee at the time of production that they WILL be fixed. The production sound mixer almost never knows who will be editing the day’s content and whether or not there will even be an audio post specialist employed. It’s very common for video editors to miss very simple audio problems simply because they are tasked with the project’s visual half. By far, the most cost efficient solution is to always fix audio problems as they are happening prior to rolling a take. Then, if need be, consult with the production sound mixer as to whether or not the problem can be fixed (or at least reduced) in post.
It’s M.O.S., we don’t need audio here.
This really depends on the type of project. In general you actually do need to record audio even for shots that you initially don’t intend to have production sound for. Narrative works are most commonly associated with projects that will take shots originally captured without audio and require diegetic (real to life) audio to be placed in at a later date. While it’s true that if the content isn’t dialog based it can then be recreated after the fact. However, having production sound for that “M.O.S.” shot, no matter how bad it may sound, can often be extremely valuable during post. Unless you plan to strip away every diegetic audio element from your shot, which is often done to great effect, you will need at the very least a guide track to build off of. Is the guide track absolutely necessary? No, Foley artists have been exercising their craft for decades without them. It’s mainly a matter of holistic time-management and cost efficiency on a project’s grand scale. If your sound mixer can grab a few footsteps here and there or a door opening or closing between the director vocally coordinating actors then that’s a few footsteps or doors that could possibly sound good enough to make the final cut. At least, it will help make syncing Foley easier.
We don’t have the budget for a boom op but we can give you a PA to hold the boom pole.
Thanks but no thanks! Booming is an art form that takes years to get right. It may look like just holding a light weight pole above your head but the reality is that it is incredibly nuanced and requires both physical endurance as well as a keen understanding of blocking for actors, how actors project their voices, how they are interpreting the script, and when and when not to swing the pole to capture multiple lines on camera. The result of a PA or intern holding the boom pole is almost always an useable track of off-axis voice and low frequency rumbles due to improper handling. In the end, it will likely cost you more money then budgeting properly for a boom op.
We don’t need room tone
Yes you do! In fact, what you need even more than room tone are longer beats of silence directly before and directly after an actor or on camera talent finishes a scene or interview question. The tone of a room changes throughout the day. These changes are more notieable for exterior shoots but even inside a quiet room the recorded sound of an interior space’s ambient sound will alter throughout the day. This could be caused by anything from humidity to exterior sounds leaking in or changes to sound in adjacent rooms due to occupancy or appliances. That precious beat is better than the traditional 30 seconds of tone commonly captured at the end of a work day because it will sound more similar to its adjacent dialog. Thus, it is much more useful for mixing dialog in post. Also, giving a beat of silence after calling ‘action’ or delivering an interview question ensures that on screen talent don’t step on your words, which can be a nightmare for an editor to deal with.
You can use our gear. It’s as good as yours.
This is almost certainly not true. While I would never consider myself a “gear snob” I am very reluctant to use a production company’s sound gear. The reasoning is simple. I can’t guarantee that it will work correctly. With digital audio equipment becoming cheaper then it’s ever been it’s common to find larger production companies with their own audio package. The problem is that there’s almost never anyone on staff that maintains this equipment specifically. Without an in-house audio expert it’s very easy to lose track of which cables were acting up, what firmware is the correct version to have on the recorder (it’s not always the latest one), and which wireless frequency blocks to use in various cities. As production sound mixers, our careers depend on maintaining perfectly working professional equipment that will work in any shooting environment. The reason you’ll see a sound mixer wheel in a large cart of equipment for a simple interview is because we need to be prepared for any unexpected request or scenario as well as supplying backups of every device we use.
If the newest recorders capture at 32bit why aren’t you always recording at that bit depth?
The answer is complicated and better explained by my colleague Max Futterman. Read his explanation HERE.