Priorities of Recording

What are the objectives or goals of the Production Mixer? When a mixer arrives on a set, there are a set of priorities that we follow in planning out WHAT and HOW to record. This article will lead you through the thought process of establishing your game plan or approach of which soundtrack elements need to be recorded.

Production Mixers are responsible for capturing the live sounds on a set, but there are priorities to consider. Not all sounds are equally important. Here is an overview of: dialogue, perspective, sync sound effects, wild lines, wild sound effects, background tracks, and proper room tone/ambiance.

Dialogue

The number one priority for Production Sound is to get usable DIALOGUE. The editor needs crisp, clean performances in order to convey the script. Use any technique that you can to insure that all of the dialogue is sharp and usable for the big screen. Don’t worry yet about perspective, sound effects or backgrounds – all of that can be achieved in post-production if necessary. Right now, just concentrate on being able to clearly hear everything that the actors are saying.

Even if you are sure that the dialogue will need to be replaced by ADR or “looping”, always strive to get the best audio that you can. During the ADR session, actors rely on listening intently to the “scratch track” in order to time their delivery for lip synch, but also to re-create the emotional mood and intensity of the original performance.

Another reason to always bring home the best dialogue possible, even if you know that it will probably be looped, is: job security. If you just give up on the task, and record only a minimal quality “scratch track” – the producers may question the need for a high quality sound mixer such as you. It is possible that you will be let go from the production, and replaced by a less experienced, albeit less expensive, soundperson. Why pay someone the big bucks for only a low grade scratch track?

On the other hand, if you continually demonstrate that a usable, original dialogue track would be possible, say if it hadn’t been for the noisy generator – then the person risking replacement might more likely be the gaffer or the generator operator!

Perspective

Only after you are confident that all of the dialogue will be captured crisp and clean, begin to consider recording with proper perspective. By perspective, we mean that the audio heard by the audience should roughly match the camera point-of-view. Of course it may not match the POV absolutely realistically; some allowance for poetic license must be granted, or we would never hear actors in a long shot!

A common mistake for novice mixers is to record close-ups louder than medium and long shots. This happens a lot because when close-ups are boomed from above, the microphone is ideally placed relatively close to the actor. During the wider takes, the boom needs to be further away – thus resulting in lower volume.

But when these various camera angles are intercut, the abrupt changes in volume are annoying and unnatural. Use your mixing panel to lower the volume on close-ups so as to match your medium wide shots. The only time the volume should vary from close-up to wider shot is when the actor notably walks further away from the established POV. Volume can change for perceived DISTANCE, but should not change for ANGLE OF VIEW.

What really changes when we go from a tight shot to a wider angle is the viewer’s perception of ambiance. In real life, volume changes but little when someone converses with you from only a couple feet away, and then backs off to several feet. What does change, though, is how your brain filters the data stream.

When we are “zoomed in” on a close face, our brain tends to filter out background information. We “see” in a close-up. Think tunnel vision. At the same time, we stop paying attention to background sound and just listen intently to the person staring us in the face. It is a mental illusion that we no longer hear the more distant sounds of our environment.

But when a person steps further back, we “zoom out” and observe more of them and their surroundings. At the same time, our brain wants to hear more of the surrounding environment, and we become aware of more noises.

Therefore, in cinema, we can re-create this mental process by controlling how much background we allow into our soundtrack. Close-ups should be primarily dialogue only. Wider angles should consist of a subtle blend of dialogue (no change in volume) and a little more background ambiance.

When the actors are miked with an overhead boom, this blend occurs naturally and automatically. When the mic is closer overhead, we record cleaner dialogue and less background. Move the mic further away, and more background sound joins the dialogue.

However, if the actors are wearing lavaliers, all of the close-ups and wider angles will sound exactly the same, since the mic remains in the same relative place. We can correct for this by using our boom mic to pick up general ambiance and possibly some sound effects (such as footsteps). Gently mix just a touch of audio from this “bleed mic” into the soundtrack to simulate a wider perspective, and minimize the background during close-ups.

Beware of common perspective mis-matches. Most of these are caused by improper boom placement.

For example, a front to back mismatch will occur should the actor move forward, approaching the camera, but is being boomed from deep in the set (away from camera). When the actor is deep in the set, the boom had no problem keeping the actor under the mic. But as the actor moves forward, the boom cannot keep up with him, and begins to mic the actor from the (actor’s) back. Then, as the actor moves even closer to the lens, the distance from the mic keeps increasing. So instead of the actor sounding like they are close to the audience, the resulting audio sounds like the actor has turned his back and walked further away! Solution: the boom operator should walk parallel to the actor to maintain relative position; or let the actor begin further away from the mic and walk towards the boom (which is near camera rather than being downstage).

A similar problem will result if the actor walks side to side across the set (or perpendicular to the lens), and the boom operator is locked into a position that prevents the mic from keeping up with the movement. From the camera POV, the actor’s relative frame remains constant (assuming the camera dollies or pans with the actor), yet the resulting audio will drift in and out. Once again, the solution is to encourage the boom operator to parallel the movement of the actor, or to swing the boom from near the camera in order to maintain position above the actor.

Finally, be cautious when mixing between the boom mic and other mics that may be deployed around the set (including lavs worn by actors). Pay attention to the relative perspective. For example, a “plant” mic hidden deep in the set, further away from camera, should sound weaker than the boom mic, which may be closer to the lens. Use the deep mic in order to pick up some dialogue that the boom may not be able to reach, but use just enough volume to achieve clarity without the plant mic sounding overwhelming. The name of the game is subtle.

Sync Sound Effects

Recording sync sound effects can really help the editor, but strive not to risk dialogue by recording overlapping effects. If a sound effect falls between words, then it is no problem for the editor to drop it to another track and deal with it independently. But when a sound effect coincides over dialogue, then the editor is stuck with it as recorded.

You may think that just be adding another mic, and assigning the sound effect to its own recording channel will solve your problem, but sounds on a set tend to carry over and most likely will still be picked up by the dialogue mic.

If the sound effect is the result of the actor, then politely explain to the Director or Assistant Director why it is a problem and ask him or her to adjust the performance. The Mixer should never shout instructions to the actor directly; always follow the set etiquette. Sometimes the director may refer the actor to hearing an instruction from the Mixer, and that is okay so long as the director made that call.

Some simple solutions include: timing the sound effect so as to fall between words; faking the action so as to avoid making the effect (and then adding the sound effect in post); replacing a hard prop with a rubberized or soft one; replacing a hard surface with something softer to impact; or even cheating the camera angle.

Wild Lines

There are three basic categories of wild lines: off-camera; hidden lips; and protection tracks.

Off-camera or off-stage dialogue is pretty familiar to everybody. It is the voice on the other end of the phone, or the voice coming from behind the door. Or maybe it is the (person) hiding behind the drapes.

Hidden or distant faces. If you cannot read the lips, then synch does not matter. When clear view of the speaker’s lips are hidden by a prop, set piece, or mask – those lines of dialogue can easily be dropped in by the editor.

If the actor has their back to camera, lip synch is no longer an issue. Concentrate on getting good dialogue from the actor that we DO see! Be careful to avoid overlaps, so as not to ruin the quality of the visible actor. When the shot angle is reversed, you will have an opportunity to record clean dialogue of the (first) actor. Dramatic overlapping of lines can be achieved by editing the good dialogue of the (unseen) actor underneath the synch dialogue of the partner.

If an actor is rather distant (i.e. small in the frame), it is a simple matter to paste a wild line in to represent his performance. That can save you from having to run extra-long mic cables or to use up a radio mic.

Complex master shots from hell (panic when you see the words steadicam, motorcycle, cherry picker, and helicopter all in the same shot description!) can be simplified by use of wild lines and borrowed dialogue. When the camera and actors are all moving quickly through a scene, it is very difficult to discern lip synch. Clean dialogue can usually be grabbed from the series of close-ups that are inevitable. Should the frame actually stay on an actor’s face long enough and close enough to reveal lip synch, then it is merely an exercise in sound cutting for the editor to carve the wild audio to fit acceptably. I usually concentrate on getting the audio of the supporting cast members who will not be covered in subsequent close-ups, since there will be no future opportunities to “steal good dialogue” for them.

The third category of Wild Lines are what we refer to as Protection tracks.

Sometimes it is a lot easier for the editor to just manually cut in a short section of dialogue than to wait for a formal ADR session. Or perhaps the actor is just appearing out of courtesy or for a brief cameo, and will not be available for any future re-recording session. Before the actors leave the set (permanently), it can be valuable to just have them read through all of their lines so that you can get clean coverage.

If the script contains profanity, it is also prudent to record some alternate readings. Even though an R rating may be okay for theatrical release, one never knows what the future may bring. A PG version might be needed in a few years for television, or some other conservative market.

Along this same line of thinking, pay attention to any actual references of names, brands, trademarks, models, etc. The lawyers who initially approved the original script may be pressured into changing their minds, and having some alternate dialogue archived could come in handy.

Wild Sound Effects

Wild Sound Effects are sound effects that just play underneath a scene, and do not have a specific visual reference that they have to synch to. Or, if there is a starting frame or ending frame for the effect – it would be very simple for the editor to lay the effect in. For example, a door slam. Or turning a blender on. The wild sound effect is either non-sync or a simple sync.

These effects are recorded “wild” without picture and devoid of any dialogue. If you cannot record a good effect on the set, then they can readily be recorded or downloaded from an effects library in post. However, editors really appreciate it when you can supply them with good effects and save them the extra labor.

Background Effects are wild recordings that can be laid under a scene in order to establish the location as well as to convey a continuity of events. For example, a scene that supposedly takes place at lunchtime in a New York apartment may have actually been filmed over a few days, and at all hours of the day. After the scene has been cut, a wild recording of continuous “city traffic from outside the window” might be laid under it, to create the illusion that it was all shot in “real time”.

Background Effects are captured as good as possible, using the best available mics, optimum record levels, and optimum mic placement. Sometimes, we even opt to record the backgrounds in stereo or surround. Bear in mind that Background Effects are distinctly different than Room Tone/Ambiance!

If the time and situation permit, I also try to gather any unique sound effects or background tracks that may be available – even if they do not pertain to the current production. Editors love to collect exotic sounds for their working library; making them a gift of some rare effects will earn their gratitude (and that could lead to future referrals).

Ambiance or Room Tone

Although last in this list, capturing the Room Tone is one of the most important tasks to be performed. Room Tone differs from Background Effects and is used very differently during editing.

Whereas Background Effects are clean recordings intended to suggest environment and continuity to a scene, the Room

Tone is a “dirty” slug of audio used to patch the holes in the dialogue.

During a dialogue scene, noise may occur that needs to be lifted out of the track. Examples may be a cue from the Director, or a distracting noise. If these problems fall in between words, then the editor cuts them out of the track and just leaves blank fill.

But the blank fill will stand out like white spackling on a gray wall! Instead of pure silence, the editor really wants to replace the noise with the exact same background audio that would have been recorded during a pause in the middle of a sentence. We want the “silence” to have been recorded with the same mic as the ongoing dialogue, from the same angle, and at the same recording level. Whatever slight sounds are on the set during the dialogue should also be present during the Room Tone. That includes actors, crew, lights, and everything else that would be present during the filming of the scene.

In other words, we want to apply dirty gray spackle to a dirty gray wall. Otherwise, our filler may be too perfect for what we need it to do.

Unfortunately, too many sound mixers wait until the scene is wrapped before they attempt to record room tone. After everyone has left the set, and the lights are struck – all that remains to be captured is an empty tomb of a stage.

My approach is to go for the Room Tone just before the first take of each major location or scene. Do it just before the clapstick, while everyone is poised for a take. As the Assistant Director calls out to “Roll Sound” – that is when I announce that we are recording 30 seconds of room tone.

Doing it on (before) the first take is important, because after that the actors and Director may establish a rhythm. Directors hate to break that rhythm and may resent waiting for Room Tone when they really want to shoot another take as quickly as possible.

Of course, the crew will never stand around silently for 30 whole seconds. After just several seconds, the room will buzz with dozens of whispered conversations. But if you can get just a little bit of good ambiance, then the editors will be grateful. When the noise becomes audible, just move ahead and tell them to shoot the scene.

One other way that I record some extra Room Tone is to take a deep breath and enjoy a zen moment after voice slating the take and before I shout “Speed”. That will give the editor and extra second or two of Room Tone for every shot. Similarly, after the Director calls to “Cut” – I always let the recorder continue for a few moments. If anyone complains, I tell them that we need the extra footage for when we digitize into the Avid, as the system tends to cut off the first few and last few frames. (Not completely true, but everyone accepts the explanation.)