MY AUDIO GOES LA..LA..LAA

Audio post-production is an intrinsic part of the filmmaking process and gives a movie its signature flair

- ANISHA GAKHAR

If you’ve ever watched the credits after a movie ends, you must have seen hundreds of names scrolling up the screen. Filmmaking is perhaps the most collaborative art form, and the greatest films are a result of a dedicated team of skilled artists working at the top of their game. In these, many belong to the audio department of a film. Over 40 people are credited in the sound department alone for the 2018 Oscar-winner for Best Sound Mixing and Editing, Dunkirk. This doesn’t even include the many technicians, engineers and musicians who worked on the score written by Hans Zimmer.

Audio post-production is a sprawling universe, and includes the creation and manipulation of audio synchronised with video. The production audio, which is the audio recorded as filming/shooting occurs, is edited and finished as required, to create the desired effect and feel of the scene. Most aspects of audio for moving picture occur during the post-production phase—it includes sound design and addition of sound effects, amongst a long list of other touches. This applies to TV, cinema, and commercials.

STEP-BY-STEP

One major aspect of audio post-production is the use of ADR, or automatic dialogue replacement. Sometimes the original, or production audio, lacks in performance or quality, and the actor or actors are brought into a sound studio to record some or all of their dialogue from the project. Cleaning up dialogue that was recorded on set, often takes time if the recording environment wasn’t quiet/suitable or acoustically treated. Noise elements are normalised and other elements such as Foley, music, and voiceover, are also added during post-production.