Sound Designers & You

Need a sound designer or sound design team? Find out what they need from you!

They want the same thing as you, make an awesome film! But they have different steps they take to get there, making communication a huge factor for success on both ends.

Have a locked picture.

Before approaching a sound designer, there are several things you should have ready for them. A locked picture is the most important thing. This means having the timing, actions and shot transitions locked in the animatic. There should be no major changes to the story or actions of the characters. Another important thing is to have some scratch sound in your animatic so that the sound designers can get a feel for the project. Documents that break down sound effects, foley effects and dialogue by shot should be handed to the sound team. These documents should be updated as changes are made to the project.

When you assemble your sound design team, it is very important to sit down and meet in person with them on a regular basis. Go over what shots need sounds before they are animatable and what shots the sound design team would like to see visuals for first. Their contact information should also be added to the production schedule. The producer and sound supervisor should work closely together to keep the project on track and cohesive.

Meet with the sound team in person.

While animators work with drawings, frames and shots, the sound team uses time codes that they align with the animatic. It is very important that shots are appropriately labeled in the animatic and the sweatbox. Major timing changes in the project should try to be avoided. Any changes made should be noted so that the sound team is made aware. It may seem like a couple of added frames are no big deal, but changing your timing will completely throw off sounds and music that have been times with the work. Remember, whatever is done on the visual side will strongly impact the sound side.

It is also important to update them with the new sweatbox every time changes are made or something is added. Files sent to them should be a mov, and a version with and without sound should be sent.

Label everything and break it down.