Hello all,
I'm an audio student in Seattle, WA. and I just got a job doing sound
for a film. I'm doing all location, Foley, and post production. I'm
actually the entire sound department. This is the first project that
I've worked on with the exception of school projects. I'm wondering if
anyone can offer some guidance in the way of things to look out for,
anomalies, mistakes to avoid, anything at all really. My first three
day's went well, but I have months to go.

This may not be the appropriate list for this posting, if anyone can
tell me of a better place to post this, please advise. Feel free to email me directly -
topher.farrell@redhook.com
~Topher Farrell~

you should post this in general audio. might even show up on the main board index

Hi acousticmirror. This one is probably an obvious tip, but I'll share something in the "mistakes to avoid" category...

I'm one of those guys who tends toward perfectionism, so when I had my first Foley project, I wanted the sounds to be as accurate a reflection of what was on-screen as possible. But in doing so I forgot one of the cardinal rules of good Foley art: ideally, your soundstage should be complete enough that even a blind listener (or someone completely unable to see the screen) is easily able to follow the action.

Unfortunately - as anyone who has ever tried to track down a mystery noise in the middle of the night can attest! - the way things actually sound doesn't always convey the best impression of what that sound might represent. On that first project, the soundstage was initially presented without any visuals... and the audience were confused as heck, because there weren't enough clues for their subconscious minds to fill in what they should have pictured. (When the lights came on they saw what I had done, and were polite enough to explain why what I had done was wrong, even if it demonstrated considerable proficiency.)

The lesson: Subtlety can be your friend, but don't be too subtle. Always give your audience enough auditory context to hear the things you wanted them to hear.

- M.

what is the project focus? material to cover?

might give us some clues how to help


later