Section 6
Sound & Music
Sound is arguably the most emotionally powerful element of the cinematic experience. Research consistently shows that audiences are more forgiving of poor picture quality than poor sound quality — a testament to the profound impact that audio has on our emotional engagement with a story. The sound department is responsible for creating the entire auditory world of the production, from the clarity of the dialogue to the immersive soundscape of the environment to the emotional power of the musical score.
Sound is arguably the most emotionally powerful element of the cinematic experience. Research consistently shows that audiences are more forgiving of poor picture quality than poor sound quality — a testament to the profound impact that audio has on our emotional engagement with a story. The sound department is responsible for creating the entire auditory world of the production, from the clarity of the dialogue to the immersive soundscape of the environment to the emotional power of the musical score. The terms in this section cover all the key sound roles (from the Supervising Sound Editor to the Music Supervisor), the essential audio post-production processes (ADR, Foley, sound design, mixing), and the technical concepts that define professional audio post-production.
ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement) / Looping (Lingo)
ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement), sometimes called "looping," is the process of re-recording dialogue in a studio after filming is complete. ADR i...
ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement)
Automated Dialogue Replacement (ADR), also known as "looping" or "dubbing," is the process of re-recording an actor's dialogue in a controlled studio ...
Audio Sweetening
Audio Sweetening is the process of enhancing and polishing the audio tracks of a film or video production in post-production. It encompasses a range o...
Dialogue Editor
The Dialogue Editor is a highly specialized audio professional responsible for cleaning up the production dialogue recorded on set, removing backgroun...
Dialogue Editing
Dialogue Editing is the process of cleaning up, organizing, and refining the production dialogue tracks recorded on set. The dialogue editor listens t...
DAW (Digital Audio Workstation)
A Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) is a software application used for recording, editing, mixing, and producing audio files. In post-production, DAWs a...
Dialogue Stem
A Dialogue Stem (or "D stem") is a separate audio mix that contains only the dialogue tracks of a film or video, without any music or sound effects. S...
Foley Artist
A Foley Artist is the skilled craftsperson who creates and performs the Foley sound effects for a film or video production. Working in a specialized F...
Foley
Foley is the art of creating and recording sound effects in a studio to replace or enhance the sounds that were not captured adequately during product...
Re-Recording Mixer (Dubbing Mixer)
The Re-Recording Mixer (or Dubbing Mixer) is the audio engineer who combines all the individual audio elements — the dialogue stems, the sound effects...
Room Tone / Presence (Lingo)
Room Tone (or "Presence") is the ambient, "silent" sound of a specific location, recorded on set without any dialogue or action taking place. Every ro...
Re-Recording Mixer
The Re-Recording Mixer (also called the "dubbing mixer" or "final mixer") is the audio professional responsible for the final mixing of all the audio ...
Supervising Sound Editor
The Supervising Sound Editor is the head of the sound editorial department in post-production. They are responsible for overseeing all aspects of the ...
Sound Designer
The Sound Designer is an audio artist who creates and manipulates specific, often non-literal sound elements to enhance the story's atmosphere, mood, ...
Stem (Lingo)
A Stem is a separate, sub-mixed audio file that contains a specific category of sound, isolated from the rest of the mix. The three primary stems are ...
Sound Design
Sound Design is the creative and technical process of creating the entire sonic world of a film or video production. The Sound Designer is responsible...
Sound Mixing
Sound Mixing (or "audio mixing") is the process of combining and balancing all the audio tracks of a film or video production into a final, cohesive s...
Spotting Session
A Spotting Session is a meeting between the director, the composer, and/or the supervising sound editor, in which they watch the locked picture togeth...