Using Sound in Filmmaking

[@MAZELEE]

Just realized that apple crunch is a sound effect.....

[@Tofderbeste]

true

[@LhizJordn]

Next thing you know is finding out that santa isn't real either

[@chrisflorez4383]

+Lhiz Jordn ...wait...WHAT?!

[@LhizJordn]

you heard me!

[@ArnavRanadeKingOfArnavlandia]

+MAZELEE i-i-bu-wai-h-bu- NOOOOOOOOOO! Next thing your gonna tell me is that Jar Jar Binks is Snoke

[@DroidTweaker]

I'm no film maker but a small youtuber and this guy's videos teach me a lot. Respect.

[@willpatersondesign]

This is on another level Simon! Very interesting how sound is such a huge part of filmmaking.

[@ThisGuyEdits]

amazing detail

[@WynsumProductions]

Working on sound now for my final film in school, this is really inspiring me to keep going with it despite the tedium. Thanks!

[@DSLRguide]

+Jonathan Leiner all the best with the project! (it'll be worth it)

[@MichaelKircherPhotography]

Ever since you mentioned you sometimes like to watch a movie with the sound off and try to see how many sounds should be in there... I can't help but notice (almost) every sound in whatever I'm viewing. Enjoying your tutorials, Simon. Thanks.

[@zacandmillie]

Seriously, this video blew my mind as to learn about the depth of work invloved in layering all the sounds and melding them into a final product. I am truely in awe and impressed. Thank you for sharing.

[@thomasstringer6652]

i go to school for sound recording and minor in film, and youve got a wonderful grip on the "audio process." the best advice i could give to anyone is to always listen you what youre recording, and always try to get the best sound from the source, before any eq or effects. itll make post a dream. happy filmmaking

[@tylerpuszkar]

Out of all the KZbinrs who have channels like yours, you have always been, by far, the must upfront, detailed, helpful, insightful, logical, influential, and dare I say inspiring! Thank you!

[@minhaj_khan]

This makes me wonder, is that apple crunch added in post? :P

[@surferjo4581]

Def

[@matthewcswhite]

BLOODY HELL! THAT TIMELINE! :O

[@DSLRguide]

+Matthew White I know right

[@its_maalik]

+DSLRguide Hey..i watched your short film..its pretty great considering it was your first attempt at professionalism..however i would like to add a few points 1)The film doesnt look very cinematic, mainly due to the fact that there arent s lot of cuts in the movie..and the camera stays still all the time( except for a few shots)..so lots of stillness..and big shots..try cut switch between angles and views every 1-3 second giving users a different perspective(especially in the beginning of the film)...showing surrounds and focussing of different aspects of character etc.. sound was fine Again..no offence..i love your work..but i thought that these improvements would make it a lot better

[@iasonasa]

+malik bagwala never say again the stillness is not cinematic. Camera movement is the art of expressing emotions seamlessly.

[@its_maalik]

+Jason Ioakeim it is cinematic..wach the revenant but this movie is portraying something in a completely different league..so it doesnt suit this movie

[@its_maalik]

+Jason Ioakeim and thats exactly my point..camera should move a little..more importantly there shouldnt be long shots..

[@collinausbury]

Your last quote about creators having the amazing experience of hearing the before and afters. It's true. What we create means the world to us; every little detail we sow in is out of an attempt to make even more of an impact! Great video this week, Simon!

[@solomonchau7725]

He shows us how much work it actually is for 10 seconds of film, but it's fun for him. For the rest of us, I guess we're paralyzed by our laziness and/or fair of failure to the point we don't do anything. Keep up the good work.

[@jazzysk8rgirl]

this dude needs to be a film professor. forget film school lol

[@gibsonedu]

Great stuff. I studied audio engineering in college and one class was all about foley and recreating and entire soundscape. It was one of my favorite classes. Would not have thought of the axe with thunder for the gun :)

[@ariana.ovando]

love your videos so much! always learn new things

[@DSLRguide]

+Ariana Ovando :)

[@tjsmind]

(frantically takes notes for youtube channel) This is golden. I had no idea film makers even did this!

[@aidanmorrison1541]

I am always so over joyed when ever you upload a new video. It gives me inspiration and a constant love for film. I know I myself am young and haven't made much (but I hope to make more very soon) but when I look at you and your passion and how young you were and are it gives me....hope. Thank you.

[@DSLRguide]

+Aidan Morrison honestly this is so encouraging to hear! It inspires me to carry on with the videos :) all the best with those projects!

[@pennsylvaniaghostdiaries7552]

you are freaking awesome! I've learned so much from watching your videos. I'm going to be 62 in a few months and I always wanted to film my own project. I've always felt that audio was probably more than 50% of the movie. Im sorry that i just found you on here and i hope you are still doing well. Thank you!

[@TheJoeyLeon]

This might be a weird complement, but I ADORE the way you pronounce your consonants! Your overall way of speaking is very euphonious!

[@poketboyfrodo]

I can see you grow in experience video to video and how you've become more professional in your editing and skills as a guide. I learn all my tips and tricks from you and you help me more than any learning program or class I've taken so far. I would have to say you nailed this one, and as always Thank You Never Stop Doing What You Love.

[@jkc-kp]

Amazing. Never really thought about audio that way before. I can now understand why your works feel so professional and topnotch quality.

[@samvalentine9243]

It's really refreshing that you give proper attention to sound. Not many indies do. Although, there are definitely some rules when it comes to sound. Your prominent audio, like dialogue and important sound effects should be registering at around -12db to -6db. I'm not sure what the rule for ambience is but it's probably somewhere just barely below -12db at the quietest. You can always bring it down later. Testing the sound on different devices is a great step to take, but if your levels are registering at the proper volume, you shouldn't have to do that. A helpful tip someone gave me is to edit with your headphones/speakers at 50% volume. If your sound isn't clear at that volume, it's too quiet.

[@WilliamHerasme]

I just got my actors cast for my first ever short film and we start production sometime next month. Despite the short film being one long scene and being in one location, this definitely got me thinking abound sound. Thank you.

[@testowykana1763]

Now this is great content. It's very refreshing to see this level of professionalism on YT.

[@frishf8888]

Have you ever experimented with sound by trying to recreate something you can't afford, but by using household objects to re-create the sound? For example I was able to mix a fairly accurate recreation of a helicopter by mixing the sound of a towel being swung for the blades, a toothbrush for the engines, and a hairdryer for air resistance. It made me realise how sound can make your film seem of a much higher budget with almost no budget

[@DSLRguide]

+Fergie Fresh first of all, props to you for thinking outside of the box with the helicopter haha.. I think you're absolutely right - sometimes we can get a better sound from something that looks completely different to what it sounds like. The classic one is hitting lettuce with a stick to replicate bones crunching punches... for Two Wrongs most of the sounds were household object anyway, but when it comes to sci-fi and sound design, we definitely need to think outside of the box

[@BenMoranFilms]

I've always looked for that gun echoing sound. Never thought of thunder. Genius!

[@gideonratcliff]

That timeline though!

[@DSLRguide]

+Gideon.R hehe

[@eriknilsen_trainingday]

Thank you for your efforts in trying to teach us this stuff, your videos are becoming more and more useful by the episode! And I've already implemented a lot of your stuff into things i tinker around with..

[@DSLRguide]

+Erik Nilsen so glad to hear this Erik!

[@MarshallAtom]

I really love your videos man! You go through aspects of film making in such an approachable way. My videos will continue to get better and better from watching yours. Thank you, continue to create!

[@mvsm803]

it'd be interesting seeing a vid where you reflect on your short film and what you think worked well / mistakes made that you wouldn't make on future projects.

[@DSLRguide]

+m vsm might just do that :)

[@StephenIsTrying]

It's always great learning from your experiences. Never stop doing what you do!

[@maxhayes9822]

another great video. would like to see more on the equipment used to shoot this short. eg camera,technical difficulties shooting in low light. more details on lens selection and and what it brought to the film.

[@PepsiandLemonade]

I totally get the excitement of good sound! I sadly have yet to go all out on sound (time restrictions, but I have a short film in development that will utalize all kinds of Foley and I'm super excited about it!

[@OwenTuson02]

I've been doing some foley for my latest short and I have to say it's quickly becoming one of my favourite parts of the process. Great video as always!

[@AxelReigns]

Just edited a short film, and my favorite part is when my main character is sitting down writing, he pushes his pen, closes his book and gets up while rattling his keys, probably a very boring scene for most, but definitely the most fun for me to edit in terms of sound design

[@jamiedoesthings]

This was great. Beautiful timeline. I'm definitely here for a video on how you work with dialogue, too.

[@TmksGames]

Great work Simon, keep it up!

[@BirdSpyAustralia]

There are many KZbinrs that need to work on their sound as I always find myself turning the volume down when they play music and then but up for when they start talking again.

[@jakobhovman]

Another great workflow episode, from SFS: "Simons Film School". I can see and hear your creativity and dedication.

[@jameschristopher4393]

I never want your videos to finish!!

[@youxanyou]

thanks Simon, really appreciate what you are doing to help us in our beginning...some how-to tutorials will be very helpful I think

[@davidgraey]

Hey Simon, glad to see foley and the post audio process getting some love here :). Great overview, as always!

[@kelkiiii]

Hey Simon, thank you for another fantastic video! I wanted to say something us audio engineers use as references for other systems are Yamaha NS10s. If they're in your budget you could buy a couple to replicate the average listener's sound set up. If they sound great on the NS10s they should sound great anywhere. Thanks again for all the useful information. I'm saving up for my first camera!

[@ceekart2867]

Verygood, never gave to much thought into adding in sounds, or making them myself, until i ran into the problem of wishing i had certain sounds, may have to devote a day to making sounds and recording them a organize them for future projects , thanks

[@RotterStudios]

Definitely my favorite part of filmmaking as well.

[@jakesmallwood3013]

This has helped me and given me so many ideas for a documentary I am currently making, thank you so much! Always find your videos so interesting!

[@mishtaromaniello8295]

Happy 200k subscribers! Well deserved for, Simon. Keep up the great work and we'll see you next week.🎉🎥

[@truefilm1556]

Great video as always! The audio plugins in Final Cut Pro (such as compression, EQ and reverb) look exactly like the ones coming with Logic Pro (9 and X), a dedicated digital audio workstation. Excellent precision tools! I do this stuff for a living (music and audio post for film/video) - I agree 100% with everything you say. Very useful! Thanks!

[@quinnrsligo]

I was shooting bts on a group film recently when I noticed everybody was so eager to view the mute rushes on the external monitor but not one person asked to hear the boom op's results. Sound is definitely taken for granted.

[@DSLRguide]

+ItsMeRuairi that is so true, it happens on every shoot. well said!

[@alexc1360]

It would be great if you could show us around your timeline for this project. It would be cool to see the different aspects and where they fit.

[@diogoalmeidavisuals]

You shouldn't record foley outside, because you could introduce background noise that doesn't match the one from the original scene. Instead record it in a controlled environment and then use the 60 second recording to fill the background noise combined with other sounds that are relevant to the story. Still nice video! Keep them coming

[@YousufUqaili]

Pretty sure he was using a very directional mic/shotgun mic to record the foley.

[@StretchReality]

I think he did it on purpose. Since most of the film was shot outside he recorded foley outside to better match the sound to what it would really sound like outside, but typically yes you want to record on a soundstage or something similar with no background audio.

[@DSLRguide]

+Diogo Almeida hmm I see what you are saying.. however, I don't have a studio to control the reverb, so whenever I record indoors, it sounds like it was recorded indoors. So it's true that I had to be careful of wind sounds, and other background noises, but I think it worked well since the scenes were taking place outdoors :)

[@lamenamethefirst]

The problem with recording outdoors is that it often contains sounds that you don't want, which is noise. Even if the ambience fits, it's better to have it separately because that would give you more flexibility in your mix. The real problem begins when you work with a lot of clips. One sound may have a S/N ratio that's not great but passable, but when you add several such clips together in the mix all that noise starts adding up and makes your mix sound muddy. That is often the difference between "Some work has been done on the audio" and "that mix sounds really crisp". If you've got a space that's well isolated from background noise but has reverb there's a solution. I can already see you've installed absorbers. They can control the reverb when properly placed in a small room. Any remaining reverb should be minimal and if you get the microphone close enough, the reflected sounds shouldn't create much of a problem. If there's still some reverb that's colouring the sound you can use izotope's De reverb plugin and you'll get a sound that's pretty much dry as a bone.

[@lamenamethefirst]

Of course you have to pay for the software so I mentioned it as a last resort.

[@NomadicInThePhilippines]

great video, sound is sooo important

[@kieranproskills]

Another in depth and interesting video. That has got me considering how I could improve aspects of my own filming. Thank you Simon.

[@DSLRguide]

+kieranproskills thanks for the positivity :)

[@downDOGMAyoga]

Could you do a video on your sound editing process? For cleaning up and clearing your voice when you speak to the mic?

[@pierrekiwiz]

Congrats on the 200K subscribers! I've been here for 1 year and it's good to see your channel growing! I've definitely seen some improvement on the quality of your contetn so keep it up!

[@DSLRguide]

+PierreKiwiz thanks Pierre :)

[@jordantomasello]

you are so inspiring and helpful for aspiring filmmakers like myself!

[@LouisFindlay]

Really enjoying these videos

[@MikleShnikle]

If you run into clipping on a mix, turn down all of the audio instead of just the thing that's causing the audio to clip

[@haydenlee8332]

Your videos are helpful and amazing as always! Thanks Simon!

[@robrobasmr5757]

Trying to get into the filming short movies. I’m planning on buying a 4K Black magic camera. Amazing advise

[@sallute]

Very clear and well explained. As well as a filmmaker you could also be a presenter and a teacher.

[@LuanSalama]

that's so good. I used some sound effects on my video (all sounds except the song really) and it makes a hell of a difference - It was just a 'just for fun' video tho -

[@MrFrostbity]

and again, a great video man! greetings from switzerland and keep on going :D

[@charlesgamble520]

Thanks for this Simon! This video is just what I needed as I am currently making a short film for college.

[@DSLRguide]

+CGMEDIA all the best with the project!

[@TheVictoriousShot]

extremely useful info. thanks for the excellent tips

[@trinitytran2607]

You are amazing and talented and I have subscribed to your channel. There is one thing (and I am not asking you to change it) that I cannot -for the life of me, endure. It's the sound of crunching apples. I have this weird "thing" ever since I was a kid towards the sound of teeth biting into fresh apples. It's equivalent to nails on chalkboard or silverware scrapping against chinaware plates But worse. Silly isn't it? Anyway, eat your apples away. I just have to end your videos before you bite into it. lol! ROCK ON!

[@DSLRguide]

+Trinity Tran haha pretty weird

[@joeschmoe5218]

This is one of my favorite videos

[@smashball3343]

Even though you still shoot on one of the old canon rebel camera's, your video's are still great and Have a great meaning to them!

[@JarhnsLuxuryWorld]

Great video helps out alot. Will you do a video about EQ & reverb etc. like you said in the video?

[@benrogersfilm]

well good video ... recording foley now for my final college project ... convenient for me ;)

[@RainbowsInsideOfYou]

Damnit you're good. If i get lazy in post with sound, ill steal breathing, running, little sounds i find throughout filming and kinda tweak and throw it in scenes as well. Just until i get a few decent recorders and mics you suggested from your blog page.

[@cuisined]

Unbelievable!, even the apple crunch sound effect was an aftermath edit.

[@tjsmind]

Just got inspired! Im gonna make a video using these tips.

[@meeribad6784]

Hey Simon amazing video the hardwork shows bro... Just a small request I was interested in how u edit the sounds after recording them.... If u can make a video on that it would b great thank you

[@bryanemurphy]

Very impressive sound design, Simon... NICE WORK!!! 👍

[@DSLRguide]

+Bryan Murphy thanks Bryan!

[@overdev1993]

What I hate about films on the tv or computer is that a little quieter dialoge is barley hearable then I turn the sound up and there is a action sequence with loud music or just one short explosion and then its way too loud :/

[@canadude6401]

+OverDev YES!!! Does anybody know why? TV Shows don't seem to have this problem, but any of my movies (old or new) on DVD and Blu Ray do this, and I hate it.

[@TalesOfWar]

+OverDev That's down to dynamic range and the channel separation. A lot of shows and movies are of course made with surround sound in mind, so they use the more central channels for dialogue, but when there's a boom or something it's all channels, so you get bleed from the others into just left and right. If you watch it on a properly set up 5.1/7.1 or whatever then it should sound a lot more balanced. The dynamic range also plays a part. Audio with higher dynamic range has a bigger "gap" between the low and the highs. Voices tend to be mixed with a higher dynamic range, but explosions etc are generally compressed and are much closer to the clipping level. Look up the "Loudness War" for a great explanation of how reducing the dynamic range for extra volume affects things.

[@overdev1993]

is there something I can do about that? On the pc I can do that in the video player settings but on the tv ?

[@canadude6401]

+TalesOfWar Thanks for the insight. I suspected it was a channel separation, since on my no longer connected home theatre receiver/speakers, etc it wasn't an issue until now.

[@lamenamethefirst]

TalesOfWar is absolutely right. Your blurays are meant to be played on a 5.1 system or higher. The center channel contains most of the dialogue with some amount of it fed to the left and right. If you're listening to a bluray in stereo and for some reason your system hasn't downmixed it properly you may lose the center channel information. So you hear left over dialogue from the LR channels and the dialogue sounds weak. Music and other effects are more generously added to the LR so they appear much louder. If you listen to a regular TV broadcast it will sound fine on your TV or computer because it will usually be in stereo (or even mono) with the exception of HD channels and the dynamic range will be killed by most stations so you'll get the same level throughout the film.

[@CanberkSezer]

I enjoy watching your videos every week

[@BarefootMediaTV]

what are Anton's thoughts on all this?

[@canadude6401]

+PeglegMedia Anton is clever af

[@cjavisuals]

I love your work so much! Thank you for really helping us with wonderful, helpful content, such as this video!

[@DSLRguide]

+PIGGWORK* no problem ;)

[@kmuralikrishna1582]

Excellent, Bro really happy with your vedios, I have a small query here.. What are the list of equipments that are required for sync sound ..? Boom road, type of mic, software name for make sync sound etc... Please specify list of things/equipments needed

[@flappymlg3607]

Nice video! Its weird how underrated sound can be right?

[@ChrisProuse]

Beautifully done Simon :)

[@chinmaigmegalamane2505]

love you man...... you are doing a great job....all the very best

[@johevideos]

OMG ...... this is impressive Simon.

[@EdoDijkgraaf]

That apple is starting to annoy me (I love it!). This is a great episode. Cheers Simon!

[@Divineshot]

Stay creative. Great video man!

[@HardStickman]

After each one of your videos, I want to make a movie and eat an apple.

[@AndrewPRoberts]

What if the apple he eats at the end is the same apple every week? Like he's slowly eating the same apple, bite by bite, one bite every week. Then, when he finishes the apple, he gets a new apple and starts over again.

[@MrKeksBombe]

would be awsome to hear before and after on a szene!

[@just4all1]

you are inspiring me to create my first movie thanks for the great tips and sharing with us this great channel

[@DSLRguide]

+just4all1 go for it

[@ishy4581]

very informative, yet clear and easy. thumbs up!

[@michaelsamazingday8259]

thanks man i learned everything from this channel

[@yano8621]

love your videos man :D watching them really helped me on my short.

[@saloksingh7]

Man, a big thank you for this one.

[@triplear-tech6196]

Great video as usual! Im not a filmaker, but i learned alot from your videos

[@nenolima5595]

great explanation... thanks to share.... just learning with you how to make film/good recording. I saw you dont approach your mic to the object you wanna record, right?

[@8o8inSquares]

Sick! As a music producer I approve! Quite inspiring

[@livingquynh]

Wow, this is impressive!

[@newmagicfilms]

Great videos ! I just discovered you . You make a good joob with limited budget