Blog written by Ann Michel and Phil Wilde, coprincipals, Insights International

Why should you bother to create a sound track from scratch and mix together audio tracks into a sound track, a soundscape? 

Is it worth the effort? 

Sometimes less is more. 

What about silence? Try it.

Nothing challenges our busy brains more than to fill this silence, this void. 

A little silence can go a long way. 

Musicians know this. Without a rest note, there is no syncopation. Syncopation adds interest, as do many other musical forms. 

 

Go ahead. Get your viewers to work a little. 

Creating a good sound track requires great subtlety. And it is subtlety and nuance that separates competent, good work from great work.

Blog written by Ann Michel and Phil Wilde, coprincipals, Insights International

Which comes first, the picture or the sound?

For me, it is often a song or sound that catalyses a show. I love to edit to music. I love to find the rhythm and flow in images and their sequencing based on a great song.

In a production, finishing up the audio track is usually done last.

Many musicians scoring a soundtrack for you will require a "picture lock" version, a completed, edited show to work from.

This can leave you editing the picture with only your brain—and not your heart.

However, if you know and trust your collaborators, this reverse process can work.

Sometimes, you can get early versions of music to edit to, to set your moods and rhythms.

This creative exchange between editor and sound designer can be the best part of production, going back and forth, editing and mixing with your heart as well your brain.