Honing my post-production skills, I will be undertaking a complete sound replacement for the movie trailer associated with A Quiet Place Part II. Follow this project as I guide you through the steps I take towards providing a polished trailer, including mastered stereo and surround sound versions...
A Quiet Place was a a sci-fi horror film released in 2018, which essentially follows the struggles of a family trying to survive as extraterrestrial creatures with hypersensitive hearing hunt them. It's sequel is set to be released in March, and the premise seems similar: silence is survival.
Due to the nature of this content, I immediately have ideas to play with sound juxtaposition. This film theme lends itself to having a large dynamic range, which will also satisfy the horror tropes an audience would be expecting. I would like to compose an appropriate score, to maximise tension and viewer immersion. Creative sound design could also be largely beneficial to a sci-fi trailer, particularly when creating the sound of an alien. To create a truly unique product, I aim to experiment with foley recordings and layering other pieces of sound design. Finally I will be mixing and mastering for both a stereo and surround sound release.
PRE-PRODUCTION
First up I drafted a planning document to manage the project. This assisted to break down my process to seven key milestones:
Dialogue
Foley
SFX
Score
Mixing
Mastering
Surround
After rewatching the trailer far too many times (thankfully muted - I'm trying to approach this with a fresh canvas approach), I had pulled together a draft spotting list. I then set up my session, importing all the files I was provided, and set location markers for all key components of the trailer. It was time to clean up some dialogue.
DIALOGUE
As the predominant source of narrative, Purcell (2013) argues dialogue is arguably one of the most important aspects to consider when mixing for a film, and his extensive book dictated a lot of my processes. Understandably though this is a film trailer, which differs slightly, but the importance of clear dialogue that matches an actor's mouth is no less necessary. Beach House Studios (2019) also offer a commentary on the importance of dialogue, though argue it more from a logical start-point; such that the rest of the session can be built around it to provide a well-balanced final mix.
By using ProTools' Spot mode, I quickly positioned all of the dialogue to its appropriate location. Though I soon discovered that the ADR voice actors were not perfectly in time. Consequently there were moments where I had to cut the clip and reposition it to match the mouth movement. My laptop has a tendency to be overloaded quite quickly (unsurprising now that I look at the amount of processing in my above screenshot), and as such getting this timing right was a more arduous task than expected; I felt like I was constantly battling against the screen lag. To solve this issue I had to save the session and bring it into SAE to edit. I also used this time to make use of iZotope's De-noise, De-pop, and De-esser software, to assist in removing any unwanted audio artefacts.
Once all dialogue was sitting in its appropriate location, I got to work "cleaning it up" some more. I did this by:
Trimming the clips to their minimum necessary length
Placing fades at their beginning and end
Clip-gaining everything to a more consistent level
Using EQ to bring remove unwanted frequencies
Using EQ to enhance intelligibility of the voice (typically sitting around the 4kHz and 10kHz range)
Using a compressor to tame the peaks and bring it up to a perfectly consistent level
Beach House Studios (2019) actually suggested to normalise the dialogue, though in practice I found this to be over-compressed (perhaps a better compressor/limiter would be different), and found individually compressing the tracks provided a better outcome.
All of these have been techniques listed above I have used previously, and as such felt almost second nature. Though there were some creative decisions, and a few tricks I employed, to enhance the dialogue as much as possible. For example, in the opening scene the mother repeats "where" three times, but her mouth appears to only move twice. I made the executive decision to cut one of these for clarity and effect. I also had to minimise accents on letters, such as when the man says "there's nothing left", I had to bring down the level of the "t" significantly. In that same scene, the man is also wearing a mask, so automating the frequency parameter for a low-pass filter enabled me to make his voice sound appropriately muffled.
Getting a little more technical, was the creative ways I tried to improve diction. For example, when the woman says "please, there are people out there worth saving". Some of these "p's" and "th's" were poorly recorded, though with some quick chopping and editing, I was able to bring these sounds from other parts of her dialogue and crossfade them in seamlessly. This proved somewhat effective, however, in hindsight, I would have preferred to ask her to re-record the vocal take for a professional level output.
Finally, I incorporated some sends from each channel: reverb to simulate location (particularly for the car scene), and a heavy parallel compression to ensure dialogue is consistent even when whispering. The final result was synced dialogue, that was free from unwanted noise and artefacts, easily understood, and which suited the scenes they were in.
FOLEY / SFX
The next step for me was to put in place any necessary foley. Being supplied with some files made this task much quicker, especially when combined with my own foley folder, including things like a shotgun load, or some footsteps. There was a lot of foley throughout the trailer, and as I was approaching it from the "world-building" perspective, it was these subtle sounds that are so important to the movie's theme.
The first situation I had to tackle was the car. I was provided with what sounded like a V8, which did not correlate very well with the image on-screen of a small family car. As such heavy EQ was applied, mostly taking out the lower-frequency content, to minimise the V8 'roar'. Now that the engine noise aligned with the vehicle, I had to navigate my way around taking a foley sample with constant acceleration, and making it sound like a car that is travelling at low speeds. To tackle this problem, I layered the sound of the accelerating car with that of a car's interior while it idled. This had the effect of 'calming' the original V8 sound, whilst also providing an easy segue into its idle once stopped. From here it was a matter of chopping up car accelerations, and layering tyre screeches to imitate swerving, turning corners, braking, or accelerating quickly. It also involved a lot of creative fades, and some EQ automation, so as not to draw attention to the changes.
One key moment of foley in the trailer centres around the moment where the woman trips on a rope which causes a "bottle-trap" to be dropped. With a vision for a highly juxtaposed trailer, I knew I wanted this sound to be a big impact. I set out with Jordan and a Zoom H6 recorder to find something that we could use. In the end we settled on layering a few different sounds; coffee mugs hit together, a can hitting a mug, and myself punching a big red metal box opposite SAE. The mugs and can hits were duplicated numerous times, offsetting the transients to make it seem like a realistic smattering of noise. Punching of the metal box was included for what Metcalfe (2013) refers to as a "sweetener". It's purpose is not to emphasise realism, but rather to add bass to the sound for impact effect. Finally, I wanted to creatively use "too much" reverb to signify the sound echoing in the protagonist's head. Overall, this sound design trick is the classic trademark of a trailer impact, and although it is often over-used, I believe it was appropriate for this situation (just not for every scene-change, or pivotal moment).
Before using the punching of the metal box on the bottles however, I originally recorded it for the moment where the big metal door shuts. For this moment, I pushed it extremely hot through a limiter to gain the desired sound, but later found it to work on the introduction, car smashes, and bottle drops, when mixed in at a much lower level, just to "fill out" the sound. The concept of layering for improved sounds is discussed in detail in this SoundOnSound article, further justifying my concepts from a real-world perspective.
The alien sound was stumbled upon more by chance, than by direct intention. This seems to be a common trend amongst sound-designers, with Godfrey (2011) commenting in a section titled "Happy Accidents", that serendipity can be a prime source of chaotic gold. Whilst playing around with time-stretching clips in combination with iZotope's De-noise software, Jordan and I selected the "Output noise only" option to see what was output. Just by chance it happened to sound extremely similar to the creaking noise of a metal structure under stress. Consequently, I used it as my first layer for the alien sound.
In a similar manner, whilst recording various footsteps, fence shakes, and whatnot with the Zoom, I was intrigued by what crushing a berry I found on the ground would sound like in studio conditions. Turns out it was a great idea, because this wet, somewhat otherworldly sound suited the alien very well. I had hoped to layer a third, somewhat more menacing, sound as a type of screech or roar, but time did not permit in the end and I was instead left with a rather quiet alien. I felt this presented itself as ominous, and once again with respect to the nature of the film, fitting.
Overall I really enjoyed this part of the process. It was filled with creative processes, thinking outside the box (and inside with a few plugins), and problem-solving. For me this is quite rewarding, particularly when the final result is something that you're proud of. I wish I had more time to create a more unique alien, and to perfect the bottles dropping. Given more time I would also revisit things like finding a more appropriate car sample, but time restrictions halted this process, and it was time to move onto the associated score.
SCORE
Following the theme of juxtaposition between quiet and loud, I intended to compose a piece of music that would compliment this sentiment. My DAW of choice for composition is Ableton, but this presented a problem. Ableton's video engine is quite poor, as I discovered 6 months ago on a different project. To overcome this issue I ended up bringing my laptop to SAE, playing the project on ProTools on a computer, and I sat my laptop in front. This allowed me to see the video whilst creating music. I also hired out a MIDI keyboard so that I could map some parameters to the knobs to modulate the sound more naturally via automation.
First I found a bass synth sample that I thought fit the opening scene, and manipulated the sound according to my feeling of the visual aspect. I began playing this once the alien dropped, building oblivious suspense until the moment it entered the scene. Once the opening scene was over it was just a matter of manipulating the sound a little to continue for the remainder of the trailer. Next I found a shrill-sounding synth and played on the upper register of the keyboard until I found one that provided the necessary "tension" note.
I then took note of the exact times I wanted moments to sync with the music: eg. log falling, metal door shutting. This particularly happened at the end of the trailer, during the montage. I knew that this section of the trailer would be a point of crescendo and music would consume the trailer. I also knew that continuing with this idea of juxtaposition would require me to include some large drum hits for effect. By taking note of the exact times of these moments, I was able to create markers in Ableton, to perfectly sync these drum hits with the action of the visual.
With the low-frequency content accounted for, and some idea of when the drum hits would occur, I then delved into the core musical component. I thought a MIDI piano sample would fit nicely, and with a bit of reverb it provided the ominous tone that I was after. I then got to work filling the gaps with various synth samples, and a lot of sound design, to really sell the emotion of the piece of music. This included a lot of drums to provide somewhat of an ominous beat, sitting distant in the mix. It also included a kick sample I found to position where some pivotal moments occurred. I was not entirely happy with this sample, and felt it a bit of a copout to include an over-used drop-tuned kick at these moments, though due to time restrictions I was forced to not spend any more time searching or manipulating and move on, with the intention to come back to it later.
Finally, this process of sound design lead me to a large synth sound, which I had reversed, and automated to ever-increase in pitch, providing a large crescendo for the trailer. I also found a sound that simulated a static noise, to incorporate increasingly as the trailer progressed, which I included rhythmically to make the drums feel like they were "live" (as in electric).
I tried to position the music as wide in the stereo field as possible, to leave lots of room central for the dialogue. It was also necessary to ensure that the drum hits were musically rhythmic, whilst not interfering with the dialogue. Overall, I was reasonably happy with the music, and felt it provided a good soundscape for the trailer to sit against. I believe it effectively represented the juxtaposition of quiet to loud, and its large crescendo built a lot of tension. With some more time I would change the down-tuning kick sample, and smoothen out the scene where the door slams, but adhering to time limits is the game and it's time to include final additions, trailer swooshes, and mix the thing.
MIXING
Mixing this project was wholly different that I originally anticipated. At first I considered it to be similar to any other song I had worked on, in that I look at the individual components first, perfecting them under a microscope, and then balance these elements out. Though with 90+ channels of audio to mix, this proved in actuality to be much more difficult; particularly with a deadline approaching and a laptop that doesn't work well with so much processing at once.
Consequently, my first step was to commit some of these channels to allow the software to run smoother. In doing so however, I created havoc for myself, forgetting that I had left minute details to be perfected down the track. From this was a few lessons that I won't be forgetting anytime soon:
Use separate sessions for ADR, Foley, & Music: get these components levelled, and then mix them as a whole. This is similar to the way it works in the real world, as these jobs will rarely be completed by the same person (Purcell, 2013).
Don't leave anything until "later". Do it then, do it properly (at the very least, write down a list of what you aim to come back to).
Think hard before you commit.
This last one was rather frustrating to try and correct. I had to open old backup sessions and toggle between them and the current session to replicate what was done. With numerous channels to do this to it was quite time consuming. My alternative was to continue from this backup session, but with a deadline approaching and a computer that didn't want to play ball, it was not an option. I believe this resulted in not my best work. I tried my best to remain patient and work through it appropriately, but I feel like the result was me approaching the situation more methodically, rather than creatively.
I have also recently moved house, which means that my "home studio" has changed location, and as such I am still getting to know the new space. I believe this also had an adverse affect on my mix, and with some more time I would like to try out a few different studios at SAE to get a different perspective.
Now that my excuses are out of the way, there were a couple of great things I gathered through extensive reading that helped to raise the trailer's potential. I learned that ambience fades should not be abrupt, to prevent jolting the viewer and awakening them to the mechanics behind the image on screen. Upon reading this I went back through a lot of elements and blended the fades together more smoothly. It seems realism should not at all get in the way of a creative audio story.
Another good read was an article written by a professional film mixer (Filmmixer, 2015). They explained in great detail the concept of Leq (previously mentioned in my movie trailer case study blog). This measurement for loudness uses a filter which places particular emphasis on "annoying" sounds, with less bias towards the bass. Consequently, the writer's tip to creating a louder trailer mix is to include "more low frequency elements, less mids, and more sounds in the surrounds". Though as I'm yet to mix in 5.1 and properly master the trailer, this information will have to wait, just thought it was interesting to think about for future endeavours.
Ultimately, I would really like to re-approach this trailer differently, looking at the three core components separately, rather than everything at once. It seemed too much for my brain to compute, and was extremely tedious looking over 90+channels of information at once. I do not doubt that I have overlooked components, and new elements will appear each viewing. There is always room for improvement, and any spare time I have over the next few weeks I intend to do just that: "massaging the mix" as I keep hearing. But for now, here is my first mix (also run through Maxim until it hit 14LUFs for professional output):
MASTERING
I approached mastering this project differently than I have my previous musical endeavours. Due to the large dynamic range of the trailer it seemed odd applying compression on the mastering chain, as the elements it reduces may as well be affected with clip gain to bring their level closer together. Similarly, as each component is constantly changing throughout the video, applying an EQ seemed inconsequential. I found it more beneficial to apply it to the individual track that the problem frequency lies on in the mix phase. This situation was very different from the application of mastering to a song so I delved through the interwebs to find some suggestions. Filmmixer (2015) offered his method of mixing, which included using a lot of multiband compression on the mix, rather than EQ.
I took this advice, and tried applying a multiband compressor to my mix, but with some trial and error I couldn't find a setting that really helped the trailer. Perhaps with some more time (and under less stressful circumstances) I would be able to research a little more, and practice with this process. However, I don't have access to a multiband plugin at home, and my time in the S6 was running up.
I routed the session through the Manley limiter, without the link engaged to treat each 'side' of the signal separately. After looking through the Manley specs I couldn't ascertain whether this hardware limiter provided a ceiling limit of -0.3dBFS. I understand this to be the industry standard, so to solve this problem I next ran the signal back into my session. Here I used a limiter plugin, with nothing but the ceiling engaged. Finally I used a metering plugin and adjusted the Manley limiter's setting until it hit just above 14LUFS.
I am still amazed at how much this analogue gear glues everything together. The standard of the outcome was improved greatly, and made it feel more like an industry standard product to me. Upon listening back I discovered a few elements that I would really like to fix, normalising the dialogue to a consistent level for one. Unfortunately (as previously mentioned in the mixing phase) due to file management complications this task would be monumental, as I would have to revisit the trailer from a mid-way point.
Consequently, I am left with a result that I am happy with for student purposes, but would really aim to improve for a portfolio application. I will definitely reattempt sound replacements in future, honing my skills and building my portfolio. For now, here is the final result, in beautiful YouTube quality:
SURROUND
Unfortunately due to the COVID crisis, a surround mix has been postponed until further notice. I look forward to applying theories discussed here to this project, but from the perspective of a film rather music.
Stay Tuned
- TA
REFERENCES
Beach House Studios. (2019). Mixing Sound for Film – Audio Post Production, An Overview. Retrieved from https://www.thebeachhousestudios.com/mixing-sound-for-film-audio-post-production-overview/
Filmmixer. (2015). Mixing / Sound Editing a Trailer. Retrieved from https://film-mixing.com/2015/07/11/mixing-sound-editing-a-trailer/
Godfrey, J. (2011). Creative Sound Design For Music. Retrieved from https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/creative-sound-design-music
Metcalfe, N. (2013). Sound Design For Visual Media & Radio. Retrieved from https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/sound-design-visual-media-radio
Purcell, J. (2013). Dialogue editing for motion pictures: a guide to the invisible art. Burlington, MA: Taylor & Francis.
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