Oscars 2020: A Lesson in Audio Post-Production
As we try to regain our breath from last week’s BAFTAs, it feels like The Oscars have come round a bit faster than anticipated. Martin Scorsese has barely had a chance to dye his eyebrows or change out of his BAFTA and Golden Globe tuxedos.
This year’s edition is anticipated to be the most expensive Oscars to this day; however, we’re not here to talk about that. The Academy Awards categories we want to delve deep into are, of course, Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing.
Many times we notice that there is almost no differentiation between the two; or that the actual meaning behind each is not clear enough. Let’s try to provide some clarity and let’s assume that the soundscape of cinema is a taco (yes, play along, you will understand later). Taco editing is essentially all the ingredients. The whole thing: lettuce, chili, sauces, cheese, and your favorite meat.
Taco mixing is (told you it would help), as you might have already guessed, having the taco ready. Combining all the ingredients in the middle of a tortilla until you reach an aesthetic consistency. Both sound mixing and sound editing have been present since the early forms of cinema when the sound of film history was just an idea.
Today, we have Dolby Stereo, sound engineers working around the clock at their audio post-production studios. Perhaps today we don’t pay special attention to what we have — mics, booms, computers, software, digital audio workstations — , but these are pivotal for creating the sound of cinema as we know it.
When it comes to the Oscars, though, many are left curious about these categories. Especially right now, as we get ready for tomorrow’s edition. There have been a lot of misconceptions around the two over the years, especially when a film wins both. So, what’s the real difference?
Sound Editing
Let’s go back to tacos. All the sounds that are recorded for a film are essentially components, just like the ingredients you would use for a taco. Except in sound-land, these components are a door closing, lightsabers, animals, environmental sounds, and more. These sounds can be either recorded on set or during post-production at a later stage. With those sounds, a film is built.
Given the necessity for films to produce sounds and convey an engaging story, the vast majority of the sounds we hear in films are not recorded on set during filming. Sound effects, real sounds, fictional sounds, dialogue, music and more are born during post-production.
Winners of the Oscar for Best Sound Editing also include crafted sounds, fundamental to the film’s narrative, impact, and story. So, what does the associated guild consider worth nominating for this category? Those working in this industry deem adequate for Best Sound Editing the following:
- Sound designer: edits all recorded audio pieces and creates additional soundtracks.
- Sound editor: prepares, selects and gathers different sound recordings.
- Dialogue editor: works on ADR and edits all recorded dialogue lines.
- Sound effects editor: manipulates and/or creates other sound effects.
- Foley artist: recreates sound effects in a Foley studio.
- Music editor: compiles and tests different soundtracks.
Sound Mixing
Sound mixing is often referred to as finding the balance for various layers of the sounds that are present in a film: sound effects, music, dialogue lines, etc. The overarching ambiance and sound design are finally crafted properly across the film.
Think about all the sounds you hear in a film: the prominent sounds and the background noises. The varying levels of the soundtrack, the dialogue, the music cues. Everything fluctuates. A great example of Sound Mixing can be found in the first ten minutes of ‘Gravity’ (2013). If you have the chance to watch it again, pay attention to how the sound team decided to use the sounds you hear in those first sequences.
Those initial sounds, before the visuals even appear on the screen, are a depiction of the very sounds of our nature. The action takes place in outer space, the distant voices eventually get louder as they approach the audience. As the shuttle gets closer, the sound of the engines becomes clearer.
Winners of this category, considered by those working in this industry, deem adequate for Best Sound Mixing the following:
- Production sound mixer: records all sound for the final film cut.
- Audio engineer: records and mixes live sounds.
- Scoring mixer: collaborates with the film’s composer.
- ADR mixer: amends the dialogue-related sounds.
- Folex mixer: works alongside Foley artists in post-production.
So, yes, the Oscars for Sound Editing and Sound Mixing really reward two different things. The relationship between sound editing, sound mixing and storytelling, however, is perhaps the cornerstone of the whole audio post-production process. How audio design and sound mixing can be used to help storytelling, specifically in the films, is the main question that audio technicians strive to answer.
