Inside the Sounds of ‘Saving Atlantis’

What does it take to create the sound edit and design elements of a feature documentary? Answer: a lot of different samples, plugins, speakers, and most importantly, patience.

August 24, 2018

What does it take to create the sound edit and design elements of a feature documentary? Answer: a lot of different samples, plugins, speakers, and most importantly, patience. Here I’ll share a crash-course outline of the process I took to go from Adobe Premiere project to finished sound mix for our 2018 film, Saving Atlantis.

An overview of the entire project in Logic Pro X.

Here’s a quick overview of some of the gear we relied on over the course of the process:

  • DAW: Logic Pro X. This pick made sense for our unit when I came on in 2016, when our audio budget was minimal and we liked the flexibility offered by the array of native plugins.
  • Audio Interface: UAD Apollo 8 Duo. Using hardware emulations from Universal Audio gave us a substantial boost in production quality, whether I was trying to increase the clarity of an element that was supposed to sound natural, or trying to effect a sound to fit in with a specific subset of uniquely colored sounds. The fact that we were able to offset the DSP onto the hardware of the Apollo allowed this project to stay nimble and responsive, something I would have otherwise expected to see get bogged down with a project of this size. With the addition of a UAD Satellite Quad this project still only uses about 71% of the available DSP with the plugins I used.
  • Sound Editor: Izotope RX6 Advanced. We used this to repair audio that had any range of common issues you run into in documentary filmmaking, such as windy plosives, clicky vocals, high noise floors, and noisy recording environments.
  • Monitors: Tascam VL-S5’s. This was another early selection to keep costs down; however to their credit they’ve led me to produce reasonably translatable results.

The chronology of the process was a tricky thing to determine early on because there were so lingering unresolved elements of the film edit. I won’t go into the details of how many revisions the film edit saw after “picture lock” (note the ‘TIME SHIFT 1/2/3’ markers in the project window), but generally the film still followed the steps of:

  1. Sound Design
  2. Sound Edit
  3. Sound Mix

The sound design elements were added at any various stage of the process. Some of it was added by the editors for effect early on, some of it when I first stepped in, and some even after the mix was done. This was determined by the revisions that were applied after the first round of screenings was completed, such as footage or music we couldn’t get clearance on. Sound design (or “editing,” depending on who you talk to) is the most challenging part of the process for me since that hasn’t historically been my emphasis and I don’t have a very extensive library of sounds to draw from. You can only get away with using the same WAVES_CRASHING.wav samples so many times. Some SFX were recorded on locations with a Zoom H4n. Many SFX were sourced from open source libraries, where there can be quite a few high-quality samples when you filter search results by sample rate.

When I jumped into the task of approaching the overall edit, I was bouncing back and forth between using Logic and Izotope RX6. Unfortunately, my job required quite a bit of organizational work up front since we were unable to successfully export a functioning .AAF/.OMF file from the project in Adobe Premiere (I still don’t know why, and the time I spent forum-diving was fruitless).

My suggestion to the editors at that point was to organize all the character dialogue onto the same audio tracks, the music onto its own respective tracks, and the SFX onto their own separate tracks as well. This also meant that all of the volume automation and gain changes across separate regions in Premiere had to be reset or manually removed and normalized. These tracks were all individually exported from Premiere as ‘stems’ that I imported into Logic along with an export of the full film in stereo, immediately SMPTE locked and got to work splitting regions and categorizing onto tracks and into track stacks. Color coding regions was essential for this part of the process: visual tastes aside, the utilitarian advantages offered by chromatically indicating which regions contain what kinds of information are indispensable.

An unnatural-sounding interview recording of KAUST student Mohammad Binsarhad warranted a longer audio FX chain. The UAD Teletronix LA-2A works just as well for spoken vocals as it does singing vocals. The Pultec Pro Legacy plugin did the heavy lifting of shaping the vocals’ presence, and Logic’s parametric EQ helped eliminate any lingering tanky qualities. Finally, the UAD Oxford Inflator brought some brightness and warmth to the audio which allowed it to sit on top of a drone/ambient music track without any sidechain compression.

I allocated a track for every unique audio source. For the English mix, that meant that every character had a track; if their interviews were recorded in two or three different locations, they had multiple. For the Spanish dubs mix, I created a new track only for every speaker who recorded parts for characters. Our Spanish voice talent would read for multiple characters since a unique reader for each character would have been unreasonable.

The music tracks had a little less reason behind their organization. I started off with two or three to keep overlap separate between tracks that had long fades, and then created new tracks for each song that needed unique processing. For example, some songs needed specific attenuation of sub-bass frequencies while many others sat in the mix better with a wide ~5dB reduction around 1-2kHz. A couple lower-quality music tracks required a more intensive approach, where I used parallel processing techniques and the UAD Little Labs VOG plugin to give them a fuller feel.

One of our soundtrack cues had a unique problem where the beginning of the track was cut off by a late fade-in. I had to dive in and try and emulate the sound of the opening piano line with software instruments and plugins.
To achieve the washy, spacious character of the source track’s piano, I used UAD’s Ampex ATR-102 tape simulator to apply some chorus and their emulation of the Lexicon 224 unit to douse it with reverb.

The SFX tracks were the most sprawling of all since each sample typically needed customized attention to get it to sit in the mix properly. Most of the time, basic compression and EQ was necessary to get them to live in the same space as everything else, and a subsequent reduction of levels so that they remained present without distracting from the principal elements of the mix.

Overall, this process followed a similar form that most of my audio post work involves when working on pieces for Oregon State Productions, but at a much larger scale. It’s been laborious but highly rewarding to have the opportunity to work on my first feature documentary as the audio lead. I’m sure I’m still making my share of rookie mistakes, but I look forward to learning more with every new project that comes our way.

-Daniel Cespedes

TAGS:

CATEGORIES: Multimedia Projects

1,071 thoughts on “Inside the Sounds of ‘Saving Atlantis’”

  10. DU Recorder is an easy-to-use screen recording software that can be downloaded for Android and PC. To get the app, first go to the Google Play store and sign in using your Google account. If you have a Windows PC, you can download DU recorder in an EXE document. There is no need to download a paid emulator to use the program on your computer. This free app is 28 MB in size. You can install the program on your computer and then use it on your smartphone or tablet. Download DU Recorder APK

  11. CCMIE Group offers everything from Rig expansion options to rental services, and is the only company that provides all these related services to a major fan manufacturer. CCMIE Group is committed to offer competent service and bring a new brand experience for both clients and guests. With an experienced team of more than 500 drilling rig professionals, you will find solace knowing we are here for you.

  13. If you are looking for best gastroenterologist surgeon in Ahmedabad, then contact Dr. Atul Shah, who is a renowned laparoscopic and GI surgeon in Ahmedabad. He has been practicing as a medical professional more than 25 years.

    For more details visit : https://www.dratulshah.in/

  14. Dr. Atul Shah has been a specialist laparoscopic and general surgeon in Ahmedabad for more than 25 years. He is presently the MEDICAL DIRECTOR at Kaizen Gastroenterology, where he specializes in laparoscopic Bariatric and Hernia surgery. He is in charge of the Obesity and Hernia Center at Kaizen.

  18. Wouldn’t you like to experience that we are one of the leading companies in the sector in the production of Outdoor, Beach, Garden, Balcony, Sea, Cafe, Restaurant Umbrellas by getting support about product information and having knowledge of every detail of the production of the systems you order? http://www.semsiyeimalatcisi.com/

  19. which meets all their needs by offering a wide range of products to its domestic and foreign customers under the quality and reliability of the Elitplus Manufacturer Company, is constantly growing. We manufacture, assemble and export Aluminum, Aluminum Profile, Aluminum Pipe, Aluminum Joinery, Composite Coating, Aluminum Plate, Aluminum Grilles to all over the world. http://www.aluminyumimalatcisi.com/

  20. İş disiplini ve iş ahlakı konusunda gereken önem ve kriterlere uyan Şensoy firması herkese tavsiyemdir.

    Mayıs, Haziran Aylarına Şimdiden Rezervasyon yapan tüm müşterilerine %20 İndirim fırsatı sunuyor.

  24. ahşap saksılarda sınırlı stoklarla alacağınız kişiye özel saksı modellerinde son fırsat! Acele edin bu fırsatı kaçırmayın.
    uygunahsap.com
    ÜCRETSİZ KARGO
    PEŞİN FİYATINA 3 TAKSİT.
    KULLANIŞLI VE ZARİF

  36. my store this is high and cheap price product sell. Welcome to the World of Realistic Sex Dolls.very good product for my store YOKIDOLL specializes in high-quality real life sex doll、male sex dolls with distinguished tastes. Our Real Sex Doll each has a personal character to fulfill your deepest desires.
    full size adult doll：lifelike sex dolls 、mini sex doll、life size sex doll .courier for free！
    than yokidoll product men specipice product is very high quality
    thats product high image and high quality product sell frist sell best offer my website
    sex doll, our store is the best product. smart product my store. my product is best and comportable quality product dolls
    https://yokidolls.com

  37. Rora bong is a marijuana product that is an effective way of getting the effects from marijuana without actually touching it. It feels great, does not cause negative side effects like paranoia and anxiety, and is completely odourless. The best part about Rorabong is that it can be smoked through the skin, so it doesn’t have to touch all the complications and negative health consequences associated with smoking marijuana.

  38. Tearora manufacture travel travel ceramic tea set for travelers who want to take their favorite beverage with them on the go in a stylish container. It makes for an excellent hostess gift because it is designed to easily fit into most cabinets and doesn’t take up too much space.

  42. Your articles are really very useful, Keep updating to always provide insight to everyone, I will always read and share your articles, thank you!

  45. What does it take to create the sound edit and design elements of a feature documentary? Answer: a lot of different samples, plugins, speakers, and most importantly, patience.
    io games

  46. Check out this list of the best water heater providers in the UAE. You can enlist expert assistance in locating a choice of high-quality equipment that will enable you to quickly integrate the greatest quality solutions into your operations and improve the water supply in your homes and offices. They’ve assisted a number of clients with their unique needs, and their goods will be an excellent addition to a variety of houses and office buildings, as well as helping you enhance the environment and hot water supply in structures. Their high-quality goods will quickly help you capitalize on market expansion and streamline company operations.

  47. Check out this list of the best water heater providers in the UAE. You can enlist expert assistance in locating a choice of high-quality equipment that will enable you to quickly integrate the greatest quality solutions into your operations and improve the water supply in your homes and offices. They’ve assisted a number of clients with their unique needs, and their goods will be an excellent addition to a variety of houses and office buildings, as well as helping you enhance the environment and hot water supply in structures. Their high-quality goods will quickly help you capitalise on market expansion and streamline company operations.

Comments are closed.