Post Sound Design: The Art and Craft of Audio Post Production for the Moving Image

Description

Post Sound Design provides a practical introduction to the fascinating craft of editing and replacing dialog, creating Foley and sound effects, editing music, and balancing these elements to a final mix. Based on years of experience and teaching this material to students at Drexel University, award-winning film composer John Avarese offers user-friendly knowledge and stimulating exercises to help compose story, develop characters and create emotion through skillful creation of the sound track. Starting each chapter with a real-life example, the textbook is structured in such a way to create a fundamental understanding of the physics and the biological foundation of hearing, and putting it into practice with suggested movie scenes demonstrating the discussed audio techniques. Post Sound Design engagingly demonstrates the individual areas essential to creating a soundtrack that will enhance any media production.

John Avarese is an Associate Teaching Professor at Drexel University, USA, teaching Production Sound, Audio Post-Production, and Scoring to Picture. To date, Avarese has composed over 4000 commissioned scores and recorded an elegant collection of film music, as well as mixing and sound design on hundreds of projects, including 27 theatrical feature films, scores of short films, and six surround sound planetarium features.

Post Sound Design is perfect for all aspiring Sound Designers. It's an excellent guidebook for all aspects of film audio, from initial capture to final product, covering both aesthetic and technical concerns. John Avarese draws from his long career as a composer and sound designer to share priceless practical and organizational advice, as well as pitfalls to avoid. And it's written in John's down-to-earth style, making the information easy to digest. Sound is a vital component to any successful film. Good sound gives the visuals an extra magical dimension of context and character, adding elements and realities that can't be captured by a camera alone. On the other hand, poor sound will ruin excellent visuals. John Avarese offers key points to consider, even before a single scene is shot, to help ensure professional sound quality for films of any budget. Over the years, I've worked with John, and his musical and sonic talents really make my films come to life - the result of knowing what each other needs. So, let me go one step further and say: every filmmaker should read this book! If you understand the audio process, it'll improve your film and save you lots of heartache later on in post-production. * Michael Bailey, Independent Filmmaker, Philadelphia, PA, USA * Post Sound Design is an essential guide to the invisible, yet indispensable art of sound design for motion pictures. All notable, great works in cinema include great sound design. Sound is, after all, half the picture. No question, this book is required reading for emerging filmmakers! Post Sound Design tackles a complex subject and makes it highly accessible for readers at all levels to thoroughly understand the essentials of sound, as well as value the requisite expertise of advanced audio for film. This is essential reading for all filmmakers. I highly recommend this book! * Dede Maitre, Assistant Professor, Post Production Film and Media Arts Department, Center for the Arts, Temple University, Philadelphia PA * A comprehensive and practical guide to sound design for film, including the fundamentals of digital audio, getting the best out of your mixes, working with artists, studio set up and more. The case studies discuss real world sound projects and give aspiring artists valuable insight into the working practises of a sound designer and what is required when undertaking commercial projects. * Dave Payling, Senior Lecturer, Staffordshire University, UK * Excellent introductory text for post-production audio with detailed practical examples. Well laid out and accessible style with great diagrams. * Simon Waite, Staffordshire University, UK *