Post Production Part 1

This week we're going to take a look into the world of audio post production.


What is post production?

Post-production is part of the filmmaking process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures,television programs, radio programs, advertising, videos, audio recordings, photography and digital art. It is term for all stages of production occurring after the actual end of shooting and/or recording the completed work.

Post-production is, in fact, many different processes grouped under one name. These typically include:

• Editing the picture / television program
• Writing, (re)recording, and editing the soundtrack.
• Adding visual special effects - mainly computer-generated imagery (CGI) and digital copy from which release prints will be made (although this may be made obsolete by digital-cinematechnologies).
• Sound Design, Sound Effects, ADR, Foley and Music, culminating in a process known as sound re-recording or mixing.
• Transfer of film to Video or Data with a telecine and Color grading.
• 
  

Typically, the post-production phase of creating a film takes longer than the actual shooting of the film, and can take several months to complete. (Wikipedia)

Here are a couple of videos that give an example of the job(s) someone would do during post production.





This week we're going to begin working on our own post production work. In the Audio A folder you will find a Videos folder with 6 files in it. Choose one of the video clips that you would like to work with. Once you have the video clip that you like, we're going to import it to Pro Tools and begin making our own versions of the trailers. Let's take a look at the step-by-step process that we'll be using.


1. Go into Audio A Folder. Watch trailers. Pick which one you would like to work with.


2. Create a folder on your desktop labeled "yourname_trailer"


3. Open Pro Tools. Create a new session titled "yourname_trailer" and save it inside the folder you just created.


4. Once Pro Tools is open, let's import the video clip. Go to File > Import > Import Video File. Find your video file and import it. You should now have a video track on Pro Tools with an audio track under it.


5. Watch the video and analyze it. What sounds are being used? How is the timing on the sound fx?


6. Mute the audio.


7. In the Audio A folder you'll see a folder labeled Hollywood Edge. In this folder are sound fx and different audio clips that can be used for post production. Drag it to your desktop.


8. What sound FX will you be needing? Go to the Import Audio section of Pro Tools and check out the different sounds in the folders. Import the sound FX that you'll need for the video clip.


9. Next, let's work on using the grabber (hand) tool to place the sound fx where they need to be. Does it need to start at the beginning of the trailer? Play at the end? Play throughout the entire trailer? Place the sounds where you feel they need to be.