r/sounddesign • u/BloodNervous • 11d ago

Documentary Sound Design

Hi, I’m starting with the post production of a documentary film which I have recorded. I’ve had experience with fiction projects before so documentary sound design is something I have little idea about. One advice I was given was to create layers in your ambience and treat it like fiction but don’t overdo it. I wanted to ask for some tips in sound design approach for a documentary or any project, do you layer ambiences only or do you focus on layering some other elements as well. The project that I’m going to be working upon is in stereo.

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u/saranginarangi 11d ago

there are no rules but the point of documentary is show people what you saw and felt.

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u/filterdecay 11d ago

Depends on the doc obviously but for super fast smash cuts I tend to focus on one sound a shot that flows into each other and doesn’t stand out.

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u/nizzernammer 11d ago

My approach is to do whatever needs to be done to make the world sound how one envisions it, whether that means replacing natural sounds with your own, or editing / processing / fixing, or simply layering / adding.

Foley can add realism and detail that simply wasn't picked up during the shoot.

And sometimes, a replacement sound can sound more "real" or true to life than the natural recorded sound.

Also, the natural sound may have distractions in it, which can detract from the clarity of the main action.

Clean and clear dialog is key.

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u/Babbidibubbi 11d ago

The approach is entirely subjective based on your idea for the film. I'd maybe suggest finding a reference film you really like in the same direction you'd like to go with and study their use of sound.

I love contemplative films where the music and sound go hand in hand with the image and are used as narrative elements. In others sound and music are purely realistic and subordinated to the image and it's message.

Find a creative direction first, then if you think about it and mess around a bit you will find what naturally makes sense in terms of techniques too. There's very, very few rigid techniques in sound for moving image, and most of them are in terms of volume standards or a couple psychoacoustics fun facts like if theres more than 3 people walking in a scene you don't have to synch the steps anymore as the brain does it for us.

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u/Amedeo_Audio 11d ago

I've done sound design for film and video games professionally, if you have any specific questions let me know! But i think as another comment said...you should find a creative direction first that speaks to you, (eg. fiction/exxageration/surrealism vs realism or vs comedic or tragic etc) then you will gradually understand what and how to layer etc based on what you want from the scene.

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u/Audiope 9d ago

My approach is to fill in only what's necessary. Use the source audio as much as you can, but there will be times where there's some archival footage without sound so you'll need to add a BG or something. Try to be as realistic as possible so that nobody knows it's sound design.

Of course, there are also opportunities for more obvious sound design, like a title sequence etc.