Practical art of motion picture sound

680 Pages·2013·16.292 MB·English

by  Yewdall, David Lewis

Practical Art of Motion Picture Sound
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Practical Art of Motion
Picture Sound
Fourth Edition
David Lewis Yewdall,
MPSE
(cid:129) (cid:129)
AMSTERDAM BOSTON HEIDELBERG
(cid:129) (cid:129)
LONDON NEWYORK OXFORD
(cid:129) (cid:129)
PARIS SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO
(cid:129) (cid:129)
SINGAPORE SYDNEY TOKYO
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Yewdall,DavidLewis,1950-
Practicalartofmotionpicturesound/DavidLewisYewdall.–4thed.
p.cm.
Includesindex.
ISBN978-0-240-81240-3(pbk.)
1.Televisionbroadcasting–Soundeffects.2.Soundmotionpictures.3.Television.I.Title.
TK7881.4.Y482011
778.5’2344–dc22
2011010481
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To my wife,
Lisa
Her patience, hard work, and support made it possiblefor me to
write this book—as wellas the three updated versions.
As Ioften tell people, I didn’t marry ahuman being,I marriedanangel.
God bless youand embracemy love forever.
This book isalso dedicatedto
Zach Serivers
To my greatest studentand professional colleague.
Lisa and Iare so proud of his accomplishmentsanda
brilliantcareerto come.
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Contents
AMemorial toExcellence ix
Chapter 1 The Empowerment of Sound 1
Chapter 2 Our Amateur Beginnings 7
Chapter 3 The Passing of a Tradition and Coming of Age 21
Chapter 4 Success or Failure: Beforethe Camera Even Rolls 27
Chapter 5 The Challenging Battlefield ofProduction 67
Chapter 6 From the Setto the Laboratory 119
Chapter 7 PictureEditorialand theUse of the Sound Medium 145
Chapter 8 Temp Dubsand TestScreenings: ACritical
Objective View 177
Chapter 9 Spotting the Picture for Sound and Music 183
Chapter10 CustomRecording Sound Effects: The Real Fun
and Adventure 191
Chapter11 The Sound Librarian: The Curatorof an Audio Empire 229
Chapter12 Sound Design:Myths and Realities 263
Chapter13 Sound Editorial: Sync-Sync,Chop-Chop 291
Chapter14 Sound Editorial: Ultra Low-Budget Strategies 333
Chapter15 DialogEditors: Hollywood’s Unsung Heroes 363
Chapter16 ADR and Looping: Getting theLips toFlap in Sync 383
Chapter17 Foley:The Artof Footsteps, Props, and ClothMovement 425
Chapter18 The Music Composer: Audio Collaboration or Mud and
Destruction 465
Chapter19 The Rerecording Stage: Predubbing and theFinalMix 481
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viii Contents
Chapter 20 Production Sound: Four Digital Portable Sound Recorders 509
Chapter 21 The Venerable Nagra IV-S (Analog) 531
Chapter 22 Emerging Technologies: Sound Restoration and Colorization 561
Glossary 623
Index 639
DVDand Website Information
A Memorial to Excellence
Before we begin, I wish to remember these two gentlemen. Without question, John
Bonner and John Mosely had the greatest influence on my personal education in the
audio arts as well as the development of my own professional discipline to serve
that art form.
John Bonner worked within the studio environment, serving both studios and
professionals alike, always placing thegood of the art form abovethe short-term and
often artificial profit gain.
John Mosely was the classic independent maverick, willing to lay his job and
reputation on the line for what he believed in. When it came to his craft, he was
unwavering anduncompromising, extremely inventive, andinnovative.
From John Mosely I learned the physics and disciplines along with his personal
theology on how the ideal presentation of sound should be. We did not always agree
on the creative applications, but no one could dispute his expertise or mastery of
audio engineering.