Film Sound in Mauritius
It can be argued that the sonic aspect of cinema is as important as its visual side. Sound complements image- and can even change its meaning and the way we see it- with a touch of its own. A sound score can enhance how an audience feels, create suspense, terror, romance and a multitude of emotions.
Even if subtle, the soundscape has its role to play in a film. On set, the way sound is recorded will determine its quality, but post-production plays a major role too in the final cut of a film. Sound design is an Art in itself and, for those who do not have music composers at hand, there is a legal aspect to obtaining soundtracks for a movie.
First, there is a difference between recording sound for a film and for a TV commercial, in most cases. Most of our TV commercials only require digital audio recorders like the Zoom H4n or, even better, the H6. For interviews, most sound technicians use radio/lavalier mics to record interviewees. These are wireless, discrete and practical. It is important to know which type of microphone is being used: condenser or dynamic. Phantom power is another function of some microphones that cannot be neglected.
On film sets, a basic Sound Department compromises of a sound mixer, boom operator and sound assistant. Depending on the size of the film, more sound crew can be needed. The Cantar by Aaton is a super-star in the sphere of field recorders, but we can often find Sound Device models or even the bigger Zoom F8 recorders. Every sound guy has his preferences when it comes to boom microphones, boom poles, mixers and radio mics- be it Sennheiser mics, Rode or other brands. Good monitoring headphones are also a must.
After sound has been recorded on set, it goes from storage devices to the offline editing team. Once the metadata is verified, the sound is synchronized with image during the logging process. In the old days, the clapper was used as a reference for sound and image synchronization. Nowadays, there are a multitude of softwares used to do the job. As always, double-checking is still a good idea. After the offline team has completed the editing, the sound mixing begins. Buzz tracks, sound tracks, foley, ambient and atmospheric tracks are added. ADR is sometimes required. Pro Tools is the industry standard for our Sound mixers, even though other softwares (like Adobe Audition for example) also exist. Softwares and equipment do determine sound quality, but as important as sound technology is the sound team.