Audio Post Production Job Roles
While many audio post professionals cover multiple roles when completing a project, understanding the key differences between each of the different job roles is essential. This is especially important if you move higher up the food chain and are working on more large-scale productions, as work tends to become more specialised with individuals/small teams covering a specific area of the audio production. Knowing what each role entails is essential for smooth cooperation between teams and understanding how you fit into the bigger picture.
Dialogue Editor – Dialogue Editors take the Location Sound that is synced up by the picture editor, and work to ensure a constant flow of dialogue without clicks, pops, noise, distortion and discontinuities.
ADR Mixer – ADR Mixers record ADR (automated dialogue replacement) to replace unusable audio from the location. They liaise with the Director and Talent to get the best performance and believability out of the recordings.
Sound Designer – A Sound Designer is a multi-skilled sound professional who gets creatively and technically involved with making sounds to tell a story. On smaller budget projects, the Sound Designer may also be the Dialogue Editor, Sound Editor, Re-recording Mixer, Sound Supervisor and sometimes the Foley Artist.
Sound Effects Recordist – A Field Recordist who records custom sound effects for your project, often with high-end equipment.
Sound Effects Editor – A Sound Effects Editor takes recordings from sound libraries and places them in sync with the picture to help create a seamless flow of continuity and narrative.
Foley Artist – Foley Artists perform sounds that would be impractical to create using sound effects and sound design. Examples include footsteps, cloth movement and gun handling. They also add a layer of continuity to your actor’s performance.
Foley Mixer – Foley Mixers record the sounds that the Foley Artist creates, giving them feedback on the performance whilst listening for technical issues.
Foley Editor – Foley Editors edit the Foley Artist’s work, to make it sync with the picture and to assure that it is suitable for mixing by the Re-recording Mixer.
Re-Recording Mixer/Dubbing Mixer – A Re-recording Mixer takes the audio tracks that the team have created, deciding which elements will remain (in line with the Director’s notes) as well as their overall tonal balance, distance perception and technical needs for the final deliverables of the Sound Mix.
Sound Supervisor/Supervising Sound Editor – A head of department, who often helps with building the Sound Team and overseeing the collaboration with the Director and Producers to achieve the best Final Mix possible.