Any filmmakers out there?

Question

I know most amateur filmmakers use only one camera during a scene but with different angles (filmed with the same camera). I wonder what they do in the audio during filming. Do they use one audio file and use that in different camera angles? If yes, how do they synchronize it? Or if not, do they use different audio files which synchronize with the different camera angles? I know this is complicated. Just bugs me out. I don't know how to explain it properly. Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

well, single camera (hollywood style) production technique does not require audio recording at all. duh, in most theatrical films, the audio track is created after the fact, with the visual content shot silent originally. this makes the editing process much easier because the sound track for a given frame is not on that frame but several frames down. so cut and splice editing doesn't work. In the trade this is called re-mixing, the sound track on the release print is actually a mix down of multiple separate tracks, one or more dialog tracks, natural sound or "tone" track, foley effects, stereo music and possibly other layers as well. the dialog is ADR (automatic dialog replacement) which means that the actors record their dialog to match the finished edited scene in a sound studio. Some actors are not good at this, so the voice on the film may actually be an ADR specialist. ADR eliminates the need for the shooting to be done on sound stages and is absolutely used when shooting on location. A few actors are notoriously bad at ADR so the director might record the audio when shooting intimate scenes on sound stage. that recording is not on the film, and in older times it was on magnetic audio tape but now is digital. generally SMPTE timecode is recorded to sync the audio and visual tracks when edited.

Answer 2

Have to add a comment here. Audio is always captured on film sets as Grumpy Mac demonstrates the process in his video. It is one of the reasons why filmmakers use a slate as it helps with syncing on-set audio with in camera audio or as a visual reference for syncing.



Many Hollywood films today are shot with multi-cameras, see Exodus Gods and Kings as an example. Ridely Scott said that using multiple cameras helped cut cost and speed of production. The reason why some films choose single camera only is because the director wants to monitor the scene. Since they can only monitor one camera at any given point they may choose single camera only. This raises the cost of filming as it means multiple takes of the same scene shooting for coverage from different angles and for different characters.



The question on audio monitoring is that you would audio record every scene you shoot. If you use a clip from one scene most of the time you would pick the audio from the clip angle you are using provided the audio is good. If it is not you could use the audio capture from another clip as the primary. If none of them audio is good from on set then you would go through the ADR process.



. A big key to shooting coverage is a consistency in blocking, placement of actors in the scene as well as the dialogue. if I am shooting a comedy where I know the actors are improvising lines, different on every take, I am more likely to shoot that with multiple cameras to get my coverage completely in each take. The less control I have of the performance or the more I want to give to the actors the more likely I am to shoot with more then a single camera.



There is no simple answer really to your question. Until you have worked with some multi-cam footage it is harder to explain completely. Once you get into the process you realize that what you do depends on the quality of audio captured, the method of shooting, and the way things happened while shooting. Software can assist greatly with the process by automatically syncing up audio with video between cameras.

Answer 3

Do you know about the "clapper board" they film at the beginning of each scene? This does 2 things:



* Gives an audio & visual clue so external audio recording can be added to the video with editing software

* Often the board includes the name of the audio file being recorded to help with adding the audio in later.



This YouTube video might help.



https://youtu.be/S9cP1WHL0Zo