Sound designer Bryant Falk explains how audio was recorded for the MTV reality series The Shop: wireless mics, multitrack recording and quick turnarounds.
With the thrust of new technology lurching ever forward and the flood of reality programming not showing any signs of slowing down, recording audio for reality based television or even reality “styled” films, has some unique requirements for capturing that “on location” audio style.
Having just finished working on the MTV reality series, “The Shop,” I faced some unique challenges one runs into with a reality show. One of the first was the, “no canned rule”. Simply put, if a line was lost during the shoot and we had to ADR, I didn’t want it to sound recorded at a separate time in another location. Now if anyone has watched a reality program which I’m sure you all have, there are always moments that have a slightly, “off location” sound. It can be hard enough capturing quality audio on a scripted shoot where you have numerous takes and control of the acoustic environment, getting pristine “reality” audio is next to impossible.
This brought up one of the first big problems to tackle. How do you record audio that will fit in seamlessly? Answer: Go back to location! Once the editors had locked picture, I sent a crew with equipment and a CD with all the scratch lines we needed re-recorded. The talent would listen to their rough track and mimic it to tape. When someone is mimicking themselves it’s amazing how close to sync they can get.
Pro-Tools handled the rest. This really guaranteed a spot on match to the source material. When not possible I would pipe an ADR track into a space that mimicked the location as close as possible. I find this to be the most believable way of incorporating room acoustics into an audio track. An on location safety is to just have the talent re-say the line immediately after the moment. Picture does not need to be rolling, and the actor is usually in the right momentum to mimic the line.
Another issue is foley. Sometimes you just won’t have any option but to re-create in studio. But a good rule is to try and record as much on location foley as possible. From door slams and scissors to razors and hair spray. (My show took place in a barber shop!) Also capturing clean room tone can really make the difference between a choppy scene and one that seems like it took place in real time. Remember even a reality show is just an illusion of reality to some degree. I mean there is a crew of people with cameras, lights and microphones in front of you for hours at a time. Is that your reality? It sure isn’t mine.
Next, never rule out any audio recorded as unusable for the mix. You never know where you’re going to find that saving piece of audio! One person’s blown out line could be salvaged from his friend’s lav mic right next to him. I like to think of location audio as collecting shells on a beach. Your constantly looking for good ones, but you’ll take what you can find and sort them out when you get home, more the better!
Notice I have focused on dialogue as a main thrust for reality recording and there is good reason. Dialogue is extremely important in reality shows! Special effects and explosive action sequences are just not the norm. Storyline is really key with reality based shows. And with storylines jumping from one character to another it’s even more important to know what everyone is up to.
So let’s review some key items we’ve talked about here:
1) Be conscious of how you will match ADR dialogue back into your production.
2) Try and capture as much foley on set as possible, paying special attention to room tone.
3) All audio is important! Camera sound, lav mics, boom mics, you never know where you’re going to find the saving piece of audio.
4) Never underestimate the usefulness of doing a pick up line of dialogue. Even if it may not sound quite right, there could be some parts that could help make a good read perfect.
One additional item I like to spend a moment on is the quality of your “room tone”. When working on a reality show in a real setting, take a moment and listen to your room before jumping into the shoot. Is there an A/C unit on somewhere? Does the refrigerator make an unusual buzzing when it kicks in? Fluorescent lights can create a lot more noise then you think (especially if the ballast is bad). Prepping your room tone before shooting can save a lot and I mean a lot of headaches in the mix suite. I could easily spend an entire article devoted to room tone, and I may very well do just that before the year is out! In the meantime, get your room as quiet as possible and if not, then hunt down and reduce those high frequencies, (covering a compressor unit of an ice maker with a blanket can knock out a lot of high frequency trouble). These frequencies will often sit right in line with the consonants of the actors, (P’s, T’s and S’s) making it almost impossible to get rid of easily, (of course there are some wonderful time consuming expensive ways to get rid of these noise issues). So keep it quiet, change those wireless mic batteries and capture that dialogue!
Bryant Falk has been a producer and engineer for over 12 years working with such clients as “The Ricki Lake Show,” Coca-Cola, Sports Illustrated and Valley National Bank. He recently completed mixing for MTV’s “The Shop.” His company Abacus Audio handles many aspects of the audio production field from creative and production to mixing and final output.
http://www.abacusaudio.com/
Related filmmaking guides
- The power of sound in film
- Understanding microphone frequency response
- ADR: automated dialogue replacement explained
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