FILM SOUND DESIGN

Get oriented, meet your instructor, and map out the full post-production journey ahead. You’ll unpack the course structure, final project expectations, and the real-world tools used by working film sound professionals.

• Instructor intro 
• Course structure
• Assignments & final project overview

Discover how sound transforms moving images into emotional experiences. Break down the anatomy of cinematic audio and explore how legendary films use dialogue, effects, and music to shape tension, realism, and storytelling.

• The role of a Film Sound Designer
• Understanding the film sound workflow in post-production
• Key differences between music & film audio
• The three layers of film audio: Dialogue, effects, & music
• Case Study: Analyzing iconic films known for sound design (Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Bourne Identity, Saving Private Ryan, Dune)

Learn how professional sound teams build the sonic foundation of a film from spotting sessions to final sync. You’ll explore how audio decisions are planned, organized, and optimized long before the final mix begins.

• Post-production sound team & categories
• Exploring diegetic & non-diegetic sound
• Syncing sound to picture: Challenges & techniques
• Workflow optimization between sound & visual departments
• Spotting with filmmakers
• Demo: Spotting a reel for sound

Assignment #1: Sound Analysis
Pick a favorite film or TV show and write a short essay on how sound is used to help tell the story. 

Clean, repair, and reshape dialogue into something audiences never notice — because it simply works. Learn the craft behind seamless ADR, noise reduction, and modern AI-assisted dialogue workflows used in professional post-production.

• Dialogue assembly from sound rolls & AAF
• Editing, cleaning & enhancing on-set dialogue recordings
• Understanding automated dialogue replacement (ADR)
• Techniques for seamlessly integrating ADR into scenes
• AI for replacement, noise repair & "Temp ADR" generation

Assignment #2: Dialogue Editing
Take a raw dialogue file provided by the instructor, perform a clean edit, and execute a noise reduction pass.

Build immersive worlds using atmosphere, texture, and subtle sonic detail. Learn how layered ambience transforms flat scenes into emotionally charged cinematic environments that feel alive.

• Basic ambience creation & editing
• Using tone & environmental sound to support the dialogue track
• Building atmosphere through background sounds
• Categories, checkerboarding, organization
• Story-driven & emotional ambience
• Demo: Building ambience in a scene

Assignment #3: Building the Backgrounds
Cut and build the background ambiences for scenes provided by the instructor. Organize your tracks using proper checkerboarding and create a dense, realistic environment by stacking multiple layers per category.

Turn everyday objects into believable cinematic movement and texture. Explore the physical artistry of foley and learn how synced sound adds realism, rhythm, and tactile energy to every scene.

• Introduction to foley: Purpose & creative potential
• Creating organic sounds with everyday objects
• Syncing foley with on-screen movement
• Demo: Cueing foley for a scene & DIY foley 

Design impactful sound effects that sell every hit, crash, engine, and mechanical detail on screen. Learn how professionals layer, shape, and integrate effects to create believable cinematic action.

• Hard FX builds: Doors, vehicles, tech, sirens, glass, crashes, MISC FX
• Using libraries vs. recording custom effects
• Demo: Crafting a custom sound effect for a short scene

Push beyond realism into large-scale cinematic sound design. Craft explosive action sequences, dynamic movement, and high-intensity sonic builds that elevate tension and spectacle.

• Fights
• Guns & explosions
• Car chases

Assignment #4: The Hard FX Build
Cut FX for 2-3 small clips provided by the instructor.

Explore the imaginative side of sound by designing audio for fantasy, horror, sci-fi, and psychological storytelling. Learn how sound manipulates emotion, genre, and audience expectation in ways visuals alone never could.

• Designing sounds for unreal elements (e.g., monsters, spaceships)
• Horror design: Cinematic stingers & risers
• Storytelling with design & working with music
• Workshop: Sound-to-scene match challenge

Learn how professional mixers balance dialogue, music, foley, and effects into a cohesive cinematic experience. Develop the technical and creative instincts needed to keep story, clarity, and emotion working together in every mix.

• Understanding the film mix: Levels & dynamics
• Mixing individual groups, dial, BGs, foley, FX, music
• Equalization, compression, reverb in film audio
• Combining & mixing groups together: Focus on story
• Long-form vs. short-form mixing workflows

Assignment #5: Commercial Mix
Mix a 15-30 second commercial spot provided by the instructor from scratch. Assets must be organized, routed to the correct tracks, and mixed to professional standards.

Step into immersive cinematic mixing with surround sound and spatial audio workflows. Explore how advanced formats like Atmos shape audience perception, movement, and emotional immersion across different viewing platforms.

• Basics of surround sound formats: Atmos
• Positioning sounds in a cinematic space: Deliveries, formats, styles
• Adapting the mix philosophy based on the project's narrative needs
• Techniques for enhancing immersion through spatial audio
• Case Study: Films with great spatial audio (Saving Private Ryan, Sinners, Dune, Breaking Bad)
• Demo: Balancing a scene's audio elements in real time

Master the professional workflows that keep large-scale post-production running smoothly. Learn how to manage deliverables, adapt to constant picture changes, and navigate the technical realities of modern film audio pipelines.

• Standard deliverables
• Music & effects (M&E) mixes
• Conforming to picture changes: Matchbox
• Additional tools, plugins, library management

Develop the calm-under-pressure mindset every sound professional needs. Diagnose broken turnovers, sync issues, and technical disasters while learning practical strategies to rescue difficult projects under real-world deadlines.

• Identifying common sound issues in films
• Techniques for fixing audio sync problems & software literacy
• Optimizing the listening environment & technical specs 
• Troubleshooting for filmmakers or supervisors
• Managing tight deadlines & limited resources
• Demo: Diagnosing & resolving a problematic scene/turnover

Assignment #6: Final Course Project — The Ballerina Edit
Choose 1 of 3 provided scenes from the John Wick film Ballerina. Cut basic and advanced effects, design backgrounds, and mix these elements alongside provided dialogue, foley, and music stems.

Learn how to position yourself professionally in the film and television industry. Build a portfolio that showcases your strengths, navigate freelance vs. studio career paths, and develop strategies for networking and industry outreach.

• Building a portfolio & demo reel for the film industry
• Networking with film professionals & studios
• Exploring freelance vs. in-house career paths
• Reaching out to film studios

Experience the collaborative review process used in professional post-production environments. Present your final work, defend your creative decisions, and sharpen your critical listening skills through structured peer and instructor feedback.

• Students submit their final Ballerina projects in advance
• During class, students break into small groups to review each other’s projects using a structured rubric provided by the instructor
• Instructor facilitates a group discussion to highlight key takeaways, trends, and improvements observed across submissions