Technical Application For Radio

QUARTER 1
LESSON 1
Technical Application for Radio
The Importance of Sound Effects
Sound is important because it engages audiences: it helps deliver information, it increases

the production value, it evokes emotional responses, it emphasizes what’s on the screen
and is used to indicate mood. When put to good use, language, sound effects, music, and
even silence, can elevate your video dramatically. Bad sound, however, can ruin your video.
And yet, audio is often left as an after-thought for post-production, which is crazy because
no amount of editing magic can fix bad sound.
Neither can sound fix shoddy animation, slipshod editing or amateur camera work.
However, when it comes to creating a complete audience experience – audio is arguably
more crucial than video quality. Sound adds emotion and connects people to what they’re
seeing. It supports each visual and every cut, and defines the overall mood and tone of your
narrative.
Who needs a boom operator?

A corporate video is a serious investment. By all means, spend your entire budget on cool
special effects and fancy locations but, unless sound is made a technical priority from day
one, you’re wasting your time and money.
When choosing a video production company to work with, make sure they push the need for
a sound technician from your first meeting. What sound kit do they use? If their standard
approach is to just let the camera microphone do all the work, then walk away – fast. If
budget is an issue, rather cut down on catering (nobody likes a stale muffin anyway) or
content (look for any repetition and compress a couple of scenes into one).
Not only does assigning sound to an engineer mean that there is one dedicated person
looking after audio, it means less stress for the rest of the crew!
Audio checklist
At TopLine Comms, our video team understands the importance of sound in video
production. Our production process is thorough, creative, and makes sure that our client’s
message is both seen and heard. Here are some of our tips and tricks for getting the audio
right:
1. Invest in good audio equipment, and a talented soundie
2. Monitor the audio while recording
3. Choose a location carefully to minimise background noise (turn off computers, ACs
and chatty people!)
4. Check frequencies and levels – some people speak louder than others
5. Triple check that the audio is fully synched with the video during the edit
6. Make sure all audio points are marked for an easy edit
7. Pump some iron (biceps are good for holding booms out of shot)
Radio Journalism 9 - A Comprehensive Guide to Radio Media - Mr. Alvin F. Patal, QNHS 1
8. Work with an editor who understands audio
This is where all your hard work then starts to come together. The next step is to take those
carefully and decidedly precious recorded sounds, back them up onto several hard drives,
hand them to an editor who will match them to the visuals and then think about the best way
of combining them into a top notch sounding final product.
The good news is that we can help you get your audio ducks in a row, to ensure that your
production isn’t let down by a lack of attention to those rather important sonic details.
Sound, music and effects

Here are the things you need to think about when pulling all these various elements
together.
Sound
We have detailed above the best ways to ensure your sound recording is top notch, and
ready to be brought into the edit process. once the files are imported into your edit suite of
choice and linked to the video, there are a number of ways of processing the sound to make
it more impactful, but, if it is recorded correctly in the first place, then it should only need a
small amount of tweaking in post-production. It’s the mix where these things really come
alive – read this piece on mixing sound for film for more detail.
Music
It cannot be overstated just how important the right piece of music is to the finished
production. Pick the right track, and you’ll have the audience in tears, pick the wrong one
and you’ll have them reaching for their ear plugs. The rule of thumb is to think about the
tone of the script and match accordingly, e.g. a sombre, tech-based story would more likely
benefit from a moody slice of gentle electronica, but add a polka and hilarity will ensue.
Popular royalty free music libraries include: Audio Network, AudioJungle and Music Vine. All
have competitively priced tracks to download.
Sound effects
It’s possible to really elevate a production – particularly animation – with a few carefully
selected sound effects: a ‘ding’ of an elevator, typing on a keyboard, a tap filling a vase –
imagine all these activities in silence, but with visuals. Now imagine them with the correct
sound effect. That’s a big difference huh? Sometimes the sound effect can be more
abstract, such as a ‘swoosh’ as the camera moves from one scene to another. That gives
the action weight and heft and leaves the viewer in no doubt as to what is going on.
When done properly, these three sound elements will make the finished product really come
alive, to engage, delight and entertain your audience.
Remember, when it comes to creating a memorable, immersive audience experience –

sound is just as responsible, if not more so, than the quality of your video’s picture.
If you’re about to embark on your own video adventure and want a team that understands
the importance of sound in video production, speak to Jamie, our head of production, to find
out how we can help.
Editors note: This blog post was originally posted on 6 September 2016. It has been
rewritten to ensure accuracy and relevance.
The Importance of Sound Effects | TopLine Film. (2020). Retrieved 1 October 2020, from
https://toplinefilm.com/blog/the-importance-of-soundeffects#:~:text=Sound%20is
%20important

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QUARTER 1

The Importance of Sound Effects

Sound is important because it engages audiences: it helps deliver information, it increases

Who needs a boom operator?

1. Invest in good audio equipment, and a talented soundie

2. Monitor the audio while recording

Sound, music and effects

Remember, when it comes to creating a memorable, immersive audience experience –

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