Ten Resources For Learning Post-Sound

When I first started thinking that I might want to do post-production sound I did what anyone would do. I pulled up Google and YouTube and started typing away. To my surprise, I didn't come across a ton of great results as I kept stumbling upon the same "learn sound design" videos that had nothing to do with sound for film and the simple "here is what Foley is". This was all cool and fine, but I wanted to learn the ins and outs of industry professionals, how to import and lay back an AAF, conforming, timecodes and synch, and the technical know-how that would be expected of me going into an internship/entry-level job.

Here are the resources that have exponentially improved my comprehension of many post-production techniques.

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Sound for Film and Television - Tomlinson Holman

The famed THX inventor and longtime George Lucas collaborator begins his incredible book at the very beginning with audio fundamentals and how we hear sound. He then explains picture editing, dialogue editing, sound effects editing, mixing, printing stems, sync, timecodes, and more This is probably the most helpful book in terms of teaching me incredibly important fundamental principles of post-production audio.

Practical Art of Motion Picture Sound - David Lewis Yewdall

This is the post-production sound bible, and that is not an exaggeration. Over 600 pages of fundamentals are explained in very simple and easy terms for not only professionals but also people who are just starting to dip their toes into post-sound. This book has it all and much more.

Thomas Boykin - YouTube Channel

At the top of this blog, I explained that I was so sick of getting simple and generic sound design YouTube videos when I tried to find good post-sound YouTube videos. Well, Thomas' channel is the exact opposite of that. An industry professional opening the curtains and showing you his techniques on splitting, dialogue editing, sound effects editing, and much more. His plug-in videos are great you learning new tools and tricks and he constantly educates and informs me on the industry.

Tonebenders Podcast

Tonebenders podcast is one of my favorite podcasts and is a must-listen for anyone itching to learn from industry-leading professionals. The crew constantly has the professionals behind the best new movies on to talk about their experiences working, their challenges, and overcoming those challenges.

Paul Maunder - YouTube Channel

Paul's channel is very specifically centered on the industry standard DAW: Pro Tools. His Pro Tools instructional videos have taught me a plethora of things about the very expansive and powerful DAW that otherwise I would have never learned.

Dolby Institute Podcast: Sound + Image Lab

The Dolby Institute Podcast consistently has the biggest and most influential professionals on to talk about their processes. Just look at the newest two episodes of the podcast, Greg Fraiser talking about the cinematography for Dune: Part Two and Hans Zimmer talking about the score for Dune: Part Two. What more could you want?

Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice, and Sound Effects in Cinema - David Sonnenschein

David's sound design book is more of a creative outlook on sound design and less of a technical exercise. He looks at how to break down a screenplay and everything that you should do before you begin looking in sound databases for sound effects. It is a must-read for aspiring sound effects editors and made me look at sound effects in a different light.

Sound Redesign and Short Films

Nothing will increase your knowledge and experience more than a short film with a deadline. I had a lot of concerns about reaching out to people for short films because I felt that I wasn't prepared or ready to be doing all of the post-sound work on a short. Well, the truth is you will never be ready for your first project but you just have to dive in. I've learned so much and increased my output from working on student-led short films and sound redesigns. This right here is your best friend.

Networking, Networking, Networking, and maybe a little more Networking

What is holding you back from reaching out to people? Did you like the sound of a new film? REACH OUT! Will you get a response? Maybe not, but in my experience most professionals are happy to talk to the new generation of post-sound students. Get on LinkedIn, Instagram, IMDB Pro, or wherever you can find emails or a way to reach out to these professionals. They will be happy to help and can lead you in the right direction and give you incredible resources for developing your skills.

Watching Movies and Television

I know this sounds odd, but you should be watching as many movies as possible. Preferably ones with great sound design (just do a quick Google search). I've learned so much about ADR/ dialogue editing/ and sound effects editing from watching incredible-sounding movies. Some of my favorites are Eraserhead, Apocalypse Now, The Zone of Interest, Under the Skin, Blue Velvet, Tenet, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Heat.

Also, watching reality TV is the best way to learn dialogue editing in my opinion. If you really listen for Frankenbites (editing words/ sentences together), and pay attention to where the dialogue editor is cutting and how often, this will give you a good idea of why and how they do it.