5 Essential Tips for Achieving High-Quality Sound Design in Post-Production.

As an audio post-production company that specializes in sound design, mixing, and recording, we know a thing or two about creating top-notch audio. So, if you want to achieve high-quality sound design in post-production, keep reading because we're about to spill the beans with our top 5 tips.

Invest in the Right Tools

Achieving high-quality sound design starts with investing in the right tools. At our audio post-production company, we use a combination of top-of-the-line hardware and software to achieve professional-quality sound design. A good DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), high-quality microphones, studio monitors, and headphones are just the beginning. Avid Pro Tools is the industry standard DAW when it comes to audio in post production. We use Pro Tools Ultimate in all our rooms but the versatility of even the standard version is incomparable for creating audio in the way we do for visual projects and podcasts. For recording, the environment is just as important as the microphone. You could have the best microphone in the world but if you’re trying to track voiceover in a bathroom, the chances are it won’t sound good. When it comes to investing in the right tools, studio space or your mixing environment is extremely important. 

You also need plugins that are tailored to your specific needs. Making sure you’re monitoring at the correct levels is crucial to specific deliverables in audio posts. Plug-ins such as the iZotope RX suite are everyday tools that we use to make our workflow efficient and professional. 

Keep things simple (when possible)

We’re in the storytelling business. It’s our job to make sure the story is told in the best way possible. More often than not, that means not over-complicating things. While it’s nice to get creative, a mistake that sound designers can make is overusing effects or too many layers of SFX. It's easy to get carried away with reverb, delay, and other effects, but using them too much can make your sound design detract from the story. Keep the storyline clear and remember the point of what the sound design is adding.

The result is sound design that sounds natural, balanced, and polished.

Build your sound effects library

We use a tremendous amount of SFX and Foley. Both bought and recorded at the studio. Our sfx library is huge at this point and we use it everyday. Having a place to go to for anything and everything is a key part of success in sound design. If something isn’t hitting the mark we layer and create the sounds to make it sound right. Need the sound of an eagle screech with wind blowing in the trees and a small stream trickling in the distance plus a dog barking and a truck honking? It’s unlikely someone has recorded that specific scenario but with multiple layers you can create that bespoke soundscape. Only when you have a versatile and vast sound library can you truly create anything. 

There are tons of free royalty-free libraries available as well as many affordable libraries to buy. Build your library and grow your sound design capabilities.

Test on Different Devices

Remember what we just said about the studio environment and investing in the right tools? Well, this goes for consciously having lower quality equipment too. Don't just listen to you rmix on the fancy studio monitors you have, listen on your computer speakers or cheap headphones or cell phone speakers. This will help you identify any issues that you might have missed, and ensure that your sound design sounds great on any device. This is particularly important if you're creating content for multiple platforms, as each one may have different technical requirements. We are working on more and more TikTok and Instagram projects these days and your average listener on those channels are using their phone speakers or, at best, earbuds. Creating a mix that sounds good on lower cost, non professional devices is key.

Know your client

Everybody is different. When you get a project brief in, no matter how detailed, what the client envisions is likely to be different to how you see it. Over time if you have repeat clients, they come to know your style and most importantly, you expand your knowledge of what they are expecting so you can adapt your sound design choices based on what you know they like to hear. And if not, ask questions. If something isn’t clear on which creative direction the sound design is going, ask them about it. But also express your opinions on how you think it should sound. This will show them you have creativity but are willing to take it one step further to create the sonic vision they had. More often than not clients love suggestions. Remember this is your domain and they’ve brought you on for your expertise, most clients are willing to listen. Build relationships and get to know your clients, this is fun as well as work, being collaborative will only make the bond stronger.

We hope these tips help you take your sound design to the next level

If you're interested in learning more about our sound design, mixing, and recording services, visit our website to see some of our past projects.

We're always happy to help you achieve your audio goals, so don't hesitate to get in touch!