Erin Barra – Educator, Songwriter, Producer, Music Technology Consultant
Erin Barra has a wide-ranging skill set educator, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and music technology consultant. Erin specializes in music technology integration; she works with artists/bands looking to integrate laptops and digital technologies into their writing, production and stage setups. She has developed, taught and executed several music technology curriculums at the open source Coursera, and ROLI, K-12 Beats By Girlz, and collegiate levels Berklee College of Music, Berklee Online.
Erin is an Associate Professor in the Songwriting Department at Boston’s Berklee College of Music and is one of the leading product specialists for Berlin-based music software company, Ableton. She has worked with an array of artists, from Grammy-winning artists engineers and producers; John Oates, George Massenburg, Kathy Mattea, Elliot Scheiner to those at the front lines of the independent movement Res, Miles Robertson, Ari Raskin.
SoundGirls caught up with Erin for an interview.
What is your specialty in music production?
I specialize in helping people reach their goals, whether it’s through collaboration, education or consultation. I communicate with people really well and have the creative and technical skill set to make most things in the music and technology realms happen.
Are you independent or do you work for a company?
Berklee College of Music is my home base, but I have my own consulting company MAMMA BARRA LLC that I freelance under, and work for private clients and for different brands such as Ableton, ROLI and Beats By Girlz
How long have you worked there?
This is the beginning of my 3rd year at Berklee, and I’ve been working for myself for about ten years
What is your current position?
Associate Professor
Give us a little background on what led you to work in music production?
I was pursuing a career as a singer/songwriter and felt completely out of control of my own content so one day I decided I was going to figure out how to produce myself.
How long have you been working in music production?
I’ve been producing for about ten years
How did you get your start?
In my bedroom studio haha. No, but seriously, it was the work that I did at home on my own time that led to most of the opportunities I’ve had. I don’t think there’s any one thing that was a beginning for me; it’s just been this one very long and nonlinear journey.
How did you get interested in music production?
My father is an audiophile and places speakers for a living, so I was always interested in how things sounded.
What is your educational or training background?
I was classically trained as a pianist from ages 4-18, got a piano performance and songwriting degree from Berklee right out of high school and then learned all the music tech stuff the hard-knock way by teaching myself and asking a lot of questions.
What are your long-term goals?
Hold on to my sanity – I used to worry more about my career, but now that things in that arena seem to be less of a concern, it’s really more about maintaining my happiness in the midst of all the work. My other main goal is to have children, which affects both my work and happiness. It should be a huge adventure.
What are your current projects?
I always have about five irons in the fire at any given time, but right now I’m focusing the majority of my efforts on developing new curriculum for Berklee and building the Beats By Girlz initiative.
What is the Beats By Girlz Initiative?
Beats By Girlz is a curriculum and initiative designed to empower females to engage with music technology and build communities. We provide young women with the guidance, access, tools, and role-support to develop their interest (and ultimately their ability to pursue career opportunities) in music production, composition, engineering, etc. We are working towards gender equity in a field where women are highly underrepresented and strive help other groups mobilize and create similar change in their own communitie
What if any obstacles or barriers have you faced?
I try to view obstacles as opportunities, so I’ve had many many opportunities. Working in the music industry is full of barriers, but I think the biggest one for me was coming up with my definition of ‘success.’
How have you dealt with them?
Work harder than everyone else – keep learning – be open to change
Advice you have for other women and young women who wish to enter the field?
Find a good support system and communities to be a part of. It has so much to do with who you surround yourself with.
Must have skills?
Communication skills
Favorite gear?
I’m a laptop musician, so I’m more of a software gal – I’d have to say Ableton
At the end of July, the sound and broadcast department welcomed Omani staff from other technical departments for a week of experiencing some of our specific skills and processes.
Table shows examples of a small portion of our regularly used microphone selection.
Led by Bruno Silva for sound and Maxwell White for broadcast the aim of the week was to give an exciting overview of some of the varied techniques that we are required to use throughout the season. Hands-on training combined with foundation-level theory will be recognised at the end of the month with a certificate of achievement.
Day 1 kicked off with an introduction to the infrastructure of the building. From the comms room to the amp room, back down to the control room, front of house mix position, and speaker positions.
As a department, we then took it in turns to give a brief overview of our microphone collection, including radio mics and the Digico SD9 when used as a monitor desk. We agreed that it was important to include as much information about equipment that we regularly use and is often seen by other department members. For example, the stage department often comes into contact with our Crown PCC 160 microphones downstage for many of the operas that we record.
After a tea break, the project for the day was introduced. The visiting staff was able help set and record a piano concert. The following areas would be reproduced as per a regular performance at ROHM:
Audio recording in the control room via the Pro 2
Front of house mix via the SC48
2 x camera recording
Monitor mix for the performer
The recordings would then be edited in subsequent days in the manner that would normally be required for the archive of a performance.
Feedback from the event was very positive and really helped cement the environment of enthusiasm and passion for the job between departments.
Although a huge array of skills were covered throughout the week, it was impossible to cover all areas that the department deals with. One constant throughout the season is recording performances in order to archive. This is a brief description of how we select microphones for recording via the Midas Pro 2 onto the DN9696 hard disk recorder.
Recording performances at ROHM
We make an archive recording of every performance. This could be a ballet, Arabic music concert, an outdoor event as well as Opera. Over the five seasons that the Opera house has been open a number of techniques have been tried and tested. The joy of working with an international team is that everyone brings their own experiences and ideas to the table. As a department, we are keen on a minimal number of microphones onstage during nonamplified performances. It would be easy for an audience member (or sometimes a performer) to mistake a microphone used solely for recording purposes as extra amplification. In a concert hall that is as audibly refined as ours, that would be a great travesty.
With this in mind, we have developed a system of mic’ing an orchestra in the pit for Operas and ballets that can be quickly and easily rigged and then added to when necessary. The patch sheet below shows examples of mics that we used for the opera ‘Lucia di Lammermoor’ last season.
As well as mic’ing the orchestra, you will also see we have a small and select number of microphones onstage. In this case, the staging was very much downstage and our trusty Crown PCC 160’s covered most of the vocals. Two Schoeps MK4’s, rigged from the tormentors covered any mid-stage action.
As I mentioned before, in concert mode the placement of microphones away from the view of the audience is just as crucial. When we have a singer performing alongside an orchestra we often use our Schoeps on table stands downstage. We vary the capsules we use (either MK4’s or MK21’s) depending on the style of the performer. In addition, we also own a Neumann USM 69i. We rig this from bridge two which is front of house, above the first few rows of seating, depending on the format of the staging of that particular performance. By using fishing wire, we can get the perfect placement. Although fiddly when we started using this method, the team is now super-efficient at getting it spot on!
By the time of my next blog, the long-awaited season 6 will have commenced. Of course, our previous experiences will inform the way in which we approach new productions but it is important to bear in mind that there is always more than one way of mic’ing an orchestra, or a singer, or a drum kit! May we continue to be open to ideas and new ways of thinking.
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SoundGirls Invited to LDI2016 – Register for a Free LDI Badge
LDI2016, October 17-23, 2016 in Las Vegas, is North America’s largest trade show for entertainment design & technology, including sound, as well as lighting, projection, staging, rigging, and software for all live events.
This year, new at LDI is LIVE OUTSIDEdedicated to the design, technology, and safety considerations for outdoor events and festivals in a non-permanent concert setting, with three stages including sound systems. LIVE OUTSIDE is open free to all LDI attendees. All SoundGirls.Org members are invited to register for a free LDI badge using promo code PSM16.
Register for the Meyer Sound class or a free LDI badge to attend LDI2016 and LIVE OUTSIDE.
Navigating the Build – 100 Days to Show Time.
Being a part of a new building process is quite an adventure. The building will open to the general public in 100 days. It has been approximately 200 days since my last blog about it- check out my first blog on the building process here.
100 days until the building opens to the public, students wandering through taking a look, dining employees getting to know their new kitchens, and of course, brand new technology running our meeting rooms.
It’s a bit daunting to think about how much is left to be done and how little time is left.
As the project has moved forward, I have continued to learn more and more about how all the pieces of a new building come together. Four years ago I was reading drafts and plans of how things would look and be wired. On the latest walkthrough, it is all starting to come together. Equipment is installed, wired, and starting to work. It’s astounding how long it has taken and yet how quickly all the pieces are coming together.
It is has been eye-opening that even though hundreds of people have read the project books, details are still missed. Budgets get adjusted, and sometimes pieces just don’t come together in time. Many words from my last building update remain valid. In particular, the importance of setting a timeline and sticking with it as well as setting the budget and maintaining it.
The timeline is still as vital today as it was 200 days ago. Just as it is important to schedule start and ends time to an install it is also important to schedule progress checks and walk-throughs frequently; although there is a balance to checking on the work and micro-managing. For instance, in this project’s case, there are so many people and layers that changes need to go through before they can happen sometimes it takes too long to get a change order in and approved before it can no longer be modified. Once the ball is rolling it’s almost impossible to stop without an increased expense.
Checking early and often can combat this, but you also don’t want to get in the way and slow down the timeline. Each step affects the next, so if something needs to be changed get the process started early, so it doesn’t have significant ramifications on the building schedule. There are a few items in this building that if caught earlier could be changed, however, that didn’t occur and for now, it’s too late.
The budget is just as important from start to finish as I wrote the last time around, but as we go, I’m learning just how valuable it is to truly get the budget set for all the needs right away. It’s not worth the stress or the headache of wondering if there will be enough money left afterward to add this or that. Establish the budget from the start to include everything deemed a priority, and then leave room for the price of those items to change. Having the funds set aside from the beginning will help with getting everything done on time and right the first time.
Finally, last time I wrote about balancing persistence and patience, and it remains even truer today. I would also add acceptance and creative problem-solving. Accept the things that cannot be changed, lower your expectations for perfection. The building and technology will not be perfect, recognizing that early on can help you not to get stuck on the small things. Decisions have to be made fast, pick your priorities and stick with them. Focus on significant issues; the little ones won’t matter in the long run.
Get creative. Find different sources to purchase equipment if you can; it might be cheaper or even free. Currently, I am applying for a grant to add the lighting equipment my staff wants and loves. Buy ahead, I am an organized person, so I like to have the right cases and storage capabilities. However, these items could be considered extra when it comes to a budget that is running low. So I purchased ahead and bought cases that are general enough they will be easy to integrate into whatever we end up within the building. Be creative in your problem-solving, look at every possibility, and be prepared to make changes.
Last but not least, don’t forget about your current facility or shows. You may still need to invest in what you have to keep your current shows running. If something is already 15 years old and the project completion is five years away, it’s likely going to fail or have trouble before you are finished with it. If your budget allows, do not plan to move your 15-year-old equipment into the new facilities. You do not want every room and rack to look like the highlight of the daily AV nightmare posts floating around the internet.
Vanessa Silberman – Producer, Recording Engineer, Label Owner and Artist
Vanessa and Benjamin Balcom. Minbal in Chicago
What is your specialty in music production?
I’m a good producer and at leading the ship or taking charge when needed but also that answer depends on the project because I wear a lot of hats. These hats can include co-writing &/or pre-production, A&R, engineering, producing or mix engineer. Sometimes I’ll do everything for a project, in this day in age, I think all these ‘specialty hats’ are necessary & important to know.
It’s more important to me than to just be an expert at one. But if I can’t do a great job alone at something I’ll definitely bring in ‘specialty’ help with bigger things depending on the project. For example: setting up / getting drum sounds before recording I might bring in another engineer because there needs to be a lot of focus & attention on that so you make the best recording you can.
Ideally if you have a good budget you can fill all these specialty jobs with experts but more than often that is not the case with most projects these days, unless you’re dealing only with big budget projects. I make it point that I can do all of it if needed. Having done and knowing all these jobs gives you an accurate view of things and being a good assistant is one of the most important.
Are you independent or do you work for a company?
I am independent & also do work under my artist development label A Diamond Heart Production.
Give us a little background on what led you to working in music production?
I always wanted to be a producer and especially loved reading the credits in record art when I was younger. I started by first recording downloads of songs using a microphone and a tape recorder in the 90’s when the Internet first started. You could download rare songs through websites that record companies didn’t know about yet (through dial-up that would take about 12 to 24 hours) I’d then play them back through a speaker & record them through my tape player.
After that I moved onto to recording my own music through cassettes tapes and then later used a 4 track. Early on with my band Diamonds Under Fire I worked with some great producers, mixers & engineers but was never quite able to get the right sound that I wanted, and it was hard for me to verbalize that. Overtime I learned how to describe what I wanted and started self producing or collaborating.
I also came to the realization the first few years of being in a band that I had to learn how to do this myself (because there’s this particular sound I’m hearing that I have to achieve & I need to be able to communicate it). So I became pretty interested in the technical aspect and I taught myself (through trying things or researching) how to record over time until I got opportunities to learn from other recording people.
I always wanted to produce and record other bands as well as do A&R (as much as music) but was told by many that I had to pick one thing. I think doing one thing is not conducive to music in this day and age. I always jumped at any learning opportunities and took on several internships. For me internships turned into jobs and those jobs turned into more jobs. The journey ended where I wanted to be in production and continues to grow. You just have to stick to something if you really want to do it.
How did you get your start?
Photo Credit – Todd Ingalls
I worked in the music business doing various jobs since about 2002 and established my band then. In 2006, I was in between touring, jobs and really wanted to learn more about recording. I went to recording school for about three days and dropped out. I said to myself that I could get a job at a studio. I just felt like the best experience I was going to get was actually from just doing it or being around it.
I got a job at a small studio called Wyman about a month later and worked there for a couple years. It was a small operation and I was doing everything from running websites, art and marketing, to marketing and scouting bands. I was able to assist and of course did food-coffee run. I learned to wear many hats and gained a lot of skills.
After Wyman, I worked at Conway Recording Studio as the front of house, greeting people and answering phone mainly. I thought I’d take a slight demotion for the opportunity to learn things at a big studio with the hopes that I might learn more of the recording process. While at Conway I met Dr. Luke, he offered me a job as his assistant / runner. I worked for him for about 2 1/2 years and learned a lot! He really opened my mind to hip hop & pop production which I love!
About couple years later, I got a very amazing opportunity at a great private studio where a Producer Engineer John Lousteau took me under his wing. John and I were recording some of my bands songs, he knew I had been meeting with different producers and A&Rs for jobs and he asked if I wanted to help him. I became the In-house assistant engineer at Studio 606. He really taught me everything about working on consoles and patching, to understand analog recording, signal flow and routing in big rooms & on large consoles etc. The studio manager and all the artists and bands who recorded there were very supportive and cool to me. I never ever was treated differently of felt disrespected because I was woman.
In 2012, I started recording non-stop and simultaneously booking shows and playing music. I started developing bands and from there started my own artist development label. I do everything from Production, Recording, Indie A&R, Art and booking.
I am so grateful and thankful to all the people who have given me opportunities. I feel very blessed to have had some of the experiences I have.
What are your long term goals?
To Continue building A Diamond Heart. Keep growing it with more recordings and producing more bands. Maybe A Diamond Heart studio or mobile studio. To continue building A Diamond Heart. Keep growing it with more recordings and producing more bands. I’d love to do some recording projects and partner up with studios and labels in Asia and Europe. Ultimately I really just want to continue to help the world through music & reach as many people as possible. If I inspire one girl to become a recording engineer I would be so happy!
What are your current projects?
I went to South Africa last year and worked on a collaboration producing and label project with Bop Recording Studio and their old label Tshukudu. I found a Motswako hip hop group there in Mafikeng called Hashone and recorded a single with (we are currently finishing mixing it). I can’t wait until people can hear it! That project is pretty close to my heart.
I have been working with a pop duo Bria & Crissy and we have been collaborating with a Atlanta producer Jon Nguyen. I am also really excited for this young punk rock Chicago band The Magnifers. I produced, recorded and mixed their new EP that’ll be coming out in the near future.
What if any obstacles or barriers have you faced?
I think choices mostly. This career path is like no other, so ‘risky’, unknown, with no guarantee…it’s so particular. If I wanted to do it and really make an impact I knew I would have to make very hard sacrifices. Choices on how and what I spend my time doing or even risking it all to do what your heart says. It can be so hard, but my love of music and the chance for changing the world and people in a positive way. Music saved me growing up. Bands changed my life. So whether I am producing, recording, helping another band or playing a song as an artist myself it doesn’t matter, it’s a vehicle that speaks to people in great volumes. Music helps people and changes the world. I made the right choice.
Advice you have for other women and young women who wish to enter the field?
Go for it and don’t be afraid! Take risks and try stuff that is completely different. My advice in general is that music is the thing that connects us whether young or old. Take the time to make whatever you are working on the best it can be, while staying on deadline. Race or gender doesn’t determine skill. I worked around men for years and still do but sexism never ever really affected me. I have been supported and encouraged by all men I have worked with. I have toured the US (3 times this year) and have run into at least 15 female sound engineers. We’re out there.
Must have skills?
When you are producing or engineering make sure the artist is as comfortable as possible, so they can be completely open and give their best performance. Don’t try and change people but instead embrace what they do and who they are. Learn a few business skills. It will help! Trust me
Favorite gear?
Vanessa at Minbal
Been using RE20’s on a lot of vocals. But if there’s time I’ll test out a few really different vocal mics to see what fits best on someone’s vocals. 1176 on vocals. Love Neumann mics! Satellite Amps, Epiphones and C414. Any weird old or really nice vintage mics often are cool on vocals.
Student Loans – Student Debt
I was approached with this question from a student: “I’m about to graduate and I have a lot of student loan debt. Any advice on what I can do?”
Loans can be a pain in the ass especially right out of school. I remember times looking at my bank balance, cursing my loans, and regretting ever going to school. That changed as I got a handle on finances, had a payoff plan, and started to see loan balances go down.
Here’s some information and ideas to help tackle student loans (it’s specific to the US but the general idea is the same no matter where you’re at). If you’re considering a degree or are still in school, see the later sections about how to minimize what you need in loans.
You can get one free credit report a year from each of the three major credit companies. Your credit report will give you student loan information and credit cards, car loans, etc. Tip: Check your credit every four months (only check one company each time).
Make a list of each of your loans, when you have to start paying them (grace period end), subsidized/unsubsidized, the interest rate (and if it’s variable or fixed), monthly payment amount, and whether it’s federal or private. If you took out any government loans, you can find those here
When you see the total, it’s ok to curse, yell, or sigh in relief (if you’re lucky). Then remind yourself it’s an investment that you made in yourself intended over a long period of time. It also gets easier/more manageable with time.
Making a plan
Get in the mindset. Your income will likely grow as your student loan balances shrink. The beginning is the hardest. You may not have any spare money right now but in a few years you might have a lot extra to put towards loans. The important part is that your loan payments are manageable; if they’re not, contact your lenders to look at other options (like income-based repayment or deferment).
Make a system for bill paying. Make sure lenders have the correct mailing address (so you don’t fall behind by accident). Some lenders offer an interest rate discount if you use autopay. Setup reminders or use a service like Mint Bills (bills.mint.com), which can keep track of your loans, payment due dates, and send reminders (Disclosure: I use Mint/Mint Bills).
Look into consolidating or refinancing your loans to save money. You may be able to combine some of your loans into one payment and also lower your interest rate.
Refinancing: Get quotes from companies like Nelnet.com or SoFi.com (Disclosure: Nelnet has been my servicer for 10 years.)
Set a budget (to ensure you can pay your loans). You can use something as simple as thisor a budgeting website. Mint.com is a great free site to monitor spending and set a budget. “You Need a Budget”is another popular budgeting website (it has a yearly fee or is currently free for students).
Decide how you want to tackle your loans. There’s a lot of different techniques to pay down loans (especially if you have other types of debt like car loans and credit cards). The general rule with student loans is to prioritize private loans first, then variable-rate loans, then highest-interest rate. You may want to change the order depending if a loan is subsidized or unsubsidized. This article has a good breakdown of what order to pay off.
Find ways to make extra cash where the money can be dedicated to paying a loan. It’s a lot easier to take a crappy side gig or work overtime hours if you have a purpose. There’s a huge sense of accomplishment to get even one loan off your plate and that can keep you motivated to work towards the rest.
Remember there’s a tipping point. Not all debt is bad debt. Once you put out the fire on your most demanding loans, it might make sense to shift focus to other financial goals. If buying a computer or piece of gear will increase your workload (and salary), it might be worth investing in that before paying down a subsidized loan. Putting money in a retirement fund or saving for a house might benefit you more in the long run than paying off a low-interest loan. In time, you’ll have options.
If you’re not in school yet
If you’re considering audio school, here it is straight: You don’t need a degree to get a job in audio. Do your odds of getting a job go up with a degree? 95% of time – No (it takes just as much hard work as someone without a degree). Are there good reasons to get a degree or certificate? Absolutely (but that’s a whole other topic.) Life Lessons and Audio Education.
One very important detail that a lot of audio schools don’t advertise is that it can very realistically take one to two years after graduation to earn a paid position. That’s a year or more working for free likely followed by a minimum wage job (up to $15/hr). That’s a difficult wage to survive on – even more so with student loan payments. Most people pursue an audio degree to work in music, film/tv or video games but a lot of graduates end up working elsewhere – jobs like academics/research, sales, IT/tech, or not in the audio industry at all. When you see the bigger picture, is it worth spending $150k+ for a full-priced 4-year degree?
There’s value in an audio degree and there’s money-saving ways to getting one. For example, take as many classes as you can at the cheapest school possible (community college, in-state school, or somewhere you’re offered a good scholarship). There’s no reason to pay a music or film school $1,000/credit hour for a general ed class when a community college offers the same class for $50/credit hour (check first that it’ll transfer to your audio school). You can earn college credits without having to take the course by passing a CLEP exam, which is $80/exam, offered in a lot of topics, and accepted at thousands of colleges and universities.
Ask a lot of questions about the audio program you’re interested in: What percentage of graduates are employed in the field 5 years out of school? After 10 years? What kind of work are they doing? Where are they located? A school on the opposite side of the country (or out of the country) may not be the best choice if most of its graduates stay local and aren’t working in the field. If it’s affordable, pick a school where you might stay after graduation (this accelerates the process of meeting people, doing internships and low paid work, etc).
If you’re already in school
Look into community college classes and CLEP exams to save money on tuition.
Don’t take on student loans (or credit card debt) with the plan to “deal with it later”
Take a part time job – especially at your school’s studio, a local venue or media outlet (doing anything paid – you’ll learn just being in the environment)
Take professional projects so you can build up credits while in school
If you want to experiment, do it while you’re in school. Do an internship in something you might be interested in but aren’t sure about. Move for a summer to a city you might want to live after graduating. It’s better to find out what you like/don’t like while in school than when you’re in the field, broke, and harder to make a change.
Get in the mindset now of living frugally. It’ll make things a lot easier the first couple years out of school. Live with a roommate, eat cheaply, and don’t buy a lot of audio gear – yet.
Save, save, and save more before and during your senior year.
Consider taking a job that pays well (but may not be in the field) to build up your funds before jumping into the industry.
I recommend having 3-6 months minimum of living expenses saved up for post-graduation (a year is even better). The more money you have to cover expenses means the more time you can spend interning or working a low-paying job.
For everyone
Student loans, like any loans, can quickly become overwhelming if you don’t manage your money wisely. It’s unfortunate to see someone have to leave a job they love because he/she couldn’t pay the bills. The first couple years out of school can be really tough – which is why it’s even more important to be organized, diligent, and careful with your finances. The habits you form now can affect the rest of your life and career.
Seattle SoundGirls was started by Natalie Bayne and Brittany Cohen. Natalie taught at the California Recording Institute in the early 2000’s and considers it the best job she ever had. She loved teaching but sadly she never had any female students. Natalie remembers what it was like being the only woman in her audio courses, she found it to be very isolating. So, Natalie decided to start a program specifically geared toward teaching audio skills to girls. (more…)
In part one, we covered file transfer between a video workstation and DAW and how to prep these materials for a sound editor. In this part, we will cover some of the basics of sound editorial.
Different types of sound editing
Sound editing for picture can be broken into different elements (and job titles):
Dialog editing (dialog editor)
Music editing (music editor)
Sound FX editing/sound design (sound designer)
Foley editing (Foley editor)
These roles could be different people or it could be one person doing all of the above. In credits, if someone is listed as “Sound Editor” they likely worked on multiple elements.
Dialog Editing
As we saw in part one, the materials are brought into an audio workstation from a video workstation (through an AAF or OMF) and then “split” so that each element is placed on appropriate tracks. The dialog editor is responsible for going through all of the dialog tracks for the following:
Organizing files within each set of tracks
Sorting through tracks and removing regions so only usable or preferred mics are remaining.
Once the appropriate mics are in place: adjusting fade ins, outs, cross fades, and filling in holes as necessary.
Removing unwanted sounds such as pops, clicks, hums, thumps, or other noises that can’t be removed by real-time mixing. Sometimes the dialog editor can remove other non-desirable sounds like dogs barking, sirens, or an unneeded car drive-by.
Repairing sounds that can’t be fixed by real-time mixing (such as mic dropouts)
Editing ADR (actor’s lines that were re-recorded in the studio) and voice-over narration
The fundamentals of dialog editing
Here’s an example of a very basic dialog edit; The above track is edited while the grey track (lower) is how it was delivered by the picture editor.
Production dialog naturally has an audible noise floor (from background noise). For an exterior shot, this could be distant traffic or light wind; interior might be an air conditioner running or a refrigerator hum. Most dialog clips will need a fade in/fade out to make the ambience come in (or shift to another mic) more naturally. In the above example, there’s a small spot where a mic is missing. The dialog editor would need to “fill” that – in this case, the original audio in that area was fine so the region was extended to fill in the hole.
Towards the end of the clip (the 5th region), an edit was moved slightly to clean up a bad dialog edit in the middle of a word. At the very end, the original audio had something going on (a noise or start of a new word). That had to be edited to add a clean fade out using audio from earlier in the track.
Removing mics
This is a before and after look of two tracks of dialog. It’s two people with separate mics talking at close proximity. Even just looking at the regions (without listening) you can get a general idea of when one person (or both) are talking. Even though it looks obvious, it’s still a good idea to listen through each track to make sure you’re not removing anything important that’s hidden in the waveform (like a quiet word or laugh). In this example, the second region of dialog was fill added by a picture editor (or assistant) that came from another scene. That had to be replaced with fill that from this scene to match sonically. It may have sounded fine in the picture edit bay, but the ambience shift would have been really obvious to the mixer. Sometimes issues like that aren’t audible unless you’re listening with professional-quality headphones, studio monitors, or with a compressor on the dialog.
Dialog organization
There’s a lot of different ways to organize dialog and the style can change depending on a few factors (like the style of project or the mixer). For example, when working on reality tv shows (or documentary), I like working with two sets of tracks: interviews and in-scene dialog. A scene could switch many times between action (in-scene dialog) to an interview of someone talking about what’s happening. Here’s an example of that style:
Even though it’s the same person talking, it doesn’t make sense to have on the same track because it’s different locations, different mics (or mic placement), and the source mics probably have different levels.
That style of dialog editing may not work for a scripted film or tv show, though. It may make more sense to have 5-10 generic dialog tracks. Regardless of who’s mixing, you typically want to edit the same character/same mic on the same tracks through a scene. In this example, there’s 3 people (or three mics):
It’s possible that the character on DIA B will be on the track DIA C in the next scene.
There’s a lot of small details to dialog editing that will be specific to the mixer you are editing for; Below is the same audio but edited to another mixer’s preferences (no straight fades, longer fade ins/outs, switching between tracks A-B and C-D between scenes):
It’s always a good idea to speak with the mixer you’re editing for to get a sense for their preferences. Some mixers have 5 dialog tracks ready to go and others have 20. Some mixers only want a specific type of cross fade. It can help to see another project that was edited for that mixer, too. In essence, the dialog editor’s job is to make it easy and seamless for the mixer to import the dialog edit and start working as quickly as possible.
Removing sounds
It’s pretty much expected for a professional dialog editor to know how to do detailed audio clean up using corrective software or plugins (with functions like declick, decrackle, and hum removal). Detail work is the key; Broadband noise reduction (globally reducing noise) typically happens during the mix, not by the dialog editor.
Izotope RX is commonly used software that dialog editors use to remove problem sounds. In the example below, there’s wind on the mic that’s causing rumble and clicks. The left side is the original audio; the right side is after it’s been treated by RX 5 (to remove low pops, de-plosives and declick):
The biggest change is in the low frequencies (seen as bright yellow in the left photo). What’s impressive is that it’s done without compromising the quality of the dialog. A mixer could achieve a similar result with a high pass filter but they would be completely losing low end information – which can cause a shift in ambience or negatively affect the sound of the voice.
Izotope can also repair mic dropouts, as seen in this before and after:
Tips for dialog editing
One trick that I use when dialog editing is to add EQ and compression (for my own reference) – basically to listen similarly to how the mixer will be. It may take some adjusting between scenes but the idea is to hear things that you may not catch otherwise. For example, some lavs sound very dull or boxy (especially if poorly placed). A lav might need 6 dB or more of a high end boost – significant enough to hear issues that went totally unnoticed before.
Sometimes it’s up to the dialog editor whether to cut a scene with lavs or booms (this is another discussion to have with your mixer; some people prefer one or to have both options in the cut). It can be hard to gauge which sounds better when one of the EQs is totally off (or levels are totally off). In addition to adding a temp EQ, it can help to adjust clip gain as you’re working. Ultimately this could help your mixer too (if they are using clip gain data when it comes time to mix).
Unused mics: There’s a couple ways to handle mics that aren’t needed. If there’s two mics on the same person and both sound pretty good, it’s ok to edit both and leave one unmuted and the other one muted. You could also make “X” tracks; “X1, X2, etc” and place any unused tracks on there. Your mixer may want these tracks or not (that’s another question to ask). It’s good to hang onto as much as possible in your own work session, either way. If a mixer later asks, “were there any other mics for this spot?” you can easily see how many mic options there were and can listen to the alts (so you can explain why you chose the way you did).
If you’re doing any processing (declicking, etc), it’s really important to keep a copy of the original somewhere accessible. Sometimes it’s muted on the track below or you can make a track labelled “unprocessed” (or something similar) so anyone can get back to the original, if needed. If it’s only a small portion of a region it may not be necessary to separate out. In general, you want to make it as quick and easy as possible for someone to hear the original (whether it’s on another track or pulling out a handle).
Headphones versus studio monitors: This is a personal preference, but I typically prefer headphones unless I’m working in a decent sounding room with monitors that I know and trust. It’s hard to hear rumble on a speaker that only has a 6 inch woofer, for example. If I’m working at a studio, I would rather edit on a mix stage than an edit bay (it’s not always possible but it’s really helpful if you have an option). Even better is to work in the mix room that the final mix will take place. The mic choices that you make in one room may sound very different in another – especially between a small edit room and a mix bay.
Advanced dialog editing
This has been a basic overview of dialog editing. There’s more advanced skills that come up such as:
Removing sound fx that naturally occur in production audio so they can be used in the M&E (foreign versions)
Creating fill that can be used for ADR, filling in holes, or used as transitions between mics
Adjusting mics for phase or sync issues
Conforming lav mics (from the source recording) when they aren’t included or cut by the editor
Who makes a good dialog editor?
Dialog editing is a good fit for people who like to work alone and is generally more independent and less stressful than mixing. You have to be detail-oriented and like problem-solving. It’s rewarding because it’s often a drastic change between where you started and what it sounds like when you’re done. It can be really challenging at times, too. As far as sound editing goes, it’s probably the most important job (because dialog is up front and center – literally).
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