How to Use Sound Design to Enhance Your B-Roll
Photo: Jakob Owens
The way your b-roll is shot is just as important as the way it sounds. Although sound design is not as fun to most people, it adds a lot of value to your film. Instead of having it in the background, enable it to become an integral part of your film, having a more emotional impact on the audience. Sound is one of the less expensive pieces to your project and can bring it the attention it deserves.
A common issue people run into is not knowing where or how to get sounds. This is where you should let your creativity take over. You would be blown away by the sounds you can make right from your living room with a smartphone. If you rather not take this approach, there are online resources such as Epidemic Sound where you can use pre-made content.
Syncing Your Audio
If your film is driven by a song, find the rhythm and edit the cuts according to the beat. In order to find the beat, look at the waveform on your Premiere timeline. The waveform can be expanded by dragging the top or bottom of the box.
Another helpful tip is to use the marker tool while listening to your song and set a marker every time the beat hits. This is a quick and easy solution to making sure you are in sync.
Where to Use Sounds
Your sounds should add to the film without being overbearing. If someone is watching your film, a light should not go off in their head that the sound they just heard was added in post production. You want things to feel natural as if it really originated at the scene.
Adding sounds to your transitions is a great way to lead the viewer into the next segment and makes it more dynamic.
Other Advice
The audio you select does not have to align with the action that is occurring in the shot. For example, if you are looking for audio of a bat hitting a baseball, there are many other sounds that could be used as a substitute such as a hammer hitting a surface.
Don’t be afraid to modify the sound you are working with. Slow it down, speed it up and use the audio effects panel in Adobe Premiere to fine tune it. Make the sound work how you want it to.
Daniel Schiffer is one of the most talented YouTuber’s when it comes to producing cinematic sequences. Take a look at his video below to see how he utilizes sound.