PRODUCING GREAT SOUND FOR DIGITAL VIDEO, a truly great book. Packed with "Pro secrets to make your video projects sound as good as they look" (in some cases, hopefully better!) It even includes a CD of tutorials and high quality samples so you can HEAR what Jay Rose is talking about!
I really enjoyed the read. This book is an ABSOLUTE MUST if you will be shooting on a budget and doing sound yourself. You'll learn what mics to use in the field, how to fix an echo, how to deal with line noise, cheap fixes for potentially expensive problems--and that's just the beginning. If you'll be doing your own sound mix on your G4 or Pentium based computer with some program like Peak, Sound Forge, or God bless you, Pro Tools, this book will teach you tips and tricks that will make your head spin.
At $39.95, this book can literally save you THOUSANDS in post production. So before your neighbor, best friend, or frat buddy starts twirling that boom like a baton, make him read this book.
To me, the real value here is that by understanding the many ways to use sound fx, both on a conscious and subliminal level, indy filmmakers can truly take their work to the next level without spending a lot of money. Sound fx can be acquired very inexpensively, even free, off the web, and can then be mixed and matched in ways most folks never come close to considering, suddenly pushing what the indy gets for his dollar into the stratosphere.
That’s where this book comes in. Really exploring the human psyche, and examining why films like Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Jaws, just to name a few, use sound in very unique ways to reach their viewers. Even films where one might not realize the incredible subliminal importance of sound like American Graffiti, Pleasantville, Casablanca, and Drugstore Cowboy are discussed, most with specific examples illustrating how the different sound fx/themes were created and used to achieve a specific emotional response.
As far as books in the under $20 range go, this one is a doosey. If you get this book and use it as it’s intended to be used, a tool to help you delve into the psyche of your piece and the viewer, plan your sound design, and execute it flawlessly to work on both conscious and subliminal levels, you’ll be head and shoulders above the other indy filmmakers who are simply slapping in a few sound fx here and there, and, more importantly, you’ll be reaching your viewer on a whole new level. Get this book.
Sound goes with picture. Period. Most indy sound sucks, an unfortunate circumstance, especially considering the amazing tools now available to filmmakers. One such tool is Pro Tools Free—unbelievably a full-featured sound editing tool that allows users to record, mix, and process sound—for FREE. Did I mention that four letter word, FREE? Go get it at www.digidesign.com
Anyways, after you have your FREE sound mixing program, you need to learn how to use it. Now, by far, our favorite book on sound is Producing Great Sound for Digital Video by Jay Rose, reviewed above, once you’ve read and understood the incredible wealth of knowledge available in that book, you’re ready to put it to use in ProTools Free. (There’s that word again—FREE.)
We picked up PRODUCING IN THE HOME STUDIO WITH PRO TOOLS by David Franz, and I’ll be up front with you, it’s aimed at musicians. However, it explains all the tools in a very simple, easy to understand way, and I gotta tell ya’, after mixing sound in Pro Tools, I’ll never do it in a video editing program again. It’s so simple to adjust levels, add eq, and completely morph any sound into something really original that you’ll find yourself wondering how you ever lived without it. This book really jump-starts you on that path, getting you working effortlessly in ProTools in no time.
The book also comes with a CD ROM which includes ProTools Free and plug-in demos, example pro tools templates, and really useful PDF’s for making schedules, budgets, and putting together track sheets. We really liked this book, and recommend it to anyone who’s ready to take their production sound to the next level with ProTools FREE.
