misc Post Production Sound Budget

[Gigot]

Peace to all!

I'm looking for a sound editor for my micro-budget feature and I'd like to ask you all, at how low a price I could hope to get good sound (price for the whole project). And could you suggest any methods which could help me keep the cost down? Thanks!

Some particulars: My movie is about 2 hrs. long. It's a drama (mostly dialog). I don't need sfx, music, sound design, ADR, or foley. My timeline is neat and orderly (dedicated tracks, color codes). My production sound is professional.

 

[AcousticAl]

Not sure “how low a price” you can get on this. I’d hate to throw a number out there and then be quoted on that, as it all depends on the sound editor, the deliverables needed, etc.

And you say you don’t need any sound design, music, etc. Do you mean that you’ve already done all of that? If there’s nothing there, I’m pretty sure you’ll need some things done. A good, solid re-recording mix isn’t just dialog (and music). There’s a lot of stuff in a good film mix, subtle as it may be, that helps sell the dialog. It needs world building, which starts with ambient backgrounds. Even SFX and Foley may be required.

For deliverables: are you going to be sending off for a DCP for theatrical screening? Online distribution? Something else? Do you need 5.1, 7.1, or Atmos, or is stereo enough?

Lots of unanswered questions here. And a 120-minute run time is going to mean a bit of time in post. Dialog cleanup, world building as needed, and a few pre-dubs before the re-recording mix. It’s not going to be cheap.

 

[Gigot]

Let's put it this way: How much of that can I hope to get with $6K? And do you have any suggestions as to how to keep the cost down? Thanks!

 

[directorik]

I'm not an audio person but as a director and sometimes producer
I have worked with many.

If your post audio budget is 6K and you can't go any lower then
that's where your start when talking to a sound editor. That person
is going to ask you the questions AcousticaAl has asked. So be
prepared to answer them. If you don't need some of those things
then the cost will go down. If all you need is dialogue mix (and
nothing else) you can likely get that done for less than your budget.

It's impossible to give an estimate with the little info you have offered.

 

[Gigot]

I'm not an audio person but as a director and sometimes producer
I have worked with many.

If your post audio budget is 6K and you can't go any lower then
that's where your start when talking to a sound editor. That person
is going to ask you the questions AcousticaAl has asked. So be
prepared to answer them. If you don't need some of those things
then the cost will go down. If all you need is dialogue mix (and
nothing else) you can likely get that done for less than your budget.

It's impossible to give an estimate with the little info you have offered.

That's very helpful. Thank you!