Director of audiography

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The Director of Audiography (DOA) or Sound Director (SD) or Audio Director (AuD) is the designer and manager responsible for the audio experience in a filmmaking. The responsibilities range from the sound concept, design, planning and initial budgeting in pre-production through to recording and scheduling in production and coordinating the final mix in post-production and overall quality control of the audio process in filmmaking.

The DOA is mostly found in Bollywood productions where music is a vital part of the genre. The SD was once a recognised role in Hollywood prior to the 1990s, however today this role is largely reduced to either sound designer and sound engineer (in post-production) or sound mixer (in production). Hollywood films are normally dialogue-based, and even this is often re-recorded in post-production using a technique called ADR.

A tension exists between the visual and aural dimensions of filmmaking which is reflected in film history, where silent films preceded the "talkies". Production sound crew often complain at the lack of consideration given to audio issues in some productions. Having a DOA or SD helps alleviate such pressures by providing a powerful presence to defend the dimension of sound in filmmaking. The absence of a DOA or SD can result in a production company failing to plan effectively or budget realistically for sound.

Hollywood sound editor David Yewdall bemoans the loss of the SD and tells the true story of how the film producer of Airport failed to understand the importance of recording aircraft sound effects during a shoot, costing the film additional expense in post-production. Every dimension of filmmaking requires specialist attention; none less than sound, which requires the detailed planning and coordination of an experienced DOA or SD to assure the sound quality of any modern film.

The importance of sound in a film is particularly evident when the quality diminishes. A case in point is the UK 2001 DVD release of Bob's Weekend where in many scenes the main characters are barely audible against the background sound effects.

[edit] References

The Lost Sound Director (page 35) in The Practical Art of Motion Picture Sound by David Lewis Yewdall, M.P.S.E., Focal Press (1999).
Bob's Weekend (1996) Director: Jevon O'Neill, UK 2001 DVD release.