Location Sound — Indoor Echo, Outdoor Wind, Cars, Loud Locations and Scouting for Sound

In empty rooms or spaces full of tile and glass, sound bounces between the walls, so dialogue sounds distant, as if spoken inside a barrel. That echo is hard to remove cleanly in post, so it’s better to reduce it on set. Get the mic as close as the frame allows, and in echoey rooms use a hypercardioid, which is less narrow at the front.

• Blankets and absorbers — Hang them on walls that aren’t in shot, near the ceiling and behind the camera. You can also hang them on stands.
• Actor position — Standing right against a wall mixes in reflections immediately. Check with the art department and director whether the actor can move a little away from it.
• Limits — Thin fabric cuts mid and high-frequency echo but does little for low rumble. For low noise, you have to switch off the source.

Outdoors, wind noise is the most common failure. Put a basket windshield and a furry windjammer on the boom mic, and hide lavs under clothing or use a small furry cover. Setting up where buildings, vehicles or terrain block the wind is far easier than stopping it with gear alone.

• Traffic — The same road sounds different at different times of day. Talk with the DP about whether you can shoot with your back to the main road or facing a direction shielded by buildings.
• Planes — When you hear one coming, the production sound mixer flags it right away and the 1st AD decides whether to hold. Note takes with a plane over dialogue in the report.
• Continuity — If background noise levels differ a lot between neighboring shots, the cut jumps in editing. Where noise is constant, record a long stretch of ambience.

Cars are cramped, so a boom is hard to fit, and engine, road and wind noise keep coming in. A common approach is a lav on each actor plus a small mic hidden out of frame, on the sun visor or headliner. Close the windows and check the fan and turn signal noise too. Towing the car while you shoot means the actor doesn’t have to drive, and it cuts engine noise as well.

Next to a construction site, in a factory with machines running or at a large event, where you can’t reduce the noise, it’s hard to get clean dialogue. Record anyway. What you capture is called a pilot track, and in ADR it becomes the reference actors use to match lip movement and delivery.

• Fridges, air conditioners, fans — Get the location owner’s permission before switching them off, list what you turned off and switch everything back on before wrap.
• Lighting fixture fans — For fixtures with fan noise, ask the lighting team whether they have a quiet mode.
• Generators — Ask in advance for them to be placed far from set, facing a direction where buildings block the sound.
• Clocks, phones, alerts — Find and switch off anything that ticks, rings or makes announcements.

• Listen in silence for one minute and note the background noise.
• Clap your hands and listen to how long the echo hangs.
• At the same time of day you’ll shoot, check for traffic, school bells and construction.
• Watch whether planes pass overhead often.
• Ask whether fridges and heating or cooling can be switched off, and who controls them.
• Find a spot for the generator and a direction where its sound is blocked.
• Let neighbors and building managers know the shoot times and ask for quiet in advance.

A sound scout works best alongside the camera and lighting scout. A location can look great on screen but be loud enough to lead to ADR, so hearing the production sound mixer’s opinion before you lock the location is a way to save money.