Sound Recordist
Clean production sound is decided at the scout and in the schedule, not at the fader.
What this is about
Locations are chosen with eyes. The recordist inherits everything the scout did not hear: the ventilation that cannot be switched off, the flight path, the fridge that hums through every take.
Every department needs the same plan in a different view. That is exactly where document collections fail: they only ever serve one perspective well.
What runs differently here
In planning terms, that means:
- The number of speaking parts per scene sets channel count, kit and whether a second operator is needed
- Wardrobe chosen without a thought for lavaliers turns every costume into a rustle problem
- A timecode strategy agreed before day one replaces an afternoon of manual syncing in post
What the plan has to deliver
A production plan is useful to this role when it provides the following:
- Scenes marked with their speaking parts
- Noise findings from the scout attached to each location
- Quiet-dependent scenes placed into quiet hours
- Wardrobe and sound talking before costumes are final
Common pitfalls
What most often goes wrong in practice:
- Scouting a location without standing in it silently for a minute
- Placing interviews next to the room where catering runs
With TillyGen
TillyGen carries speaker counts and audio notes on each scene, so the sound package matches the day it is booked for.
Change one constraint and the consequences travel through the whole plan: affected shots are flagged, the call sheet is regenerated, and nobody keeps working from yesterday's version.
Frequently asked
What should a scout check for sound?
Ventilation and whether it can be switched off, traffic and flight routes, neighbour noise at the planned shooting hour. A silent minute with closed eyes finds more than any checklist.
How many wireless channels does a scene need?
As a rule of thumb, one per person who might speak, plus the boom. The answer sits in the scene list — which is why it belongs to the sound department's planning material.
Why does sound want the schedule early?
Because noise keeps office hours: school yards, rush hour, church bells. Putting quiet scenes into quiet hours is planning — on the shoot day it is only hoping.
How long does it take to get started with TillyGen?
A first project takes under an hour to set up. There is no configuration phase in which templates and fields have to be defined before the tool produces anything.
Can the results be exported?
Yes — as PDF for the crew, CSV for downstream systems and through the API for anything automated. The plan stays the source; the exports are views of it.