Explanation video can be found here (in Spanish)

Every editor is different in their technical process but also in their artistic method. In this video I show step by step how I thought, planned, searched the effects and put into action all of this sound mingle.

Firstly, I have to say I had complete creative freedom in this video and it is an experimental style, which in general gives more opportunity to try an array of different materials.

This said, I don’t only go through my creative process, but more importantly through the structural process that requires a video editor in order not to go mental. Therefore, I go from opening the project, to how to create your sequence, to how to mentally organize and select the different sorts and layers of the sound. The ambiance sound correction has nothing to do with the foley sound effects polishing. That is why I talk about the difference of diegetic and non-diegetic sound.

In my own words, diegetic sound is the REAL sound of the scene in the character’s context or fiction. Non-diegetic sound is NOT REAL in the characters world, the characters do not hear them; its existence is only known by the audience, so you and me. It is used to add a more dramatic effect or imply certain emotion or message.

For instance, in this video I speak about all the multiple electricity zap sound effects that I use as a non-diegetic sound: main character of this short doesn’t see or hear them. Perhaps in her head, but it is not something the cyclist that crosses the road next to her can hear. In the other side, I also speak about all the effects that are real, such as the motorcycle leaving the frame, the rain, the crickets…

Huge part of the work comes from layering all of these sounds: dialogue (if there is), foley (such as steps, jacket rub, etc.), ambiance (rain, neon lights, etc.) and so on. And inside this collection, you can creatively play whether you want to make a sound diegetic or non-diegetic. For example, the zap of electricity is a real element, however, in this scene I decide it will be a surreal aspect of the video. You can even give the ambiance sound a non-diegetic dash: perhaps you lower or higher up the volume during certain moments to highlight certain emotions or events happening in a specific moment. In this video, I give the example of the rain; I chose the specific moments where rain is louder or even non existent in certain moments of the short. Rain plays along as a character in parallel of the girl’s actions. It all depends on the message and sensation that you would like to communicate.