What does a Supervising Sound Editor (Film and TV) do?
After filming has wrapped, sound effects have been added, the music recorded or licensed, and all cuts and changes have been approved, a movie enters the production stage called picture lock. That's when the supervising sound editor begins the painstaking process of fashioning a final soundtrack from a film's many sonic components. These include production sound (the dialogue and ambient noises captured during shooting), foley (reproduced sounds), ADR (automated dialogue replacement), walla (crowd noises), sound effects, and music.
At a Glance
This is the highest position in the audio post-production team in the film and TV industries. Many supervising sound editors start out as audio interns with a network or studio. From there, one must typically choose a path: focusing on dialogue, music, or effects. Those who become supervising sound editors are likely to cycle through at least two or possibly all three of these tracks, gaining deep knowledge of the art of sound editing and the film industry's conventions.
Sound editors usually work as freelancers, hired by film and television producers on a per-project basis. They can also be employed full-time by post-production sound studios, and in rare cases by film or television studios.
- Sound design
- Audio editing
- Film/video editing
- DAWs
- Foley
- Scheduling
- Leadership
- Communication
- Exceptional ears
While the other sound editors spend the bulk of their work days at an audio workstation with headphones on, supervising sound editors do not have that luxury. Their primary responsibility is the soundtrack, and they must communicate, set goals, build long-term schedules, and motivate the rest of the team so that it's ready in time.
Supervising sound editors have intense schedules when working on a film, which might last anywhere from a few weeks to several months, and sometimes toil more than 12 hours per day. Fortunately, they get to take a break from this rapid pace when the work is done, as most sound editors are freelance and will need to find a new project.
