The days leading up to our film's completed final cut are drawing near, which means my crew and I are on crunch time. I've been stressing a lot in my temporary role as sound designer. Days for recording audios were being pushed back and the edited version of the film was not ready until now. As I received the final edited version from my editor, I attempted to import the film into my device but the quality of the film came out really crappy. I believe the constant downloading and forwarding to different devices reduced the quality and resolution. Unfortunately, Adobe does not include a cloud that allows multiple devices to access one file, which is extremely unclever for such an expensive software. Therefore, I couldn't go with the idea of signing into my editor's adobe in order to gain access on the original copy. The only solution I could think of is to call my editor and have her do the actions on her device (where the original is located) and direct her along each step. This is more of an inconvenience as I much prefer doing stuff myself, however, I am stuck in a position where it is literally impossible to do so.
Last minute, I had to group call my editor, assistant director and talent, Shaunae, who voices Dariah for the voice overs. This group call was my solution to directing everyone, with their different roles, at once. This required a lot of multitasking, which I am not the best at. So I did everything in order, jumping back and forth between both tasks. In this group call, my goal was to complete post-production, which includes the editing and sound designing. My first task was to direct my editor with sound designing, work along side her to make sure everything is how I envisioned. My second task was to help Shaunae with the audio recording software, assisting her with the dialogue and etc.
A screenshot of the video group call working on the film
Sound designing with my editor
The biggest challenge with sound designing was to figure out how to import audios from outside sources, like YouTube, into rush. Rush does offer audios that are pre-installed into the software but it isn't what we are looking for. The music we are trying to implement is mainly accessible on YouTube I did come up with another decision that did fail before finding out what worked.
Tiktok:
My first solution was to use the music entertainment app, TikTok, to import the audios into Rush. From my amateur experience with CapCut, I know that I can search official audio in TikTok and import it into an editing software. To do this I would search up the desired audio, create a blank video with the song playing in the background, save the video into my photos, then import that video into the software. From there, I will separate the audio from the video and delete the video, leaving the extracted audio to use on its own. So I did this, but came across my conflict that caused this solution to fail. For some odd reason, even after choosing the option to separate the audio from tje video, it still keeps them attached to each other. The best way I can explain this is that the audio and video are still attached to each other even though I already extracted them from each other. This means that when I attempted to delete the video, the audio went with it. An Extreme fail.
Saved video exported from TikTok
A screenshot of the audio extracted from the video on Adobe Rush
As you can see from the screenshot, the highlighted yellow bordering both the video and the extracted audio means that they are still attached to each other. This means that they move as a whole and delete as a whole. (Future Me speaking: Now that I already completed sound designing, I actually found the solution to this issue, which is sad and funny that I figured the solution after completing post-production.)
YouTube converter:
After some quick research to find another option, I found out that I can actually use a website that can convert you tube videos into mp3 audio to import into rush. I used Y2mate.nu which was recommended by my Producer, and watched a quick tutorial to get the gist. This was a very effective method, even though it is a little more complex than the TikTok method. The only issue with this is that it seem to only download audio that is from official artists which is odd, but it was preventing us to find audios from random sources in our files. The easy solution was to strictly use sounds from the official artists, which was not a struggle to do.
How to Convert YouTube video to Mp3 on PC(2025)- Fast Guides
A screenshot of Y2mate.nu conversion app after I pasted the YouTube song link
A screenshot of how the mp3 file looks after downloading from the conversion app
Recording voice overs with Shaunae
Because Shaunae couldn't meet me in person to record her lines, I had to settle with her using her own devices to create the audios, as I walk her through it. This went pretty smooth compared to everything else in post-production. Because I had Shaunae download the software and set up the accounts days in advance, we had no issues that required troubleshooting or finding last minute replacements. A lesson that I definitely learned and can share to you is that it is highly essential to plan everything out. It is even important to plan the possibility for trouble, that way you can strategize a quick solution incase that issue does come about. The only setback we had was figuring out how to send the finished audios to my phone. This was a minor issue; because she was recording on her PC, it is not as easy to forward the audio as it would be if she did them on her phone. However, it only took me a few moments to figure out that she can save the files on a one drive that she can also access on her phone. We got all the audios in one day and I was able to send them over to my editor so that she can complete our film.
The actual fun part of being a sound designer is the creativity, implementing different audios that I can use and where I want to place them throughout the film. I decided on a couple of sounds and effects by reviewing my script and the rough draft of our edited film. These are the decisions I made:
Instrumental background VS Lyrical music
I believe that creating lyrical music to play throughout the entirety of my film would cause it to be extremely cluttered. Instrumental music if often used for atmospheric and emotional cues, while lyrical music can add narrative depth and emotional resonance through the lyrics and vocals. For majority of the film, I want to use instrumental, especially for scenes with diegetic dialogue; utilizing lyrical music for moments that need narrative depth, like the scene where Dariah is first introduced and the mall montage scene.
Dariah's introduction:
For scene 1 and scene 3 where Dariah is having her monologue moment, I wanted to use lyrical music, utilizing the lyrics and vocals to add an upbeat yet calming tone to the scenes. I was looking at TV sitcoms from the early 2000s and 10s because I feel they strongly implement that genre of music that I am looking for. I ended up searching the sound track for Zoey 101 and found Melody by Scott Bennett, who composed a lot of the sound score in Zoey 101. What I love most about that song is not the lyrics, but the softness and nostalgic feeling I get from listening to it. The soft guitar and drums work perfectly together for when Dariah is introducing herself in a calm and joyful manner. Overall, it's perfect background music.
Melody- Scott Bennett by Enjoyinglife YouTube
Another song I was looking at for Dariah's introduction scenes is Since U Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson. Just like Melody, I am interested in using this song more for its vocals and instrumental rather then the specific lyrics. I love how rebellious it feels, the audience can kind of get the sense that Dariah has an interesting and rebelling personality, that would be shown later on in the film.
Since U Been Gone - Kelly Clarkson YouTube
Finally, I was interested in Hoobastank- The Reason, because the meaning behind the lyrics and the atmosphere brought by the instrumental. The lyrics relate to Dariah's character in a lot of ways (to an extent because it is a love song). Through the lyrics, the singer acknowledges their mistakes and is expressing a desire to become a better person; just like how Dariah realizes the mistakes she made with hanging with the wrong crowd and desires to start anew at a different school.
Hoobastank- The Reason (Lyrics) AweLyrics YouTube
Mall Montage:
For the mall montage, I am looking at lyrical music with strong meanings behind the lyrics. In this scene, Dariah is showing her past lifestyle, which is filled with riches, empowerment and self-love. I wanted to use Alien Superstar by Beyonce, because the lyrics, vocals and instrumental match the atmosphere set for the scene. Lyrics including, "I'm one of one" "I'm number one" "Forever I'm that girl" "Feed you diamonds and pearls" " Unique" "Category, bad B(word)" and "I'm too classy for this world", all contribute to the narrative of the mall montage. Essentially, Alien Superstar promotes self-love, confidence and uniqueness, which is all characteristics that Dariah's old self represent.
During scene 4, the 3 antagonists appear by crashing into Dariah. I want to use instrumental for this scene, something that gives the tone of bratty, rude, and entitled, which are all characteristics of the 3 "mean girls". After searching in stock instrumental audios with the filter word, "villain", I found what then became the instrumental for Doja Cat's, Tia Tamera
Doja Cat Ft. Rico Nasty- Tia Tamera (Official Instrumental) Mr. Somebody YouTube
In terms of placement:
Planning in advance where exactly I want every sound to start and stop is very important because it makes sound designing much easier; I like to think of it as a guideline or a map for when I am actually importing the sounds into my film. By strategically placing sound sources, I can create a sense of space and depth, making the audio feel more realistic and immersive. Reviewing the script while planning the placement assisted in matching different audio with the narrative and atmosphere of each scene. Here, I made note of each placement:
Scene 1:
Scott Bennett- Melody OR Kelly Clarkson - Since U Been Gone OR Hoobastank - The Reason, will start playing as soon as the scene starts. According to the script, when the stage direction states, "(pauses)", the song with end. Shaunae (talent) will finish line. As the montage is about to begin, fade in Beyonce - Alien Superstar.
Screenshot of line in scene 1 where music will completely stop
Scene 2:
Play Alien Superstar for the entire duration of Scene 2, Mall Montage. According to Scene 2, when the stage directions states, "(pauses)", Alien Superstar will end.
Screenshot of line in scene 2 where AS will completely stop
After a silent moment, right when the stage direction state "(melodramatic)", play Alien Superstar at exactly 2:47. In this moment specifically, Beyonce is having a deep monologue about how everything we do as individuals make us unique.
Screenshot of line in scene 2 where AS will play once again
Scene 3:
In scene 3, as Shaunae says "never mind", the same song from scene 1 (either melody or since u been gone or the reason) will pick right back up where it left off before hand. Further contemplation will be needed to decide whether the audio should pick up on "never mind" or immediately after.
Screenshot of line in scene 3 where song will pick up
Then, the song will be played all throughout scene 3 and the beginning of scene 4, where Dariah is browsing the books.
Scene 4:
Song is suddenly interrupted when the 3 antagonists bump into Dariah. Implementing sound effects, I will use an effect of a broken record player or a DJ scratch effect. Both of these sounds can be found in stock audios. Another stock audios like background chatters can be implemented in scene 4.
For when the "mean girls" come into the scene, I will be using the instrumental of Tia Tamera by Doja Cat. I have two options on where to end the instrumental:
Natalia's line, "what was that?" leaving everything after that silent
Natalia's line, "Quincy, you literally said that joke twice" ending the song abruptly with a sound effect.
I also find it interesting to use sound tracks for moments where the characters say something funny or have a funny gesture.
For our voice overs in our film, we will be using the software adobe audition and Audacity. Between Adobe audition and Audacity, both have the feature to do looping for voice overs; just incase any issues occur with audition, we can switch to Audacity. Looping is post-production process where actors re-record or add dialogue to a scene. Lopping is used to improve the clarity, timing or emotional tone of a scene. Planning the voice overs was a little difficult because Shaunae is unable to come over to my house to film the voice overs. I had to make something work so I decided to entrust Shaunae to complete the voice overs at her home. This is how we are going to achieve this:
By using wired headphones as a microphone and multiple devices, Shaunae will watch the scenes on a separate screen like another phone or iPad, while recording her lines with another device that has audition on it. She will use audition or audacity to try to match her voice and sounds to her character's physical gestures. Because majority of Dariah's (Shaunae's character) dialogue is supposed to be her internal thoughts, looping will be far easier. We could also use looping to replace missed lines or create background conversations.
Call sheet:
On the day of recording, I will instruct Shaunae to isolate herself inside of a closet, with blankets surrounding the walls for optimum quality. I want to try and be present to help direct Shaunae with very specific directions like tone and pronunciation, so I hope I can do all of that through a facetime.
When I think of my film, being a coming of age teen drama, I see films like Mean Girls, Clueless, Freaky Friday, 17th Again, 16 Wishes, etc. . All these films inspire me to use early 2000s music in my film. I want to incorporate a sprinkle of early 2000s music to spice it up I decided to go over a few popular early 2000s pop and r&b music and create a sound playlist to get a good idea on how I want to implement this in my film. Searching on you tube, I was able to find videos people created of what they believe would thrive in a coming of age film. Getting opinions for other people can help me achieve what I hope could be a upbeat and nostalgic sound track for my film.
You're in an early 2000s coming of age movie playlist- artemis&diana
Of course, I am still experimenting on how I will incorporate this in different scenes, like when it will be appropriate to use that genre of sound or if it would have any significance based on what is occurring in that moment. Over the course of post-production, my ideas could shift, therefore, I will discuss more in future blog posts like exploring more musical genres and vibes.
After deciding on Adobe Audition I had to do more research, like watch tutorial videos or read recommended articles to actually know how to work the software. These are the videos I looked at:
Learn How to Use Adobe Audition in 8 minutes!- Scott Luu
Adobe Audition 2025- Tutorial for beginners Pro Audition in under 7 minutes! - Mike Russell
Additionally, I utilized the Adobe user's guide, which provides me with short projects to test each skill on the software, almost like a training run. I will discuss more on the test runs in future blog posts.
There's also multiple tutorial articles like this one I quickly read over.
How to use Adobe Audition: A beginner's tutorial by Alec Chillingworth
This article talks about each feature included in audition in separate sections, discussing key traits and giving a step by step process on how to manipulate certain features. For instance, it goes over how to use Audition for effects, how to export audio in Audition, how to use Audition for multitrack editing and even how to find the best audio for sound effects. The article even goes over disadvantages one should know when trying to work with Audition. These disadvantages include its lack of MIDI support, which makes it difficult to record music directly into the program; hopefully this would not be much of a problem for me. Incase it causes me any distress, my quick solution is to switch to DaVinci Resolve as a back up, and a good thing that it is free, so I will not be risking much if I decide to switch over.
One of the main parts of sound designing is to figure out what designing apps and tools I should use. The most ideal thing to do is to use the same software that my cinematographer/editor is using for editing, that way we can keep everything on one app; but it does not hurt to explore other programs to see what I am most comfortable with. Here are my options.
Adobe Premiere Rush- This is one of my best options because it is the same software that my cinematographer/editor is using. Because it is Premiere rush, it is far easier to navigate than Premiere Pro, which does offer more but requires more knowledge to work. The only downside of using Rush is that it is not downloaded on my school laptop, therefore it would be hard work on the software on multiple devices, unless I bring my personal device. The app is also not audio specific so I don't know how effective it would be to be detailed.
Adobe Audition- Keeping it on adobe, it is a powerful audio editing software ideal for professional audio restoration. I could accomplish cleaning up sound, precise editing, and mastering audio for my film. After quick research I found that Audition includes advanced features like spectral editing, multitrack recording, and a comprehensive set of effects, making it a great choice for both beginners and experienced audio editors looking for high-quality results.
Learn How to Use Adobe Audition in 8 minutes! by Scott Luu
DaVinci Resolve- After doing brief research, I found out that DaVinci Resolve is a free software that works fairly similar to Premiere Rush. It is extremely beginner friendly and easy to master after watching a few you tube tutorial videos. So far I have gained plenty of recommendations to choose Resolve over Adobe premiere.
DaVinci Resolve Beginners tutorial 2025: Edit like a pro for free Ben Claremont
After consideration, I am leaning towards using Adobe Audition. First I must find out if I can download Adobe Audition on my personal device so that I can work on sound designing outside of class.
Our title "Masquerade" actually ties in a lot more than the narrative. It could actually work hand and hand with my sound designing. As most people should know, masquerade balls were highly popular in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries; a little history fact is that the renaissance era actually existed up into the 17-18th century. Now, I know you must be wondering what that has anything to do with the the sound I want to incorporate or my film period, so allow me to go more in depth...
The reddit post
A Reddit post, "Can someone explain Renaissance to me :r/beyonce" written by Ludaman14 expressed how they do not understand the overall message Beyonce was trying to spread when releasing this album. That Reddit post was then replied by crazymaan92, who did an amazing job of explaining the overall message and how Beyonce presented that in everything single song in that album. Beyonce was trying to spread self-love despite society trying its hardest to bring you down and think otherwise about yourself. My film represents teen girls of all ages all around the world who all relate on one thing, how we think about ourselves. Eventually that thought turns into, how can I better myself for other people, what should I sacrifice to reach this goal, when should I start bettering myself for me. I strongly believe that the Renaissance album did an amazing job putting awareness to how young women think. If people truly understood the meaning of each song, they will understand it's purpose in my film.
The song I will be using for instance, Alien Superstar, is all about loving yourself. Beyonce expresses how women should realize that they are unique rather than trying to fit in with everyone else, that unique is the most beautiful thing ever.
Beyonce- ALIEN SUPERSTAR (Official Lyric video) You tube
For more foundation, I asked people who adore Beyonce their personal opinions and interpretations of the album. Samuel states that the album as a whole expresses black self-love, equality, finding our roots, accepting your unique self, change, and being eccentric.
Sam and I talking about the album
These interpretations of the album connect to my film because the ideas relate on so many levels. Our film consists of an all-black cast so it can amplify the message on black self-love. Overall, the story is about change and finding ones self; our main character has to accept her new life, new self and learn how to thrive.
March 2nd was the last day I have set for filming, hoping that we would be able to get everything production wise done. Here I will just be reviewing every aspect of our production phase in terms of actors, narrative, mise en scene, sound and implementation.
Actors:
We had a lot of rough trials with picking the actors, I had to make the decision based on who would fit the role better, who could actually act, and who would be available to commit for our film. Some actors had to be dropped due to scheduling complications, however, quick and suitable replacements were made and we were able to continue with the film without changing any actual character. The biggest challenge was learning how to schedule with all the talents. We had many set backs with production, having to extend our production dates longer than expected. If I were to give any advice to next year's students, I would recommend having a film staring a very small amount of actors, making it way easier to manage everyone.
Still of all the main actors
Narrative:
I could say with confidence that my film does not look the same as it started. I changed so much narrative in my film that it is almost completely different than the film I had in mind in the pre-planning phase. Changes were made until the last day of filming, so most changes were made as we go. Mostly, the changes that were made were to accommodate upcoming issues like certain actors not being present or not having enough time. Although I made so many changes, I still kept the same representation that I stated during pre-production research phase, even though I added more representation. I wanted to represent teen girls that often go through the phases of awkwardness and uncertainty in oneself, trying to find herself in a world that she is unfamiliar with, and going through the phases of Ego, Superego, and Id. I am glad to say that if this entire film existed, I would be able to pull that off.
Still that shows the concept of Ego, Super ego, and Id, which I discussed in my representation
Mise en scene:
My crew and I had a fun time playing with mise en scene in our film, whether it was for setting, rule of thirds, costumes, or symbolism. Choosing locations, Mise en scene through costumes: Main character Dariah/ 3 mean girls, House party scene, The mall montage, The 3 mean girls, and The Live, are all blog posts where I discussed different ways we utilized mise en scene. My favorite aspect is how I used mise en scene during the Mall Montage scene. I enjoyed how we took advantage of our surroundings to amplify the narrative, when Dariah was discussing her past lifestyle.
Sound:
Because I took the job of the sound designer, I had an interesting time trying to figure out how my film will utilize different types of sound, diegetic and non-diegetic sounds, stock audios and voice over audios. Post-production is when I will fully take in the job of a sound designer.
Implementation:
By using Mean Girls and Clueless as my model films, we were able to implement a lot in our film, in terms of narrative, mise en scene, cinematography and sound. We took the idea of the 3 mean girls from Mean Girls and ran with it, that was the biggest way we implemented our model film in our film. Character's narrative, costumes, camera movements and angles, even dialogue was inspired by Mean Girls. For Clueless, we stalked and studied the montage opening scene to figure out how we were going to create ours. I feel that we did an amazing job portraying that Dariah had an amazing lifestyle before she moved schools. We also looked at other films for smaller things like Young Royals for lighting, Hannah Montana for Dariah's narrative. I looked at multiple teen dramas and video analysis of certain teen dramas to help me follow the genre to my best ability. All the research I did in the preliminary phase like for the genre, and other opening scenes, representation and techniques allowed my film to be the way it is now. I see the cycle and how everything is now brought back to my heavy research made beforehand.
Stills of Mean Girls, Cady inspriartion
Stills of Mean Girls, Regina, Gretchen and Karen inspiration
