Documentary director Yance Ford spent 10 years capturing the right sound for STRONG ISLAND - here's how he did it.

Key Insights

Get your sound right the first time.
How you design the soundscape of your film will change how your audience experiences the story.
Sound has meaning - work with your sound designer and mixer to amplify that meaning.
When doing interviews in a documentary, go for redundant sound (use a fixed boom, lav and sound recordist) so you have the greatest flexibility when you mix.
Listen closely to the locations where you are shooting to understand how to capture its sound.
Don’t be afraid to roll sound - build a library of audio for your film.
Ask the experts on your project for information and help and don't be afraid to ask questions.

Director, Producer

Yance Ford is an Oscar-nominated director and producer based in New York City. His debut film STRONG ISLAND was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 90th Academy Awards where Ford made history as the first openly transgender director nominated for the Oscar. STRONG ISLAND premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival winning a U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Storytelling. STRONG ISLAND launched globally on Netflix in September 2017. Yance recently became a Sundance Institute Art of Non-Fiction grantee for an untitled non-fiction currently in development. more...

Tags:Sound & Image

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