The Motion Picture Sound Editing Process

Although I am fully pleased with the information I have discovered throughout the year, and that I have shared it with you throughout the process, I realized I have strayed a bit from the true topic of audio post-production. While doing some research on the subject, I came across the website for Motion Picture Sound Editors, or MPSE, as you will often see credited at the end of an editor’s name in a film. What I like about this particular website is that it isn’t written by people interested in the field, or just a random author, but it is written by motion picture sound editors Bruce Nazarian and Scott Haller.

The Music Supervisor

Lately I have been learning more about leadership and project & team management. I began to think about who the leader of the audio post-production world would be. It didn’t take long for me to come up with the answer.

If you've stayed long enough through the credits at the end of your favorite movie, you may have noticed the position of Music Supervisor scrolling up the screen. Depending on the type of film, whether it be independent, documentaries, blockbusters, etc., the tasks this person takes on varies greatly. However, the consistent duty this person has is to obtain the rights and licensing permission to legally use certain songs in the projects or films they are working on.

The Tim Nielsen Experience

Using my PLN to check the latest news and updates in my field of interest, I clicked on to Google Reader and found an interview with sound designer Tim Nielsen. If you’re interested in reading it yourself, you can find it here: Tim Nielsen Interview. Admittedly, I have never heard of Nielsen, so I did some searching and found his credits on IMDb. As it turns out, he’s extremely well-credited, having worked on film hits like Toy Story 3, Avatar, Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings, and There Will Be Blood with positions like sound editor, designer, and recorder. You can see what else he’s worked on here: Credits.

This interview basically tells readers how Nielsen got started in his career, who his influences are, and tips for sound effects recording. He, too, hard started out in college, attending University of Southern California, and is believed to be the first intern at Skywalker Sound, learning from the great Gary Rydstrom. Through his time there he networked, which eventually helped him land a job as an assistant after he graduated, and eventually began his credited works.