The Master Guide / 13 Sound design and mix · Effects and beds
The SFX list and its Lead column
One row per effect, written from the treatment's sound idea and the locked cut, after the music is chosen.
One row per effect, written from the treatment's sound idea and the locked cut, after the music is chosen.
Build it from the treatment's sound idea, its contrast map and each scene's "listen" line (see Writing the treatment → The sound sheet).
Column | What goes in it | Example |
Timecode in–out | Where the sound plays | 00:12.00–00:12.80 |
Shot | The shot's number | S07 |
Type | Ambience, foley, hard effect or designed | designed |
Description | The sound, in plain words | a soft airy whoosh into the lid's twist |
Perspective | Close, medium or distant; inside, outside or off-screen | close |
Length | Seconds | 0.8 s |
Level relative to dialogue | How far under the voice | −12 dB under the voiceover (VO) |
Lead | What leads this moment: speech, music or this sound. Everything else supports it | speech |
Source, with the reason | designed: a whoosh has no real source | |
Your verdict | From your own listening pass | ok / too loud / buried / harsh / early / late / extra / missing |
The Lead column is how you keep one lead at a time (see Sound design and mix → Placing effects). The verdict column holds your full-pass verdicts. The five moments get their own lines beneath the list (see Sound design and mix → The five moments to check by ear).
Keep a second list beside it, the sources list, for every real recording: title, creator, landing link, licence, date checked. That list is your licence proof if a client asks.
Sources
Mark Mangini, the spotting manifest (StudioBinder interview); Yessian, the spotting session with the director (LBB); 750mph, Ellis McGourlay, the anchor decided early (LBB).