Hopefully, none of your productions will come to such dire straits as Copland's movie project before you recognize the importance of this sometimes subtle element in the production mix. Radio is proof that the soundtrack can stand on its own. But a video without a soundtrack just doesn't cut it. Good sound lends energy as well as verisimilitude to a production. Synchronization of sound and image is the critical element in production and, fortunately, it's not quite the challenge it once was.
Audio professionals have many more tools at their disposal.
Digital editing and sound effects, for example, provide the accuracy to produce particularly smooth transitions with relative ease, according to Burhman. Additionally, non-linear recording systems allow engineers to import video and then record and save several alternative sound tracks. The producer can review alternatives much more quickly and cut and paste editing makes changes almost painless. But, for all the new equipment, the process is still trial and error and requires close collaboration, according to Buhrman. Jeff Jeffrey, President of Cue Recording Ltd., suggests that producers write out a rough time line to smooth the editing process.