A sound report is a document that travels with your recorded audio files. It lists every take, describes the technical specifications of each file, and provides notes from the sound mixer. The editor and production office use it to understand what was recorded, which takes are preferred, and how to work with the files.
What’s in a sound report?
A typical sound report includes:
- Production name and date
- Scene and take numbers
- Track names (which microphone is on which channel)
- Duration of each file
- Sample rate and bit depth
- Technical notes (recorder type, any issues)
- Mixer’s notes (which take is preferred, on-set sound problems)
Who needs the sound report?
- The picture editor – uses the report during syncing to know which tracks to use
- The sound editor – uses it when building the audio session
- The production office – uses it for logging and scheduling
- The post-production facility – uses it for conforming and quality checking
The old way: filling it out by hand
Traditionally, sound reports were paper forms filled out on set by the boom operator or a sound assistant. Then they became spreadsheet templates. Either way, they had to be filled in manually, which took time and introduced errors.
The better way: generate from WAV metadata
If your field recorder writes accurate bEXT and iXML metadata into your WAV files – which all professional recorders do – then your sound report is essentially already written. You just need to extract that information and format it.
Wave Copilot reads the metadata from your WAV files and generates a formatted sound report in PDF or CSV format. Select your files, click Generate Sound Report, and you have a professional document ready to send to the production office in seconds. You can customize the layout – columns, info and save it as a named template. On a multi-day production, you load that template at the start of each day and your report is pre-configured. Set it up once per show.
Customizing the report
The report layout is customizable. You can control which columns appear, how they’re ordered, and whether to include a production logo. The output matches the format that post-production facilities and broadcasters expect.
Conclusion
A sound report doesn’t have to be paperwork – it can be automatic. If you’re a location sound recordist who wants to deliver a professional package at the end of every shooting day, Wave Copilot’s free trial is worth trying.