Credits

[Andy Hay]

Hello all,

I have a couple of projects where I am completing the entire sound package for an indepednent feature myself. On these jobs, my duties are: (Supervising) Sound Editor, Sound Designer, Re-recording mixer, Post Sound Supervisor, ADR mixer, foley mixer etc...

What do you guys think is the best way to sumarize all of these credits? Which credit holds the most value? Post Sound Supervisor, Supervising Sound Editor?

Thanks!
-andy

www.spankmachine.com

[Eric L]

I have found myself in this same situation many times. In the end it really only matters to you. I have had decent responses to

"Post Sound by..."

It kinda wraps things up in a humble way. You don't want to see your name up there seven times. In these cases, however, I have insisted on a single card credit right after the picture editors credit. It seems only fair.

On a side note, are you the Andy Hay who did the music for the AFI short Marty ? If so, I thought it was great. I was the "post sound by..." guy on that one.

If it wasn't you, I still think the music was great.

[Andy Hay]

Hey Eric,

Yeah "Post Sound by..." sounds about right. Thanks. Good point insisting on the credit following the picture editor.... and, yes, I mixed the music for Marty. My friend Billy West composed the music.

[h1ntOn]

Sometimes I ask for Sound Editor/Re-recording Mixer. I only ask for a Supervising Sound Editor Credit if I subcontracted sound work out to others. I think Post Sound by is a good way to go. My only reservation is often that is used as a studio credit. For example Post Sound by: Switch Studios. On the flip, if you ARE your own studio then why not use that as your studios credit and help drum up some free advertising then you can squeeze another in there for any specific job tittle you felt you excelled at on the project. I think that although the term Sound Designer is often misused it can be another good catch all if you handled the editing, mixing and conceptual side of the sound track.

my 2db

Brett

[Noiz2]

The other thing that needs mentioning is credit requirements for CAS and MPSE. If you are interested in joining either then you should try to get credits that relate. So for instance if your interested in CAS and you did the mixing you would want to make sure you actually got a mixing credit. I'm not sure how "sound by" would fit in? It might be acceptable. The good Dr. would probably know, maybe he will chime in.

[Andy Hay]

Hey Noiz2,

Yes.. this is exactly my concern - I want the credits to hold up and mean something for all the respective societies. I suppose choosing the most meaningful part of the job as it relates to that particular film would dictate which credit to opt for.

Oh, Dr Sound, come out come out wherever you are

[dr sound]

The Cinema Audio Society was instrumental in getting screen credit for mixers, both Re-Recording and Production Mixers. To become an Active Member which allows you to use the initials C.A.S. after your name in the credits, one must have 5 years of verifiable credits. The term "Sound By" is vague and doesn't let the C.A.S. membership committee know what exactly you did. These days don't be picky about your credit. Make sure your credit describes what you did and that your name is spelled correctly. If you need to learn more about joining the Cinema Audio Society go to this link: http://www.cinemaaudiosociety.org/html/membership.html
If you need to get a CAS member to sign for you, just send in your application to the CAS to my attention and I'll look it over.

[Eric L]

Huh... I never thought about that. Good points. Most times this comes up, the budget is so small that I never really concerned myself with the credits. I guess if this kind of project does make up most of your workload and you want to join some professional membership, I would use Sound Editor and Re-Recording Mixer as my two credits.

I still think one should avoid having their name listed an obscene number of times in the credits. We are quietly finding ourselves in situations where job delineation is becoming obscured by digital mixing technologies. Where does editing end and mixing begin? The traditional job descriptions fail to accurately depict the actual work being done by sound professionals who "mix in the box". I know this is an area that IA700 is struggling with.

[h1ntOn]

I'd like to get hear peoples thoughts on the sound designer credit. Is there really an industry standard definition for this position? When ever I'm out in a social situation and someone asks me "What do you do?" ((ugh)) I often will default to Sound Designer. At
this point eyes glaze over and people smile and nod. I feel this isn't too far off from people who are in the post sound industry as well. It can be a very vague description and I shy away from it more and more. Also depending on the project I would consider myself more of a Sound Editor handling elements of sound design. So I guess my question is, for C.A.S. and M.P.S.E. does using a Sound Design credit hurt me or make it more difficult because of the vague nature of the title?

[dr sound]

When you have 5 years of mixing with verifiable credits then we (CAS) will look into it. By everything you state, it looks more like the direction you are heading is towads a MPSE credit, not mixing.