Presence (sound recording)
Encyclopedia
In filmmaking
and television production presence (or room tone) is the "silence" recorded at a location or space when no dialogue is spoken . This term is often confused with ambience
.
Every location has a distinct presence created by the position of the microphone in relation to the space boundaries. A microphone
placed in two different locations of the same room will produce two different presences. This is because of the unique spatial relationship between the microphone and boundaries such as walls, ceiling, floor and other objects in the room .
Presence is recorded during the production stage of filmmaking
. It is used to help create the film sound track, where presence may be intercut with dialogue to smooth out any sound edit points. The sound track "going dead" would be perceived by the audience not as silence, but as a failure of the sound system.
For this reason presence is normally recorded - like dialogue - in mono, with the microphone in the same position and orientation as the original dialogue recording . In the sound edit, presence occupies the same track as the dialogue to which it applies.
Filmmaking
Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...
and television production presence (or room tone) is the "silence" recorded at a location or space when no dialogue is spoken . This term is often confused with ambience
Ambience (sound recording)
In filmmaking, ambience consists of the sounds of a given location or space. It is the opposite of "silence." This term is often confused with presence....
.
Every location has a distinct presence created by the position of the microphone in relation to the space boundaries. A microphone
Microphone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
placed in two different locations of the same room will produce two different presences. This is because of the unique spatial relationship between the microphone and boundaries such as walls, ceiling, floor and other objects in the room .
Presence is recorded during the production stage of filmmaking
Filmmaking
Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...
. It is used to help create the film sound track, where presence may be intercut with dialogue to smooth out any sound edit points. The sound track "going dead" would be perceived by the audience not as silence, but as a failure of the sound system.
For this reason presence is normally recorded - like dialogue - in mono, with the microphone in the same position and orientation as the original dialogue recording . In the sound edit, presence occupies the same track as the dialogue to which it applies.