Post-Production Audio: Samples, Music, Mash-ups and More

While most filmmakers strive to capture location sound cleanly and separately with a design concept for their finished soundscape, there are times when you might have to search out audio to suppliment the wild track recordings you obtain in the field. Thanks to the internet and what is known as Creative Commons, the tools and resources for filmmakers has become immensely rich.

Freesound Project has created a huge collaborative database of audio snippets, samples, recordings, and natural sounds found in nature and human-created environments. All of Freesound Project audio files are released under the Creative Commons Sampling Plus License.

Freesound Project allows you to search, sample and download (and upload) audio files to your computer and use them in accordance with Creative Commons rules. The huge database can be a tremendous resource for you in the post-production sound mix, helping you create a more realistic setting for the soundscape of your short film.

ccMixter is another excellent source of Creative Commons audio files to download, sample, cut-up, mash-up, and share but it differs from Freesound in that its primary focus is music and remixes.

And while many of you have applications you prefer to use on your computer, Audio Editors are available for download for FREE on the internet. Remember, the learning curve for mastering audio and video editing software can be long and might slow your progress in getting to the finishing line on August 15th.