. What is Room Tone? How to control room tone and bring out higher quality audio As we discussed earlier it is important to maintain a certain level of sound continuity with regards to volume. However, the same holds true for ambient noise. For example, the audience will become acutely aware of a new sound in between cuts. For instance if a loud truck isn’t present in one shot, but it seems to be just outside the window in the next shot, this will show there was a gap in continuity. Likewise, it may happen with more subtle sounds as well. If you don’t have the window open in one scene, but during the next scene you wanted to get some fresh air in the set so you opened the window, the change in “room tone” will be noticeable in the second shot. Room tone is simply the sound of “silence” in a room. However, even silent room tone is much different than the sound of actual silence. Silence has no sound, but every room or outdoor scene has a different room tone. Yes, even outdoor scenes call it “room tone”. These are just subtle ambient noises that we usually do a good job of blocking out in our day to day lives. However, sounds of refrigerator motors, quiet streets outside, and other elements create a subtle “room tone”. Sometimes this room tone can change quite dramatically without you even noticing it. Imagine for example, that a hot water heater was operating in the small boiler room closet during one scene, but it shut itself off during the next scene. This would be a noticeable change in ‘room tone”. Therefore it is always important to record 30 – 60 seconds of room tone that you can use as ambient background noise to help fill any gaps or irregularities in sound during post production. Continue Below... What is tape noise? Automatic Gain Control (AGC) What is room tone? How to fix room tone and ambient sound mistakes Acoustics and recording space       .

Frequently Asked Questions Film School Home Who can enroll? What do I need to enroll? How much does the course cost? How long does the course take? What is the course curriculum? What have your past students done?	Course Breakdown Ideas & Funding Screenwriting Cinematography & Composition Feature Films Short Films Documentaries Preproduction / Post Production Music & Sound Publicity / Marketing & Distribution Film Jobs	Film School: Popular Pages Screenwriting: Learn the basics of screenwriting by reading this short essay on the beginning, middle and end. Read more... Cinematography: Lights Film School is dedicated to teaching our website visitors and students as much about cinematography as possible.  Read more...